Adoption of a design-based research approach to improve understanding about complex educational problems

Over the past couple of decades, remarkable progress occurred in medical education research. However, most of the ongoing research did not seem to have added much to the existing literature. Thus, our understanding has not shown considerable improvement. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine, and a total of six articles were selected based on the suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. Design-based research targets complex educational problems in the real world, with an ultimate intention to enhance learning among the students and not justify the superiority of one teaching–learning method. In conclusion, the framework of design-based research plays a significant role in the better understanding and resolving of complex educational problems. Further, considering the encouraging results obtained in different educational problems, it is the need of the hour that all the educational researchers should adopt a design-based research approach for gaining an in-depth understanding of the local educational problems.