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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

1. https://u11zdo9t.blogspot.se/2016/09/theme-1-post-2.html?showComment=1474215456940#c6468861919524421621

2. https://u1h4muxc.blogspot.se/2016/09/theme-13.html?showComment=1474220583904

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

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