The question of ‘‘What is knowledge?’’ can have a variety of
answers, as there are various meanings of the term even in the
context of engineering and design. Knowledge is not directly available
but is obtained by interpretation of information deduced from
analysis of data. Data is available to an organization in the form of
observations, computational results and factual quantities. Interpretation,
abstraction or association of this data leads to generation
of information. Finally, knowledge is obtained by experiencing
and learning from this information and putting it into action [7].
In fact, looking at engineering design from a teleological point of
view, it can be said that the primary function of engineering design
research should be to transform empirical or rational knowledge
into a form that can be used for practical deployment