Représenter pour enquêter. Une analyse des outils empiriques d’ateliers d’enquêtes de sciences sociales par des étudiants en design. [Represent to investigate. An analysis of empirical tools from social science workshops with design students.]

The practice of design, and of design disciplines in general, is based on the production of representations as a form of externalisation of thought (Visser, 2006), and on enquiry as an empirical means of understanding the issues of the stakeholders in a project. This article focuses on the intersection of these two elements, by posing the question of representational practice for surveys. how do novice designer-researchers mobilise their graphic expression skills to develop original survey devices in order to understand the behaviour, experiences and opinions of respondents. The article presents feedback from 4 editions of a social science research workshop for design, as part of a research training course. Each of the survey systems constructed by the 25 groups of students is characterised in terms of different variables relating to data collection methods, the types of data collected, and the way in which they are processed and used. We conclude with a discussion of the issues involved in combining sensitive and analytical approaches in social science surveys in the field of design research.

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