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!
Comments
Theme 1
▶
▶
▶
▶
▶
I also found it enlightening when it was explained that A&H were addressing culture and society in the form of American consumerism, and Benjamin saw things from a more positive and naïve point of view.
It's great that you talk about art for mass vs art for money and how it affects enlightenment.
You are right about how mass production of art decreases the aura of the original art object, but at the same time gives the common people more power.
Well reflected!
Great explanation of nominalism.
The example of the horse is a good example of the revolutionary potential of culture and technology, where it can change our perception of something.
I would have liked to know about more stuff you learnt during the week, like what you learned about about aura or other subjects brought up by Adorno & Horkheimer and Benjamin.
Hi!
This week really felt easier than the first one for me as well.
The way of using Plato's view on realism to help explain nominalism and it's connection to enlightenment is great.
I agree that it's very important to know of where the authors were in space and time when they wrote their texts to get why they thought as they did about culture.
You summarised the week in a great way!
Great reflection!
The way fascism inherits from nominalism was interesting, and your summarisation of A&H and Benjamin's thoughts about art's revolutionary potential was really good.
I think your explanation of aura is a little bit simplified since I believe it's about the uniqueness of objects. A new art object can have as much aura as an old one, it's only when they are reproduced that the aura is reduced.
Hello!
I too think that it was fundamental to know about the author's situation when they wrote their texts to really grasp their real meaning.
That enlightenment is complemented by nominalism was a great insight.
You explain what Benjamin and Adorno & Horkheimer thought about the revolutionary potential of culture in an easy to understand way, and your explanation of aura was great!
Good summary of the week and I like that you brought up that the papers we read only discussed theory in a specific discipline.
Hi!
I enjoyed reading your reflection, and I agree that reading a paper from a journal of our own choosing was the best part of the week.
I think that most of us considered it a bit difficult to charecterize the theories used in the papers since it's not something we haven't done before.
I like that you bring up that you discussed how many factors come into play when trying to define theory.
I like how you say that we use theories as a framework for research, and your description of hypotheses is great.
What you say about truth and that it's relative is a really good summarisation of a big part of this week's theme, in my opinion. The greatest "leaps" forward in science has been when what was believed to be the "truth" was proven false and a new way forward was opened up.
Well written reflection!
I like that you bring up the black swan theory and your further explanations of truth and its relation to theory. The other examples you bring up are great and conveys what you want to say in a clear way.
I would like to know more about what your view of hypotheses is after this week.
As you say, theory is not the absolute truth but it is the best explanation we've got in this position in time and space. If some new theory is brought forth that disproves the theories we have today, that theory will be our new "truth".
This means that the theories we have are used as a framework for research, and can be illustrated as a skyscraper we are building:
New theories based on those we have will be added to the skyscraper of theories, but if a theory that disproves one of the "base" theories—which we've built other theories upon—comes along, we have to wreck part of the skyscraper and start building from the new base.
Cheers!
I agree with what you say in the last paragraph; the context is important to have in mind since, for example, the time the data was gathered or analysed can have an impact, among many different factors.
Your example from the seminar about quantitative vs qualitative methods and tastes in food was great, but I'm not sure i fully agree with you about the need to use qualitative methods as soon as opinions are of interest. However, I get your point.
I like that you came to the conclusion that quantitative and qualitative methods are complimentary, and that you can use qualitative methods while designing your research.
When you brought up your example with the picture I came to think about how the data you analyse isn't 'true' since the 'picture' will differ depending on many variables such as time, who took the picture, what was used to take it etc.
To reflect on your example, I think you still have to analyse the objective data you extract from the image when using quantitative methods. What you say about extracting deeper data about a specific part is a great explanation of qualitative methods, in my opinion.
I like the different examples you bring up of when to use one method or the other.
It really is good to have knowledge of different methods and how they fit for different questions and cases, so you don’t refrain from using one just because ju have a preferance for the other. The importance of designing methods so your participants don’t alter their behaviour, or at the very least having the possible change of behaviour in mind when analysing data, is great to have in mind.
Great summarisation and reflection!
I think it's great that you read "Methods in empirical research of communication", did they have anything interesting to say that wasn't discussed in class?
I like that you bring up that qualitative research is not more subjective than quantitative since I believe it's common for people to think it is.
After reading all the papers in this course, going to the lectures and discussing at the seminars I feel I have much more knowledge on how to write a good research paper than I had when writing my bachelor's thesis, it would be interesting to hear what everyone else in this course feel. Can you see some of the mistakes you made before or what you could have done better now?
Hello!
I found your reflection interesting, especially that you discussed what you had done in your bachelor studies during the seminar.
I was also familiar with quantitative and qualitative research methods before this week, but I feel that there is alway something new to learn and our knowledge of the different research methods can alwlays be improved.
About the second lecture, I also think that an important part of it was that design in itself is not a knowledge contribution, but when the data gathered during the design process is analysed we get a knowledge contribution.
Great summary of the week's theme.
I think a large part about coming up with great ideas is having a lot of knowledge that you then can see connections between. This knowledge can be gained through for example the intake of earlier research or by prototyping.
I agree with you, and the lecturer, that prototypes are used as something that provokes to gain more knowledge, and that this directs the research process. This design process is then analysed and evaluated so that you are able to make a knowledge contribution.
Hello!
You summarised the week very well, and I enjoyed reading your reflections on the subjects brought up.
The part about securing funding through a proof of concept and pitching it the right way was interesting to me as well. It's good to have that in mind as early as possible, since you won't get any resources when doing something completely new and innovative if you can't show those who have the resources why it's so great.
It's great that you bring up that the process in design research can be considered the empirical data.
Hello!
I completely agree with your sentiment that it would have been great to pilot our research designs for our bachelor theses, since so much small errors really get in your way when conducting "poorly" designed research. I piloted my questionnaire, but not some of the other integral parts of my research which in hindsight wasn't perfect.
As others has said your distinction between the use of prototypes in industry and research doesn't really agree with my view. The use of prototypes can, in my opinion, be the same between the two, but I guess that it's more common in research to use prototypes just as a provocation to gain new knowledge and it doesn't have to solve any problems.
Great summary of some of the key concepts from the week's lectures, as well as some insightful reflections!
I agree with you on the point that all research shouldn't be motivated by how much money there is to make from providing a solution to a problem. Industrial research kind of has to be, but academic research shouldn't. Another part of Haibo's lecture that involved money was that you have to get funding for your research, and to get it you can for example produce a proof of concept and—probably most importantly—"sell" it in a good way by doing as the entrepreneur he spoke about.
I like that you bring up the way design research process steers the researcher towards the real problem.
I think it's great that you've gained new insights about case studies, and by reading your reflection I can see some things more clearly now than I did before.
Ilias' example about the person with a rare disease is a very good example. I would like to add that when doing a case study one does not have to follow any particular guidelines since it may not be any knowledge about the case beforehand and too strict guidelines can be inhibiting on the research. Of course you will have to gather data and analyse it in a way that is verifiable etc, but since—as you say—it's often an investigation of a new, interesting and different case than what has been researched before I think "anything goes".
Good job!
Hello!
I love what you say about the number of participants in a study not having a determining effect on whether it can be qualitative or quantitiative; too many have preconceptions about this.
Regarding case studies, I don't think you have to draw a line between case studies and qualitative methods. Since "case study" isn't a method in itself you will have to use either qualitative, quantitative or some other methods when analysing the data gathered in the case study. I agree on the other points you bring up, though.
Keep up the good work!
Hello!
Feyerabend's thoughts stuck with me after the seminar as well. I really liked his points and how it ties to case studies where no previous frameworks may exist etc, but the research methods you use may restrict the research if not used with care.
Great summary and reflection on what we learned about case studies this week, I feel like we had a similar experience for this theme.
Hi!
I enjoyed reading your reflection. You explanation, in your pre-reflection, of what a case study is was good, but I agree that it's easier to get the gist of case studies with the explanation provided here.
The example with Sephora seems like a great example of what a case study can be like, and sounds interesting.
▶
▶
▶
▶
Theme 2
Hello!I also found it enlightening when it was explained that A&H were addressing culture and society in the form of American consumerism, and Benjamin saw things from a more positive and naïve point of view.
It's great that you talk about art for mass vs art for money and how it affects enlightenment.
You are right about how mass production of art decreases the aura of the original art object, but at the same time gives the common people more power.
Well reflected!
Great explanation of nominalism.
The example of the horse is a good example of the revolutionary potential of culture and technology, where it can change our perception of something.
I would have liked to know about more stuff you learnt during the week, like what you learned about about aura or other subjects brought up by Adorno & Horkheimer and Benjamin.
Hi!
This week really felt easier than the first one for me as well.
The way of using Plato's view on realism to help explain nominalism and it's connection to enlightenment is great.
I agree that it's very important to know of where the authors were in space and time when they wrote their texts to get why they thought as they did about culture.
You summarised the week in a great way!
Great reflection!
The way fascism inherits from nominalism was interesting, and your summarisation of A&H and Benjamin's thoughts about art's revolutionary potential was really good.
I think your explanation of aura is a little bit simplified since I believe it's about the uniqueness of objects. A new art object can have as much aura as an old one, it's only when they are reproduced that the aura is reduced.
Hello!
I too think that it was fundamental to know about the author's situation when they wrote their texts to really grasp their real meaning.
That enlightenment is complemented by nominalism was a great insight.
You explain what Benjamin and Adorno & Horkheimer thought about the revolutionary potential of culture in an easy to understand way, and your explanation of aura was great!
Theme 3
I think it’s great that you came to a conclusion on what theory is, and its distinction from a hypothesis. I would like to add to your explanation of a hyphothesis that it should be falsifiable (capable of being tested by experiment or observation) to be of use in most research.Good summary of the week and I like that you brought up that the papers we read only discussed theory in a specific discipline.
Hi!
I enjoyed reading your reflection, and I agree that reading a paper from a journal of our own choosing was the best part of the week.
I think that most of us considered it a bit difficult to charecterize the theories used in the papers since it's not something we haven't done before.
I like that you bring up that you discussed how many factors come into play when trying to define theory.
I like how you say that we use theories as a framework for research, and your description of hypotheses is great.
What you say about truth and that it's relative is a really good summarisation of a big part of this week's theme, in my opinion. The greatest "leaps" forward in science has been when what was believed to be the "truth" was proven false and a new way forward was opened up.
Well written reflection!
I like that you bring up the black swan theory and your further explanations of truth and its relation to theory. The other examples you bring up are great and conveys what you want to say in a clear way.
I would like to know more about what your view of hypotheses is after this week.
As you say, theory is not the absolute truth but it is the best explanation we've got in this position in time and space. If some new theory is brought forth that disproves the theories we have today, that theory will be our new "truth".
This means that the theories we have are used as a framework for research, and can be illustrated as a skyscraper we are building:
New theories based on those we have will be added to the skyscraper of theories, but if a theory that disproves one of the "base" theories—which we've built other theories upon—comes along, we have to wreck part of the skyscraper and start building from the new base.
Cheers!
Theme 4
Interesting reflection!I agree with what you say in the last paragraph; the context is important to have in mind since, for example, the time the data was gathered or analysed can have an impact, among many different factors.
Your example from the seminar about quantitative vs qualitative methods and tastes in food was great, but I'm not sure i fully agree with you about the need to use qualitative methods as soon as opinions are of interest. However, I get your point.
I like that you came to the conclusion that quantitative and qualitative methods are complimentary, and that you can use qualitative methods while designing your research.
When you brought up your example with the picture I came to think about how the data you analyse isn't 'true' since the 'picture' will differ depending on many variables such as time, who took the picture, what was used to take it etc.
To reflect on your example, I think you still have to analyse the objective data you extract from the image when using quantitative methods. What you say about extracting deeper data about a specific part is a great explanation of qualitative methods, in my opinion.
I like the different examples you bring up of when to use one method or the other.
It really is good to have knowledge of different methods and how they fit for different questions and cases, so you don’t refrain from using one just because ju have a preferance for the other. The importance of designing methods so your participants don’t alter their behaviour, or at the very least having the possible change of behaviour in mind when analysing data, is great to have in mind.
Great summarisation and reflection!
I think it's great that you read "Methods in empirical research of communication", did they have anything interesting to say that wasn't discussed in class?
I like that you bring up that qualitative research is not more subjective than quantitative since I believe it's common for people to think it is.
After reading all the papers in this course, going to the lectures and discussing at the seminars I feel I have much more knowledge on how to write a good research paper than I had when writing my bachelor's thesis, it would be interesting to hear what everyone else in this course feel. Can you see some of the mistakes you made before or what you could have done better now?
Hello!
I found your reflection interesting, especially that you discussed what you had done in your bachelor studies during the seminar.
I was also familiar with quantitative and qualitative research methods before this week, but I feel that there is alway something new to learn and our knowledge of the different research methods can alwlays be improved.
Theme 5
I think it's interesting that you focused on ideas, went more into detail about what ideas are than was done in the first lecture and that you discussed ideas in a general sense as well as how it relates to academic research.About the second lecture, I also think that an important part of it was that design in itself is not a knowledge contribution, but when the data gathered during the design process is analysed we get a knowledge contribution.
Great summary of the week's theme.
I think a large part about coming up with great ideas is having a lot of knowledge that you then can see connections between. This knowledge can be gained through for example the intake of earlier research or by prototyping.
I agree with you, and the lecturer, that prototypes are used as something that provokes to gain more knowledge, and that this directs the research process. This design process is then analysed and evaluated so that you are able to make a knowledge contribution.
Hello!
You summarised the week very well, and I enjoyed reading your reflections on the subjects brought up.
The part about securing funding through a proof of concept and pitching it the right way was interesting to me as well. It's good to have that in mind as early as possible, since you won't get any resources when doing something completely new and innovative if you can't show those who have the resources why it's so great.
It's great that you bring up that the process in design research can be considered the empirical data.
Hello!
I completely agree with your sentiment that it would have been great to pilot our research designs for our bachelor theses, since so much small errors really get in your way when conducting "poorly" designed research. I piloted my questionnaire, but not some of the other integral parts of my research which in hindsight wasn't perfect.
As others has said your distinction between the use of prototypes in industry and research doesn't really agree with my view. The use of prototypes can, in my opinion, be the same between the two, but I guess that it's more common in research to use prototypes just as a provocation to gain new knowledge and it doesn't have to solve any problems.
Great summary of some of the key concepts from the week's lectures, as well as some insightful reflections!
I agree with you on the point that all research shouldn't be motivated by how much money there is to make from providing a solution to a problem. Industrial research kind of has to be, but academic research shouldn't. Another part of Haibo's lecture that involved money was that you have to get funding for your research, and to get it you can for example produce a proof of concept and—probably most importantly—"sell" it in a good way by doing as the entrepreneur he spoke about.
I like that you bring up the way design research process steers the researcher towards the real problem.
Theme 6
Great reflection on what defines a case study and what it can be used for. I like that you bring up that we don't have to follow a specific method; I believe that if you do follow specific methods your research can become too constrained and the knowledge gained won't be of as great value as it could be if you were to "think outside the box".I think it's great that you've gained new insights about case studies, and by reading your reflection I can see some things more clearly now than I did before.
Ilias' example about the person with a rare disease is a very good example. I would like to add that when doing a case study one does not have to follow any particular guidelines since it may not be any knowledge about the case beforehand and too strict guidelines can be inhibiting on the research. Of course you will have to gather data and analyse it in a way that is verifiable etc, but since—as you say—it's often an investigation of a new, interesting and different case than what has been researched before I think "anything goes".
Good job!
Hello!
I love what you say about the number of participants in a study not having a determining effect on whether it can be qualitative or quantitiative; too many have preconceptions about this.
Regarding case studies, I don't think you have to draw a line between case studies and qualitative methods. Since "case study" isn't a method in itself you will have to use either qualitative, quantitative or some other methods when analysing the data gathered in the case study. I agree on the other points you bring up, though.
Keep up the good work!
Hello!
Feyerabend's thoughts stuck with me after the seminar as well. I really liked his points and how it ties to case studies where no previous frameworks may exist etc, but the research methods you use may restrict the research if not used with care.
Great summary and reflection on what we learned about case studies this week, I feel like we had a similar experience for this theme.
Hi!
I enjoyed reading your reflection. You explanation, in your pre-reflection, of what a case study is was good, but I agree that it's easier to get the gist of case studies with the explanation provided here.
The example with Sephora seems like a great example of what a case study can be like, and sounds interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment