Theory and Method for Media Technology Final Blog Post
To answer
complex research questions is to achieve knowledge about the world and why it
is the way it is. Therefore, it is first important to have some idea of what
knowledge is. According to Bengt Molander, knowledge is drawing attention to
something previously unknown. Having gone through all the themes in this
course, I would add that knowledge is also reaching understanding of something
previously unknown.
Kant argues
that a priori synthetic knowledge exists – the 2 forms of intuition (time and
space) and the 12 categories of pure reason – and is even a necessary
precondition for gathering additional knowledge. It is important to note that
this a priori knowledge is not a property of things as they are in themselves,
but a structure of our minds that helps us experience the surrounding world. In
that sense, objective knowledge about things (as they are in themselves,
independently of our minds) does not exist. Benjamin also adds to that notion
by arguing that perception is also historically determined – we perceive things
differently depending on our previous experience, background, gender,
upbringing, religion, etc.
Theory,
another crucial element for answering a complex research question, is something
we construct, that does not exist by itself, in order to explain, analyze and/or predict a phenomenon or
event, or to offer instructions on how something should be done. Moreover, as
Dr Michael Patton states, theories point us to the things we should pay
attention to and why we should pay attention to them. Many studies are focused
on testing existing theories (deductive research) – if, and to what
extent, a theory holds to different groups of people, phenomena or events in
different circumstances and/or places around the world and at different
times.
Deductive research requires an extensive theoretical framework that explains why a particular occurance is worth analyzing and explaining, what knowledge has already been produced of that, or a similar, occurance, what is still unknown about it, what research method(s) would best fill the knowledge gaps, what existing knowledge will inform the interpretation of the research results, etc. Other research aims at constructing new theories that could explain novel occurances in the world (inductive research).
According to
Dr Patton, deductive research usualy uses quantitative methods and aims to
establish whether a theory can explain a different event, phenomenon or
behavior (focus is on the occurance), and when testing the generalizability of
a theory (focus is on generalizability). He states that one of the reasons for
doing hypothesis-testing research is that one of the main goals of science is
to generalize across time and space. As we have discussed, quantitative
methods, such as tests, experiments and interviews, seek to gather numerical
evidence from large amounts of data and, as such, are relatively objective in
comparison to qualitative methods, which are more subjective and depend on the interpretation
of the data by the author.
Qualitative
research, on the other hand, is more typical of studies that do not begin with
a particular theory or research question in mind, but rather focus on the
surrounding world and seek explanations and patterns in it that might help the
researcher construct a theory. Qualitative methods, however, are also used in
hypothesis-testing research when the author strives to gain a deeper
understanding of a smaller set of data and find subtle patterns that might point
to a theory or set of theories which might explain the occurance in focus.
Case studies
are a meta-method – a research strategy that makes use of both qualitative and
quantitative methods. They are usually conducted in relation to novel phenomena
what researchers want to shed light on and are, thus, not initiated with a
specific research question in mind, but rather with a very broad question that
might become more and more specific as the researcher acquires knowledge about
that phenomenon. For that reason case studies usually start out with the use of
qualitative methods on a small set of data, in order to first gain knowledge of
the aspect of the world that is in focus and construct some sort of theory that
might explain that aspect. Then, in a separate study, through the use of
quantitative methods, the researcher can see whether that theory holds to a
wider range of events, phenomena or groups of people (deductive research) by
examining a much larger sample.
Research
through design is a much newer
and very interesting method that
stands out. It involves the designing of a tangible
artifact that embodies the
theories that have informed a given study, as well as the
knowledge gathered (and mistakes made) by the researcher during the process of
conducting the study. In that
sense, design research is an approach in which the design process is itself the
research method; one that produces a superior form of knowledge that can be
experienced and felt – and, thus, enriches our imagination and perception, –
instead of just communicated verbally.
Nonetheless,
it is important that the design artifact is accompanied by text so that the
wider public can know what changes that artifact has undergone and why and what
went through the researcher’s mind during the design process. Research through design is usually
used when exploring
the interaction between a group of people and a piece of technology; when
striving to come up with a better design for a piece of technology; or when
exploring the process of technological design.
Of course, the
choice of research method absolutely depends on the question that is being
asked, as well as on the theoretical framework that serves as a spine for the
study. It’s also important to remember that the fruits of these methods (the
results) can be interpreted differently by different people because human
perception is inherently subjective. Therefore, the methodology has more weight
than the results it produces and, hence, its use has to be well-motivated and
carefully thought through, planned step by step and tested, the effectiveness of the approach – established, and the plan has to be followed every step of the way. That way readers can decide for themselves whether the results are worth trusting or not.
Theme 1
3. https://u11873yx.blogspot.se/2016/09/theme-1-theory-of-knowledge-and-theory_14.html?showComment=1474315277423#c3601924500663293709
4. https://u1c051gg.blogspot.se/2016/09/reflection-theory-of-knowledge-and.html?showComment=1474269512324#c506672495550574379
4. https://u1c051gg.blogspot.se/2016/09/reflection-theory-of-knowledge-and.html?showComment=1474269512324#c506672495550574379
5. https://u1eqtjc8.blogspot.se/2016/09/reflection-of-theme-1.html?showComment=1474267632246#c557927401097925080
6. https://u1kq1ay0.blogspot.se/2016/09/second-blog-post-theme-1-theory-of.html?showComment=1474274096933#c5797949254666620094
6. https://u1kq1ay0.blogspot.se/2016/09/second-blog-post-theme-1-theory-of.html?showComment=1474274096933#c5797949254666620094
7. https://u10o7oqf.blogspot.se/2016/09/theme-1-pt-2.html?showComment=1474293927471#c3811457970721636281
8. https://u12vkokq.blogspot.se/2016/09/reflections-on-theme-1-theory-of.html?showComment=1474311362901#c1140664199794979025
9. https://u1dn0y6t.blogspot.se/2016/09/post-reflection-theme-1.html?showComment=1474312878256#c7585772083609565938
10. https://pgd7117.blogspot.se/2016/09/theme-one.html?showComment=1474318726393#c3125998571705216137
Theme 2
1. https://u1j8du7c.blogspot.se/2016/09/theme-22.html?showComment=1474813800924#c9116456647173900941
Theme 3
1. https://dm2572-16.blogspot.se/2016/09/theme-32.html?showComment=1475478685049#c1291335490701170948
4. https://u1eqtjc8.blogspot.se/2016/09/theme-3-reflection.html?showComment=1475486635207#c255536597033667286
Theme 4
2. https://omg-dm2572.blogspot.se/2016/10/after-theme-4.html?showComment=1476121596178#c3917131440170820090
Theme 5