Reflection about different ways of combining different methods in order to answer complex research questions
After taking this course I can see a lot of the mistakes I made writing my bachelor’s thesis, and I have gained much knowledge about how papers can/should be written both by reading many different ones and by reading about and thinking through what the different parts of research really are. I used qualitative methods for my bachelor thesis, and thought that it was best if we only chose one kind of method, but now I’ve learnt that the study could have used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods as long as it would have been beneficial to it.
I would say that a case study is not a research method in the same sense as qualitative and quantitative methods but rather a method to gather data about the case at hand. The data then has to be analysed by quantitative and/or qualitative research methods for the researchers to be able to formulate a theory about the subject.
There are many examples of how qualitative and quantitative methods can be combined. One could use qualitative research methods such as open-ended questions in conjunction with quantitative methods to catch information that would otherwise be missed in a purely quantitative research—you can for example find out that some participants in your study did something (that you hadn’t thought about beforehand) that invalidates the data gathered from them.
Another example of how quantitative and qualitative methods can be combined is to gather more data than could be gathered if only one of them was used. When conducting interviews one could gather quantifiable data by measuring all kind of body data (movement frequency/amplitude, amount of sweat, body temperature, frequency of blinking etc.), and analysing it with quantitative methods, while also gathering data which can be analysed by qualitative methods (the answers to the questions etc.) By doing this new knowledge can be synthesised from the combination of the separate results. This can possibly take more time than just analysing the data using one method, but that would yield different knowledge.
As I reflected on during theme 5 the design of prototypes can be used in research to answer research questions and gain knowledge. The design process itself can be the empirical data of a research (how the prototype is changed, because of what it changes, what works and what does not work in this specific context etc). Usage of a prototype or how it provokes things in its surroundings can also be the empirical data of a design research.
The design research method of gaining empirical data can be combined with a case study for example where a specific group tests each iteration of the design.
To make a research contribution, as the lecturer Anders Lundström said, the empirical data gained from the design work must be analysed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods.
I think what Paul Feyerabend said about that anything goes when conducting research was true. If you follow guidelines or frameworks too strictly there is a great deal of alternate approaches which could yield better results that will go unused, and we’re then left with faulty models of the world because the methods that could result in a paradigm shift are left unused.
A paradigm shift is what happens when an old theory is disproved by a new one and we have to formulate new theories based on the new one, thus creating a different model of the world.
An example of this that has been brought up many times during this course is the Copernican revolution where the research of Copernicus disproved the geocentric model of the universe and replaced it with the heliocentric model which we have today. If Copernicus would have used the same methods that his fellow researchers used he might have not come up with the model that led us to where we are today, and instead continued the search for complex mathematical models that explained how the other celestial bodies revolved around Earth.
With this in mind I think that researchers are free to use methods and combinations of methods that are not widely used or haven’t really been used or thought of yet in order to see if the results will lead to progress in our understanding of the world. No praxis in the research community should keep researchers from trying to make revolutionary findings.
Nothing can be seen as objectively true and so we have to keep on prodding the world to find out more and keep on creating improved models of it.
That’s it for me.
Thanks for now; have a good time reading my comments below!
Case Studies
One subject I have read about and reflected on is case studies. Case studies are a great way of conducting research while combining different methods to answer complex research questions.I would say that a case study is not a research method in the same sense as qualitative and quantitative methods but rather a method to gather data about the case at hand. The data then has to be analysed by quantitative and/or qualitative research methods for the researchers to be able to formulate a theory about the subject.
Examples of combining qualitative and quantitative methods
Are case studies the only research studies where different methods are used in conjunction to answer research questions? No, far from it; a great deal of research conducted use a combination of methods in pursuit of knowledge and answers. For example, when designing a study it can be wise to use qualitative methods to find out ways the study could be improved, and quantitative methods can be used to find out if the study yields satisfactory data. The study itself can then use any combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, which I will discuss next.There are many examples of how qualitative and quantitative methods can be combined. One could use qualitative research methods such as open-ended questions in conjunction with quantitative methods to catch information that would otherwise be missed in a purely quantitative research—you can for example find out that some participants in your study did something (that you hadn’t thought about beforehand) that invalidates the data gathered from them.
Another example of how quantitative and qualitative methods can be combined is to gather more data than could be gathered if only one of them was used. When conducting interviews one could gather quantifiable data by measuring all kind of body data (movement frequency/amplitude, amount of sweat, body temperature, frequency of blinking etc.), and analysing it with quantitative methods, while also gathering data which can be analysed by qualitative methods (the answers to the questions etc.) By doing this new knowledge can be synthesised from the combination of the separate results. This can possibly take more time than just analysing the data using one method, but that would yield different knowledge.
Design Research
Design research is another area where a combination of different methods can help answer complex research questions.As I reflected on during theme 5 the design of prototypes can be used in research to answer research questions and gain knowledge. The design process itself can be the empirical data of a research (how the prototype is changed, because of what it changes, what works and what does not work in this specific context etc). Usage of a prototype or how it provokes things in its surroundings can also be the empirical data of a design research.
The design research method of gaining empirical data can be combined with a case study for example where a specific group tests each iteration of the design.
To make a research contribution, as the lecturer Anders Lundström said, the empirical data gained from the design work must be analysed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods.
Freedom
To be able to make a substantial knowledge contribution on does not have to follow strict guidelines and frameworks which tells you what methods to use and how they can be combined.I think what Paul Feyerabend said about that anything goes when conducting research was true. If you follow guidelines or frameworks too strictly there is a great deal of alternate approaches which could yield better results that will go unused, and we’re then left with faulty models of the world because the methods that could result in a paradigm shift are left unused.
A paradigm shift is what happens when an old theory is disproved by a new one and we have to formulate new theories based on the new one, thus creating a different model of the world.
An example of this that has been brought up many times during this course is the Copernican revolution where the research of Copernicus disproved the geocentric model of the universe and replaced it with the heliocentric model which we have today. If Copernicus would have used the same methods that his fellow researchers used he might have not come up with the model that led us to where we are today, and instead continued the search for complex mathematical models that explained how the other celestial bodies revolved around Earth.
With this in mind I think that researchers are free to use methods and combinations of methods that are not widely used or haven’t really been used or thought of yet in order to see if the results will lead to progress in our understanding of the world. No praxis in the research community should keep researchers from trying to make revolutionary findings.
Nothing can be seen as objectively true and so we have to keep on prodding the world to find out more and keep on creating improved models of it.
That’s it for me.
Thanks for now; have a good time reading my comments below!
