AI-Assisted Design Research Pedagogy: Leveraging Sentiment Analysis as a Methodological Bridge in Multisensory Design Evaluation

This paper documents a design research workshop and proposes a pedagogical framework for integrating AI into design research education through sentiment analysis. Conducted within a graduate-level design research methods course, the workshop brought together multisensory installation prototyping, public exhibition, survey-based data collection, AI-assisted sentiment analysis, and structured reflection. Instead of positioning AI as a generative or automated evaluator, sentiment analysis was used as a methodological bridge to support students’ movement from intuitive, experience-based critique toward more systematic and evidence-informed interpretation of qualitative feedback. Drawing on workshop observations and student reflections, the study introduces the AI-for-Design-Research Pedagogy (AIDRP) framework, which conceptualizes AI as a cognitive and methodological mediator that helps externalize emotional patterns, scaffold analytical reasoning, and prompt critical reflection on misinterpretation and bias. The findings suggest that, when embedded within a reflective design workflow, AI-assisted sentiment analysis can strengthen methodological literacy and critical awareness without displacing human judgment. The paper contributes a situated account of how computational tools may support evaluative reasoning in architectural and design education without displacing human interpretation.