Integrating AI Into Methodology: A Critical Review of a Research Methods Course in Postgraduate Interdiciplinary Built Environment Education

This study presents critical mapping and reflection on the convergence between conventional research methodologies in the built environment and the cutting-edge AI-driven tools and platforms in design education. AI has been instrumental in nurturing interdisciplinarity in students' methodological thinking in the built environment, as the research methods are not confined to disciplinary jargon but rather emphasise the nature of the analysis. Through evaluations of students' research proposals and questionnaires involving participants from three distinct programmes, the challenges to integrating AI-empowered tools and the potential of applying AI-enhanced research methodologies are identified. AI notably bridges the gap between architectural design and engineering in students' research outcomes; however, gaps persist in terms of applying AI-empowered computer vision to interdisciplinary research as well as incorporating AI-enhanced methods from outside the built environment into students' research.