Learn about Systemic Reviews while helping us shape a future framework tailor-made for Design Researchers

Led by curiosity and the unique methodological challenges of our field, we invite you to a half-day exploration of systematic reviews in design.

Whether you are just starting to explore evidence synthesis for your project or you are an experienced researcher looking to debate methodological questions, this event is designed for you. Join us to share experiences, learn from experts, and connect with the design research community in Belgium.

What to Expect

• Keynote Speakers: Gain insights from invited experts

Prof Jeroen Lakerveld

AI-assisted systematic reviews: accelerating evidence synthesis

Systematic reviews are essential for evidence-based decision-making but are often time-consuming and resource-intensive. Recent advances in artificial intelligence offer opportunities to streamline multiple steps, from literature screening to data extraction and synthesis. This presentation explores current AI tools and methodologies that support systematic reviews, highlighting both their potential to increase efficiency and the challenges in ensuring accuracy and transparency. Attendees will gain practical insights into integrating AI into their review workflows, understand limitations, and discuss strategies for balancing automation with expert oversight.

Prof Guillaume Lamé

Systematic reviews and other forms of evidence synthesis in design research

Systematic literature reviews have become a key academic output in the past 10-20 years, including in design research. The focus has often been on emulating practice in other disciplines, such as medicine, epidemiology, and social and political sciences. This has led to a sometimes narrow focus on one form of evidence synthesis and limited uptake of the broader toolbox for evidence synthesis. In this talk, I'll briefly cover the rationale for systematic literature reviews, give a glimpse of the wide range of methods available today, and discuss how they can be applied in design research. 

Prof Karin Hannes

Tactics for Including Artistic and Design related Research as Evidence in Systematic Reviews

Artistically inspired research studies produce a felt and often physically embodied type of knowledge initiated in an aesthetic experience and consolidated as an art or design form. The tangible design or art work then becomes the outcome of these studies, simply because art and design does not always serve the printed page. Nevertheless, it complements other types of evidence. It therefore requires attention from systematic review authors who synthesize evidence from primary studies. Working with artistically inspired research evidence in a systematic review context requires a different approach to searching, appraising, analysing and integrating research findings than what is usually promoted by international review organisations. I will therefore outline how the different steps in a systematic review process can be adapted to include art work as a multimodal type of research evidence in systematic reviews. We discuss useful tactics of identifying artistically inspired research evidence, judging its value, analysing and synthesizing such evidence, hereby building on iconographic, thematic and/or art and design related analytical frameworks. In addition, we feature a gallery approach to present artistic research evidence to end-users and feature a multimodal type of evidence synthesis in which individual art works are comprehensively integrated in an audiovisual production.

• Community Networking: Meet and collaborate with fellow design researchers from across Belgium.
• Methodological Deep-Dive: Discuss the specific "pain points" of evidence synthesis and draft together methodological openings.
• Open Discussion: A welcoming and collaborative space to share your own challenges and successes.

 Why Attend?

Systematic reviews are more than just a literature search; they are a rigorous methodology, becoming the gold standard practice for evidence-synthesis. We want to discuss how these methods shape our research and how we can adapt them to the diverse nature of conducting Design Research.

We welcome researchers at all stages of their journey and from all design disciplines. Free event in English open to researchers at all career stages. Lunch included.