{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,2]],"date-time":"2025-08-02T17:26:43Z","timestamp":1754155603766,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,16]],"date-time":"2017-11-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1510790400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["K"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,29]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Purpose<\/jats:title><jats:p>The scientific criterion of determinability (predictability) can be framed in realist or in constructivist terms. This can pose a challenge to design researchers who operate between scientific research (which favors a realist view of determinism\/indeterminism) and design practice (which favors a constructivist view of determinability\/indeterminability). This paper aims to develop a framework to navigate this challenge.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>A critical approach to \u201cscientific\u201d design research is developed by examining the notion of (in)determinism, with particular attention to the observer-based projection of systemic boundaries, and the constructivist understanding of how such boundaries are constituted. This is illustrated using automata theory. A decision-making framework is then developed based on a diagram known as the epistemological triangle.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>The navigation between determinism as a property of the observed, and determinability as a property of the observer follows the navigation between realist and constructivist perspectives, and thus has a bearing on the navigation of the kinds of design research distinguished by Frayling, and their implied primary evaluation criteria.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Research limitations\/implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>The presented argument advocates a constructivist view, which, however, is not meant to imply a rejection of, but rather, an additional degree of freedom extending the realist view.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>This discussion contributes to the establishment of observational determinability as observer-dependent. The proposed framework connects the navigation between deterministic observables and determining observers to the navigation between the design criteria form, meaning and utility. This may be of value within and beyond design research.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/k-10-2016-0269","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,16]],"date-time":"2017-11-16T04:42:07Z","timestamp":1510807327000},"page":"1588-1596","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["A cybernetic perspective on determinability and design research"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"46","author":[{"given":"Thomas","family":"Fischer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,16]]},"reference":[{"article-title":"Wicked problems in design thinking","volume-title":"The Idea of Design","year":"1995","key":"key2021041409504606500_ref001"},{"volume-title":"When Music Resists Meaning: The Major Writings of Herbert Br\u00fcn","year":"2004","key":"key2021041409504606500_ref002"},{"volume-title":"The Design of Inquiring Systems: Basic Concepts of Systems and Organization","year":"1971","key":"key2021041409504606500_ref003"},{"key":"key2021041409504606500_ref004","first-page":"513","article-title":"Underlying assumptions of several traditions in system theory and cybernetics","volume-title":"Cybernetics and Systems \u201898","year":"1998"},{"first-page":"278","article-title":"On the myths of observing designing and of sharing design observations","year":"2008","key":"key2021041409504606500_ref005"},{"first-page":"623","article-title":"One-behind-the-many metaphysics and the myriad things","year":"2011","key":"key2021041409504606500_ref006"},{"issue":"7\/8","key":"key2021041409504606500_ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1004","DOI":"10.1108\/03684921111160232","article-title":"When is analog? 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