Abstract
Housing research is interdisciplinary involving economics, geography, sociology, architecture, and urban planning and design. It relies strongly on the social and applied sciences, and is therefore subject to policy, theoretical and methodological shifts across these sciences, as well as societal and technological change. These shifts and changes necessitate an expansion and refinement of the traditional spectrum of research designs regarded applicable to housing research, and more careful consideration of concomitant epistemologies and methodologies. We review the methodological literature within housing research, assess the extent to which different designs feature in current housing research, and, using methodological paradigm and core logic as classification criteria, present an expanded and more nuanced typology of designs consisting of 11 prototypes and 42 subtypes. The prototypes include surveys and censuses, experiments, modelling and mapping, textual and narrative studies, field studies, case studies, participatory action research, mixed-method research, intervention research, evaluation research, and meta-research. The typology may serve as a framework for further methodological inquiry and as a heuristic map for researchers to be more creative and considered when designing housing research.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Allen, C.: On the social relations of contract research production: power, positionality and epistemology in housing and urban research. Hous. Stud. (2005). https://doi.org/10.1080/02673030500291132
Allen, C.: The fallacy of “housing studies”: philosophical problems of knowledge and understanding in housing research. Hous. Theor. Soc. (2009). https://doi.org/10.1080/14036090802704429
Allen, C.: Getting ‘Out There’ and impacting: the problem of housing and urban research and its anarchist alternative. Hous. Theor. Soc. (2016). https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2016.1155479
Bencsik, P.: The non-financial costs of violent public disturbances: emotional responses to the 2011 riots in England. J. Hous. Econ. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhe.2018.03.002
Blokland, T., Maginn, P.J., Thompson, S.: Methodological consequences of inclusive community development: the value of ethnography for housing studies. In: Maginn, P.J., Thompson, S., Tonts, M. (eds.) Qualitative housing analysis: an international perspective (Studies in qualitative methodology), vol. 10, pp. 227–247. Emerald, Bingley (2008)
Bowes, A., Dar, N., Sim, D.: Life histories in housing research: the case of Pakistanis in Glasgow. Qual. Quant. (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004262416675
Clapham, D.: The social construction of housing management research. Urban Stud. (1997). https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098975817
Clapham, D., Clark, W., Gibb, K.: The sage handbook of housing studies. Sage, Los Angeles (2012)
Cole, I.: Hidden from history? Housing studies, the perpetual present and the case of social housing in Britain. Hous. Stud. (2006). https://doi.org/10.1080/02673030500484893
Coolen, H.: Qualitative methods in housing research. In: Smith, S.J. (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, Volume 7, pp. 8–15. Elsevier Science, Elsevier (2012)
Crowe, M., Sheppard, L.: Mind mapping research methods. Qual. Quant. (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-011-9463-8
Davis, D., Hatuka, T.: Imagination as a method for generating knowledge about possible urban futures. In: Silva, E., Healey, P., Harris, N., Van den Broeck, P. (eds.) The routledge handbook of planning research methods, pp. 225–234. Routledge, New York (2015)
De Vos, A., Strydom, H., Fouché, C., Delport, C.: Research at grass roots: for the social sciences and human services professions. Van Schaik, Pretoria (2011)
Du Toit, J.: Research design. In: Silva, E., Healey, P., Harris, N., Van den Broeck, P. (eds.) The routledge handbook of planning research methods, pp. 61–73. Routledge, New York (2015)
Du Toit, J., Mouton, J.: A typology of designs for social research in the built environment. Int. J. Soc. Res. Meth. (2013). https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2012.657013
Glenn, J.C., Gordon, T.J.: Futures research methodology: version 3.0. The Millennium Project, Washington (2009)
Hammersley, M.: Varieties of social research: a typology. Int. J. Soc. Res. Meth. (2000). https://doi.org/10.1080/13645570050083706
Hastings, A.: Discourse analysis: what does it offer housing studies? Hous. Theory Soc. (2000). https://doi.org/10.1080/14036090051084441
Hastings, A.: Textual and linguistic analysis. In: Smith, S.J. (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, Volume 7, pp. 190–195. Elsevier Science, Elsevier (2012)
Hoolachan, J.: Ethnography and homelessness research. Int. J. Hous. Policy (2016). https://doi.org/10.1080/14616718.2015.1076625
Jacobs, K., Kemeny, J., Manzi, T.: Social constructionism in housing research. Routledge, London (2016)
Jacobs, K., Manzi, T.: Discourse and policy change: The significance of language for housing research. Hous. Stud. (1996). https://doi.org/10.1080/02673039608720874
Jacobs, K., Manzi, T.: Evaluating the social constructionist paradigm in housing research. Hous. Theor. Soc. (2000). https://doi.org/10.1080/140360900750044764
Kemeny, J.: Housing and social theory. Routledge, London (1992)
Kemeny, J., Lowe, S.: Schools of comparative housing research: from convergence to divergence. Hous. Stud. (1998). https://doi.org/10.1080/02673039883380
Leech, N.L., Onwuegbuzie, A.J.: A typology of mixed methods research designs. Qual. Quant. (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-007-9105-3
Leedy, P.D., Ormrod, J.E.: Practical research: planning and design. Pearson, Essex (2015)
Luken, P.C.: Ethnography. In: Smith, S.J. (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, Volume 7, pp. 124–128. Elsevier Science, Elsevier (2012)
Maginn, P., Thompson, S., Tonts, M.: Qualitative housing analysis; an international perspective studies in qualitative methodology. JAI Press, Bingley (2008)
Malpass, P.: Innovation and research in housing. J. Archit. Res. 5(1), 14–19 (1976)
Marston, G.: Critical discourse analysis and policy-oriented housing research. Hous. Theor. Soc. (2002). https://doi.org/10.1080/140360902760385637
Mathews, P.: What is housing studies for and what impact does it have? Hous. Stud. (2016). https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2016.1152028
Morgan, D.L.: Pragmatism as a paradigm for social research. Qual. Inc. (2014). https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800413513733
Napier, M., Crankshaw, B.: Mapping housing research methods: enhancing the link between research theory and methods in African housing studies. In: Out-of-the Box 2018 Conference Proceedings, October 24–25, Pretoria, Department of Science and Technology and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. (2018)
Ntema, J., Marais, L.: Comparing low-income housing outcomes in self-help and contractor-driven projects: the case for longitudinal research. Urban Forum. (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-012-9183-8
Oxley, M.: Meaning, science, context and confusion in comparative housing research. J. Hous. Built. Environ. (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011599006494
Oxley, M., Haffner, M.: Comparative housing research. In: Smith, S.J. (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, Volume 7, pp. 199–209. Elsevier Science, Elsevier (2012)
Perriam, J., Birkbak, A., Freeman, A.: Digital methods in a post-API environment. Int. J. Soc. Res. Meth. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2019.1682840
Potts, R.: Is a new ‘Planning 3.0’ paradigm emerging? Exploring the relationship between digital technologies and planning theory and practice. Plann. Theor. Pract. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/14649357.2020.1748699
Pugh, C.: Housing policy development in developing countries: the world bank and internationalization, 1972–1993. Cities (1994). https://doi.org/10.1016/0264-2751(94)90057-4
Pugh, C.: The theory and practice of housing sector development for developing countries, 1950–99. Hous. Stud. (2001). https://doi.org/10.1080/02673030120066527
Robertson, D.: Case studies. In: Smith, S.J. (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, Volume 7, pp. 117–121. Elsevier Science, Elsevier (2012)
Ronald, R.: Ethnography and comparative housing research. Int. J. Hous. Policy (2011). https://doi.org/10.1080/14616718.2011.626605
Satsangi, M.: Synthesizing feminist and critical realist approaches to housing studies. Hous. Theor. Soc. (2013). https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2012.743484
Smith, S.J.: International encyclopedia of housing and home, Volume 7. Elsevier Science: Elsevier (2012)
Somerville, P.: Critical realism. In: Smith, S.J. (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, Volume 7, pp. 291–295. Elsevier Science, Elsevier (2012)
Stephens, M.: Comparative housing research: a “system-embedded” approach. Int. J. Hous. Policy (2011). https://doi.org/10.1080/14616718.2011.626598
Sturgis, P., Luff, R.: The demise of the survey? A research note on trends in the use of survey data in the social sciences, 1939–2015. Int. J. Soc. Res. Meth. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2020.1844896
Thurber, A., Collins, L., Greer, M., McKnight, D., Thompson, D.: Resident experts: the potential of critical participatory action research to inform public housing research and practice. Action Res. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750317725799
Tipple, A.G., Willis, K.G.: Housing the Poor in the developing world: methods of analysis case studies and policy. Routledge, London (1991)
Tobi, H., Kampen, J.K.: Research design: The methodology for interdisciplinary research framework. Qual. Quant. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0513-8
Vestbro, D., Hürol, Y., Wilkenson, N.: Methodologies in housing research. Urban International, Gateshead (2005)
Funding
Not applicable.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
JdT outlined the article, conducted the literature review and served as first author. MN facilitated the author collaboration and proposed this article in response to an earlier conference proceeding by himself and BC titled Mapping housing research methods: Enhancing the link between research theory and methods in African housing studies, as part of the Out-of-the Box Conference Proceedings, held on 24–25 October 2018 at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology, Pretoria, South Africa. LM and JC conducted the content analysis. All the authors contributed to the review and editing of the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
du Toit, J., Napier, M., Marais, L. et al. A typology of designs for housing research: improving methodological coherence of paradigm, approach and design. Qual Quant 56, 3875–3891 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-021-01292-7
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-021-01292-7