Design Research portfolios are all about your process and how you synthesize data to uncover design actionable insights. If I was reviewing your work I would be looking for evidence that you have gotten out into the world to observe people in context to really start to understand how they live, work, play, etc… From there I would want to know that you don’t just report back what you saw, but rather synthesize and interpreter what you are seeing into opportunity to improve their live, solve problems, and bring joy to activities. To be a great DESIGN researcher, you have to know how to understand the emotional connections and challenges of the consumer. Emotion is what pulls us apart from other research functions such as Market Research.
I would also be looking at how you conduct research. Great researches get creative on designing research and learning plans to be tailored to the specific needs of the study. No matter how you plan your study, I would expect for the study to be 1) in context, 2) stimulus used for learning, 3) people focused and not product focused.
I hope this helps. Throw some work up in the boards and we will be happy to give you feedback.
J