MediaTechnologyatKTH: spalio 2015

2015 m. spalio 30 d., penktadienis

Final Blog Post: Comments and Commentary

Comments from Theme 6 until Theme 1

Combinations of Research Methods

Before starting Theory and Method for Media Technology course, I had barely implemented various research methods. Basically I carried out content research method (qualitative research) analyzing how media framed and covered stories. Therefore, this course extended my capacities to do a solid research combining different research methods.

Begin with understanding of theory

In order to implement appropriate and useful methods under certain research circumstances and meet formulated research goals, it is important to understand what theory is. Therefore, in the beginning of the course we focused on the explanation of theory. Looking from scientific point of view: theory is a constructed model which is based on scientific methods and represents the world in logic way. Theory is a ground to conduct the method since scholar constitutes and validates research methods according to existence theories and do observations in already tested and approved explanatory framework. On the other hand, current theories are shifting due to changing paradigms and existing theories are inducement to conduct research method in order to deny or modulate theory. Usually, the outcome of implemented research methods is a new theory but not necessarily. For instance, the research results deny the formulated hypothesis and do not establish any new theory but it is not necessarily mean that theory is not legitimate, sometimes the wrong hypothesis cause that problem. It is obvious that research method is tightly coherent with theory as the basis to choose the right method, structure data according existence theory and as the basis to make an outcome – a new theory.

Quantitative and Qualitative methods

It is common to combine quantitative and qualitative methods in one research paper. Quantitative method provides empirical data and correlations between variables and this information is deeply analyzed using qualitative method which put data in the context and in the interpretation framework. Both of these methods complement each other, give a background to go deeper and enable to look at the phenomena the from different perspectives. Analysis based on different approaches is the core in order to gain knowledge. As it was said during the course, only data is not a theory, neither knowledge nor a grounded research. It is required to analyze what is beyond data, and different methods enable diverse points of view and result in enhanced analysis. For instance, quantitative analysis of empirical data how many people reacted to domestic violence and what kind of actions were taken, how participants’ groups are related to specific behavioral patterns will state one tendency while interviews with participants (qualitative method) why people chose to be in particular position will give additional value to research paper and will broaden answers which will not be possible only doing quantitative method.

Designing research and experiment

Designing and experiment methods interact with each other and this symbiosis result in creating additional value. Designing is a way to create an alternative artificial reality to collect data. Designing is used to narrow down the research field and create the research frame. Research through design contains more than designing research since designing is a way to go into the problem and analyze the context. Designing is not the same as an experiment since this method lacks of hypothesis, defined variables and measures. On the other hand, an experiment complements designing in a way of formulating the hypothesis or research questions, defining variables. Usually the prototype is used to do an experiment as a concept of proof. Designing is a process, modulation and analyzation of artificial reality which not necessarily will give the answer. While an experiment can provide the answer to research question and prove or deny hypothesis. An experiment is a way, implementing and testing a particular solution, to test what designed process pointed out as a problem or interested phenomena. Both designing and experiment require deep analysis of the problem before conducting research since the articulation of problem is the way to bring a solution.

Method as a basis to do conduct another method

In research paper the only one method could be implemented but chosen method might be refined using an another method. It is crucial to do a method piloting before the research. And the piloting includes other research methods. For instance, Drumming in Immersive Virtual Reality is a quantitative research but before starting an experiment methodology was reshaped according to qualitative criterions. Also, the results or gained knowledge of one method can be a stimulus to conduct other research based on different method. It is common that case studies which expanded knowledge horizons’ about particular object become the background to specialize in particular phenomena and conduct qualitative, quantitative or any other method and combination of methods. For instance, case study might reveal that refugees do not have the same rights to get the living permission equally and quantitative research will provide additional information how commonly spread this problem in which regions, if it depends on nationality and quantitative method will contribute to analysis and interpretation why that problem occurred, a focus group of experts could point out the causality.

What method or methods do I need to choose?

This is the core question before starting the investigation. There are some rules and questions which are used to clarify the most effective method. Firstly, the method should give the chance to collect interesting and novel data. There is no point to calculate how many people use email, but it would be more interesting to analyze the content of email between different groups. Method will not provide a value itself but it should provide data which are valuable to analyze in order to draw solid and grounded conclusions. Also, the research field influences the choices of methods. There are topics which are based on logic argumentation of data, such as nature sciences. On the other hand, humanities and social sciences tend to be analyzed on the qualitative basis such as interpretation, interviews, and explanatories. Finally, before deciding which method will be implemented it is useful to ensure that it is possible to get data carrying out the particular method. For example, in order to do participatory qualitative method a researcher must know if it is possible to be involved in the community.
In conclusion, conducted method is only the beginning of research which creates the patterns to analyze data. Method is a framework which provides to scholars a logic structure to analyze data. Combination of methods enriches the research paper since difficult phenomena is consisted of various causalities and aspects which are revealed and noticed only looking from different methodological perspectives. The articulation of phenomena from various angles leads to grounded knowledge.

2015 m. spalio 18 d., sekmadienis

Comments on Theme 6

http://stinazwahlen.blogspot.se/2015/10/post-seminar-theme-6-qualitative-and.html?showComment=1445068909233#c2701769927585450208
http://platotheplatypus.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-post-reflection.html?showComment=1445070445298#c4066915768837765812
http://bjornsblogggg.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-post-reflection.html?showComment=1445072002957
http://pargman420.blogspot.se/2015/10/post-seminar-reflection-6.html?showComment=1445074419377#c5812883887123492775
http://jonathansbs.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-post.html?showComment=1445075989999#c8214870061031045412
http://capitalmyboy.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-post-theme-post.html?showComment=1445086795117#c3500477045995605518
http://gklo.blogspot.lt/2015/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study_17.html?showComment=1445155503002#c8351529160213257849
http://mashasthoughts123.blogspot.lt/2015/10/theme-6-reflection.html?showComment=1445161855600#c2601886506419201613
http://dm2572fan.blogspot.lt/2015/10/post-theme-6.html?showComment=1445163095908
http://dm2572byen.blogspot.lt/2015/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study_16.html?showComment=1445164757618

2015 m. spalio 17 d., šeštadienis

What I learnt during week 42

Theme 6 was dedicated to qualitative researches and case studies. A week before we had already talked about qualitative researches so the main focus was on case studies. Before starting week 42, I did not have any knowledge about case studies. I heart the definition but I was not able to define what the case study is and why or even when the case studies are applied. Therefore, I read about case studies additionally: Winston Tellis, Application of a Case Study Methodology also I had some troubles understanding the sampling methods, therefore I read some explanations about different sampling methods: Snowball Sampling and Purposive Sampling.

Group discussion

After the presentations of our chosen research paper, we found similarities in analyzed papers. In our group all chosen qualitative research papers were based questionnaires and interviews. We summed up, that is one of the common ways to get data in qualitative researches. Besides interviews, qualitative research is based on observations and participatories (when the researcher becomes a part of community and analyzes the phenomena being involved in phenomena). More about participatory research method: Jarg Bergold & Stefan Thomas, Participatory Research Methods: A Methodological Approach in Motion. Another common fact found in all groups’ read research papers that none of research papers formulated hypothesis. As Ilias later explained, it is not usual, but the research can be done and without hypothesis. In the group we emphasized that the authors of chosen research papers did not write anything about piloting of questionnaires, while it is very important task before conducting the research in order to collect significantly valuable data. We ended up our group discussion with the presentations of case studies. We faced the problem defining the case study and trying to understand when it is worth choosing to carry out case studies.

Case studies

Mentioned questions were answered after the group discussion. Case studies are used when researchers do not have knowledge about the analyzing field when the object of analyzes is new for the scholars. Therefore, case studies do not state hypothesis since the researchers do not know what particularly they want to ground. In those circumstances, cases studies give the freedom to explore and raise the questions and turn the investigation in different ways but finally a solid and profound case study will lead to the construction of new theory. Due to the same reason, that scholars do not have enough knowledge about the research field, there is no requirement to define variables, goals and research categories, simply it can be said that a scholar goes to the field without any advanced understanding of research object. Case studies is a way to understand phenomena and get knowledge. It is common that gained background from the case studies is used for further researches which will contain hypothesis since scholars have already gained knowledge in order to go deep and narrow down the research. Before the seminar, I claimed that chosen case study lacked of definitions what particularly was being analyzed, and what hypotheses were formulated. After the seminar it turned out that it is not obligatory to categorize and define objects in the case studies regarding the fact that scholars do not know a lot of about the research field. Also, I learnt that case studies can analyze the unique phenomena, but also the object of research could be a tendency. For instance, in my chosen case study the analyzed circumstances of case study were unique i.e. after Haiti earthquake but the object knowledge management using social media technologies is tendency and common problem not only in one U.S. department during the crisis. All in all, I understand a case study as a very broad way to get into the phenomena and gain knowledge about the problem from direct observations and analysis.

MediaTechnologyatKTH

2015 m. spalio 30 d., penktadienis

Final Blog Post: Comments and Commentary

2015 m. spalio 18 d., sekmadienis

Comments on Theme 6

2015 m. spalio 17 d., šeštadienis

What I learnt during week 42

2015 m. spalio 13 d., antradienis

Comments on Theme 5

2015 m. spalio 10 d., šeštadienis

Comments on Theme 4