Knowledge from study may be transferred in different ways: in words and images, via lectures and exhibitions, in the form of articles or books; and electronically. For the time being, the form used most frequently is written publication in text and illustration. However publishing on CD-ROM and the Internet are witnessing rapid development. Maybe this is going to have important consequences for the way in which people are searching for information. In this contribution we discuss some points needing attention for optimal accessibility of knowledge from study and suitably dealing with the sources used. We refer to handbooks for the conventional playing rules of reporting in writing such as clear and interest evoking titles of chapters and paragraphs, clear structure and table of contents, avoiding unnecessary jargon, a clear summary and their like.a,b The emphasis in this Chapter is on adequate pointers to references and the use of key-words. Before embarking, first, something about the way to stimulate potential readers to take notice of the information. It starts already with the cover and the titlepage. These give a first impression of what is waiting for the potential reader. With this author, text or images present themselves. One glance should make clear what the subject is; although it is sometimes attractive to confuse the reader. Starting from cover and title page, the reference data (copyright notice, year of publication, ISBN number, place of issue and publisher), table of contents, foreword (written by a recommending outsider or referee) and introduction, the reader is introduced from his own world into the world of the author. The author and those responsible for the lay-out should picture themselves in this process and shape the publication from the vantage point of potential readers (the target audience), their questions, their pre-suppositions, or lack thereof. Possible pre-suppositions of the reader should be supplemented or corrected. With this it is prevented that potential readers are thinking after a while “What the hell is this?” A clear text on the back cover, an index of key-words, a list of references and a sensible use of footnotes and final-notes are important conditions as well in order to achieve a publication that invites reading.

In this book study by design – also called research by or through design – is defined as the development of knowledge by designing, studying the effects of this design, changing the design itself or its context, and studying the effects of the transformations. The ‘TOTE-model’ from systems analysis may be recognised in this : Test → Operate → Test → Exit. Methodologically this should be preceded by a pre-design study, particularly in order to ascertain which requirements should be met by the design; although a design does not need to be goal-directed by definition.

This methodological book describes eight forms of study and research as they relate to design: 1) naming and describing; 2) design research and typology; 3) evaluating; 4) modelling; 5) programming and optimising; 6) technical study; 7) design study; 8) study by design. It includes the views, design related research projects and research methods being applied by over 40 different authors, all working at the Faculty of Architecture of the Delft University of Technology. As such this overwhelimg body of knowledge contributes to the current debate on how to connect research and design.

Could a design be the product of scientific work to be compared with a scientific report? If so, under which conditions and when? The topic is eagerly discussed both within and outside of faculties of architecture. On the web-site of the Design Research Society (DRS) there is a lively debate on what a design study and a study by design really are and when a designer can also be designated a scientist. These questions stood central during the 1996 EAAE Congress organised by the Delft Faculty of Architecture on the theme ‘Doctorates in Design + Architecture’.a In order to answer these questions we discuss first the terms ‘research’ and ‘study’ and the usual pre-requisites that must be met for study to be designated ‘scientific’. Next, similarities and differences between designing and studying are dealt with. Following that, we discuss the usual way in the scientific community of looking at the criteria for a design to be branded as a product of scientific study. For that purpose a summary is given of the requirements the Technical University in Delft associates with a the rôle it played during the initiative leading to this handbook of design related study. Finally we give a specimen of criteria for evaluation of a scientific architectural design (ex post) and of a proposal for a design related study (ex ante).

This methodological book describes eight forms of study as they relate to design: - Naming and describing; - Design research and typology; - Evaluating; - Modelling; - Programming and optimising; - Technical study; - Design study; - Study by design. These eight sections are the spine of the work. Its compartmentalisation is based on the work of two Methodology Committees of the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Delft (in 1990 and in 2000 AD) and establishes, in this sense, the list of the methodological end-terms of the education. The sequencing of the sections and the chapters within them is showing a certain space for conditioning. Design research, for instance, is impossible without a description of the designs to be studied; in its turn describing study pre-supposes that the components and concepts in these designs can be named and retrieved (naming).