Abstract
<strong>Background:</strong> One of the most popular methods for studying the cognitive processes of design and problem-solving activity is Protocol Analysis (PA). As such, PA has been widely used in engineering design education research. <strong>Purpose:</strong> The aim of this work is to describe how PA has been used in engineering design education contexts, understanding the range of research questions that can be addressed by the method as well as providing some commentary on the strengths, limitations, and future directions of the method. <strong>Scope/Method:</strong> We conduct a systematic review of the literature following the PRISMA method. A search combining key terms – protocol analysis, design, engineering, student – and their variants in the Scopus database resulted in 126 articles, which were further reduced to 45 through two rounds of abstract and full-text screening. The main inclusion criteria was that the work use PA as the method to investigate design activities in an engineering educational setting. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> The use of PA has significantly contributed to understanding the cognition of students engaged in design activities and to improving engineering design education. Technological advances enable new efficiencies in protocol collection and analysis, offering promising new directions in the use of PA in more authentic learning environments.
Highlights
In this paper we systematically review the use of Protocol Analysis (PA) to study engineering design processes, taking a special interest in novice designers in learning contexts
In this paper we have used a systematic literature review process to understand the use of PA as a method to understand how novices design
We have outlined the methodological approach of PA studies and provided examples of common coding schemes used and research questions that have been investigated using the method
Summary
One of the most popular methods for studying the cognitive processes of design and problemsolving activity is Protocol Analysis (PA). Purpose: The aim of this work is to describe how PA has been used in engineering design education contexts, understanding the range of research questions that can be addressed by the method as well as providing some commentary on the strengths, limitations, and future directions of the method. A search combining key terms – protocol analysis, design, engineering, student – and their variants in the Scopus database resulted in 126 articles, which were further reduced to 45 through two rounds of abstract and full-text screening. The main inclusion criteria was that the work use PA as the method to investigate design activities in an engineering educational setting. Conclusions: The use of PA has significantly contributed to understanding the cognition of students engaged in design activities and to improving engineering design education. Technological advances enable new efficiencies in protocol collection and analysis, offering promising new directions in the use of PA in more authentic learning environments
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