DRM: A Design Research Methodology identifies and attempts to fill a gap in design research by consolidating a set of diverse theories and praxes into a meta-framework that Blessing and Chakrabarti refer to as DRM (design research methodology). The acronym is fitting: the authors appear to propose locking down the inherently heterogeneous field of design research with the aim of making it “more rigorous, effective and efficient and its outcomes academically and practically more worthwhile” (11). Rather than arguing for an expansion and enrichment of academic research by championing the legitimacy of less conventional design methodologies, they instead suggest that design research ought to conform with its norms. Although they situate the concept of the design ‘product’ broadly, noting that it is often conceived as a “mass-produced artefact created by industry” (1), the assumptions underlying their framework are clearly circumscribed by a systems design perspective.

The methodological framework they outline, however, may be useful in drafting a template for the research paper that will accompany the VR prototype, or for articulating the findings of a design research project undertaken in archival studies more generally. It does, at least, offer a series of questions that should be addressed through the design research process, and a systematic way in which to approach them. But, in spite of being cited extensively in the scholarly literature, DRM: A Design Research Methodology is neither integral to the current project nor to a larger discussion of using a design research methodology within archival studies.