Theory genesis in the design-based research process – a subject didactic view on theory application, verification and development by using design principles

This article intends to provide answers to the overarching question of how theories, which are transferred into concrete design principles, develop in a DBR process. Theories from three completed DBR projects in geography didactics will be examined regarding their genesis in the research process and their function in individual phases of a DBR cycle. The chosen theories differ in scope, depth and empirical saturation. The aim is to analyse the role that these theories take in the DBR research process and to discuss them in terms of their contribution to the output of DBR projects and a possible generalisability of the findings. Finally, the results of the analyses are synthesised into a model for theory genesis in DBR projects.