The course has now ended and I will reflect on the purpose of this course and what it has taught me about theory and method. during this course I had difficulties seeing how all the different themes were connected and interrelated with each other. I’ve gone back and read through all my previous postings and now at the end of the course I have been able to take a step back and start to reflect on how these different themes really goes together. The themes are connected and gives you a wider perspective on different methods on understanding, questioning and solving problems. Looking at all the courses as whole has gained me a clearer understanding and shows that themes are connected to each other and has given us new insight and knowledge on how to tackle different problems or questions.
Starting from the beginning of the course, one of the main central concept was a priori. Which explained how to obtain knowledge independently of experience. This has been a occasionally upcoming concept throughout the course and following themes. The first theme has been a good start to start reflecting about where knowledge derives from and how we obtain it. It made me open up my mind to new ways of thinking and questioning things in order to help see them from a different perspective. I felt that it was a good theme to start of with since it also made me connect more to a philosophical reasoning which is something that I have not done that much in my other courses. You need to be able to open your mind to new perspective in order to gain new knowledge and for this a more philosophical thinking is a perfect way to begin with. The first theme purpose was to reflect on why we perceive the world as we do and we learned this by reading about Kant and Plato’s text. Reflecting on why perceive the world as we do is a big topic and a well suited question to make us reflect upon greater things that may or may not have straight correct answers according to different perspectives and mentalities. Another thing about the first theme was due to the literature given to us to read was on a higher level than I am used to I had difficulties understanding everything as a whole and reflect upon it. This led to me extending my literature to new sources in order to gain a deeper understanding of some concept that were harder to grasp. Extending my sources and making my own source research early on in the course showed me that different explanations can be more helpful than limiting yourself to the course literature.
Theory and hypothesis was another concept during this course that felt was central. How a theory distinguish from hypothesis is important and was well explained in this course. A theory is something that is built on a hypothesis that can be tested and a hypothesis is something you can reason and argue about. The concepts were also mentioned and used in the others themes which made it good that we already had gained knowledge about them to be able to gain a deeper understanding about the other concepts in the other themes. One these concepts were case studies. Case studies was a relatively new concept to me and my understanding of it during the pre post was greatly enhanced after the theme which is shown in my post posting. Case studies are more efficiently when researching a rare and unexplored phenomena but less efficient when you are trying to prove a theory and test a hypothesis. My knowledge about hypothesis made me realize why a case study is more suitable for research within an unexplored field. The reason is that a hypothesis can not be made within this unexplored field since there is not enough knowledge about the field prior the case study to make a hypothesis since you can not reason around the phenomena that you still do not understand or know much about.
How or what method should be used is another main concept we have talked about in this course. The discussions on methods such as qualitative and quantitative research and research strategies has been a more practical learning than philosophical. By having read the literature and participated in seminars and lectures it was easier to understand how to find methods to solve problems by having multiple perspective. From having learned how to gain knowledge and what it is, the learning on how to take the data we already had a priori and find new knowledge was enhanced.
To sum it up, in order to find solutions to complex research question one must not depend on finding the answer but understanding the best way to solve it. In order to understand a problem you need to be able to define the problem through different perspectives giving you multiple new angles on the problem. And in order to define the problem you need to go all the way back to the first question what is knowledge and what is the aim of the study. As Haibo Li mentioned in a lecture you need to spend 90% of your time in defining the problem and the rest on solving it. By looking at a problem from multiple angles in a research the solution will be better and easier to find. When trying to solve complex research question methods can be combined gaining the research with greater and deeper knowledge. The important thing is to find the methods that complements each other and are useful. This is the main thing I have learned throughout this course and will have in use in the future.
fredag 30 oktober 2015
Compiled comments
THEME 6
Hi,
I agree with you on case studies being efficient but not always! Case studies are for example efficient when researching a rare unexplored phenomena but less efficient when you are trying to to prove a theory or test a hypothesis. When you talk about questionnaires I believe you mean it being a quantitative method? Qualitative refers to methods where you can achieve a deeper and broader knowledge about the participants through for example interviews.
Nice conclusion at the end. You could also add that case studies also provides you with tools needed to further investigate and gain knowledge for further research within that field.
Good job!
http://cloudsong223.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6after.html?showComment=1445523029165
Hi,
well written and interesting reflection. I think you have amnaged to bring up the key points from this week. What makes your reflection most interesting is that you mention that the number of participants doesn't matter. I agree with you on that it is only the method that decides whether it was a quantitative or qualitative method. This was something new to me as well. But I feel that you did a good job explaining it. Just to add on your case study reflection the studies focuses on something specific and looks to find something that distinguish it. Would have been fun what it was that you did not understand from previous about case studies.
http://elindm2572.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6-reflections.html?showComment=1445873283280
well written and interesting reflection. I think you have amnaged to bring up the key points from this week. What makes your reflection most interesting is that you mention that the number of participants doesn't matter. I agree with you on that it is only the method that decides whether it was a quantitative or qualitative method. This was something new to me as well. But I feel that you did a good job explaining it. Just to add on your case study reflection the studies focuses on something specific and looks to find something that distinguish it. Would have been fun what it was that you did not understand from previous about case studies.
http://elindm2572.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6-reflections.html?showComment=1445873283280
Hi,
I experienced the same feelings towards this theme. Case studies was the hardest part to grasp for me as well. As I understood it a case study is not the same as a qualitative nor quantitative study. A case study is a research strategy rather than a research method. But it can use the research method such as qualitative when conducting the study to help gain knowledge about the field investigated or a theory that can lead to understanding if it's worth further investigation. Otherwise great job on writing your last theme reflection! Keep up the good job on the last post this week!
http://ixxzw.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6-after.html?showComment=1445874430689#c5097048230162115111
I experienced the same feelings towards this theme. Case studies was the hardest part to grasp for me as well. As I understood it a case study is not the same as a qualitative nor quantitative study. A case study is a research strategy rather than a research method. But it can use the research method such as qualitative when conducting the study to help gain knowledge about the field investigated or a theory that can lead to understanding if it's worth further investigation. Otherwise great job on writing your last theme reflection! Keep up the good job on the last post this week!
http://ixxzw.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6-after.html?showComment=1445874430689#c5097048230162115111
Hi!
thanks for sharing your interesting reflection. I totally agree on case studies being the hardest part to fully grasp. But you managed to point some good points. To add to that a case study is conducted to show if there is a possibility to see if there is more to investigate and gain knowledge on how to further develop your conducted research. You have a done a good job explaining qualitative studies in a easy way for me to understand and agree upon. Keep it up!
http://dm2572lisa.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6-reflection-post.html?showComment=1445874098136#c365077814472838227
Hi!
It's been interesting reading your reflection. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods in a case study is something that was not discussed during our seminar. Very interesting to read about. I do believe that they are very useful toI would like to add that I don't believe it is comparable to a quantitative or qualitative method but more as a strategy approach for a research.
Keep it up!
http://reb2572.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/post-theme-6.html?showComment=1445873803601#c1059275852324900061
Hi! I feel that you have understood the last theme very well and made a good reflection. It's important as you say that a method does not define a case study. A case study is a research strategy where you can use the methods as a guidance and help during the investigation process. I really like your connection to 9/11 as a good example for a case study. To add to your thoughts on that, 9/11 was a rare attack and therefor something that is good to be investigated with a case study. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
http://u1ifqcuc.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study.html?showComment=1445875692973#c8713761417034206531
http://u1ifqcuc.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study.html?showComment=1445875692973#c8713761417034206531
Hi!
I like how you have divided your post into qualitative research and case studies, makes it really easy to follow your thoughts. Something I found to be interesting from our seminar is that case studies are not only used to develop new theories as you mentioned but also to gain knowledge about a field. This makes case studies a good tool to use if you would like to investigates something that you would like to more about since case studies are about investigating the full complexity of a field. When you say stand out, do you mean that you should choose a study about something that stands out or is rare? In that case I agree, but I'm not sure about the case study having to stand out.
http://fromplatotocasestudies.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6-reflections.html?showComment=1445875289238#c9192742748870439473
Hi,
I agree with you on missing the seminars since I felt that they gave me a better and deeper understanding of some hard concepts in previous themes. You have done a good job pointing out the main points from Haibo’s lecture, but I do feel you could have further elaborated on your own thoughts about it. I also felt that the bear example was a good one to make us understand that new perspectives brings out new solutions.
Sorry to hear that you missed the second lecture. What I felt where the main concepts was why prototypes are useful and that the research purpose is to gain knowledge, so it does not need to solve anything. He also mentioned that it is not a method that conduct something into a research, but the analysis.
Keep it up!
https://tmmkappa.wordpress.com/2015/10/11/theme-5-post-reflection-2/comment-page-1/#comment-27
Hi!
You have managed to write a great reflection really pointing out the key concepts and things about this theme. I like how you also manage to connect to previous themes and learning. It reminds me as well and helps connect a few things. It's really interesting that you explain Why a case study can not be based on a hypothesis being because it doesn't have enough knowledge about the field prior the case study to make a hypothesis. This was something I had not fully understood, I knew that they could not be based on hypothesis but not why. Thanks for sharing that.
http://denise-theoryandmethod.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study_19.html?showComment=1445877309207#c3951740357053576657
Hi!
I can really relate to your thoughts on thinking that Ilias stating it is not the number of participants that defines a method being quantitative or qualitative, but rather how the research is conducted and by which methods. That helped me understand the difference better. We also had examples of when a research can be quantitative but yet only applied to only one participants. For example if one were to have a very rare decease. Just to add on your thoughts about case study, yes they are often used to create new theories but they don't necessary need to do this they can also only be about gaining new knowledge and opening up to further investigation. Keep up the good work for the last posting!!
http://remarkableathenianyouth.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/post-qualitative-research-or-its-all-in.html?showComment=1445876083172#c5062573903489078331
I like how you have divided your post into qualitative research and case studies, makes it really easy to follow your thoughts. Something I found to be interesting from our seminar is that case studies are not only used to develop new theories as you mentioned but also to gain knowledge about a field. This makes case studies a good tool to use if you would like to investigates something that you would like to more about since case studies are about investigating the full complexity of a field. When you say stand out, do you mean that you should choose a study about something that stands out or is rare? In that case I agree, but I'm not sure about the case study having to stand out.
http://fromplatotocasestudies.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6-reflections.html?showComment=1445875289238#c9192742748870439473
Hi,
I agree with you on missing the seminars since I felt that they gave me a better and deeper understanding of some hard concepts in previous themes. You have done a good job pointing out the main points from Haibo’s lecture, but I do feel you could have further elaborated on your own thoughts about it. I also felt that the bear example was a good one to make us understand that new perspectives brings out new solutions.
Sorry to hear that you missed the second lecture. What I felt where the main concepts was why prototypes are useful and that the research purpose is to gain knowledge, so it does not need to solve anything. He also mentioned that it is not a method that conduct something into a research, but the analysis.
Keep it up!
https://tmmkappa.wordpress.com/2015/10/11/theme-5-post-reflection-2/comment-page-1/#comment-27
Hi!
You have managed to write a great reflection really pointing out the key concepts and things about this theme. I like how you also manage to connect to previous themes and learning. It reminds me as well and helps connect a few things. It's really interesting that you explain Why a case study can not be based on a hypothesis being because it doesn't have enough knowledge about the field prior the case study to make a hypothesis. This was something I had not fully understood, I knew that they could not be based on hypothesis but not why. Thanks for sharing that.
http://denise-theoryandmethod.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study_19.html?showComment=1445877309207#c3951740357053576657
Hi!
I can really relate to your thoughts on thinking that Ilias stating it is not the number of participants that defines a method being quantitative or qualitative, but rather how the research is conducted and by which methods. That helped me understand the difference better. We also had examples of when a research can be quantitative but yet only applied to only one participants. For example if one were to have a very rare decease. Just to add on your thoughts about case study, yes they are often used to create new theories but they don't necessary need to do this they can also only be about gaining new knowledge and opening up to further investigation. Keep up the good work for the last posting!!
http://remarkableathenianyouth.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/post-qualitative-research-or-its-all-in.html?showComment=1445876083172#c5062573903489078331
måndag 26 oktober 2015
måndag 19 oktober 2015
Post - Theme 6: Qualitative and case study research
This week’s theme was about qualitative and case study research. The plan was to have a lecture and a seminar after the pre posting. Unfortunately the lecture was cancelled and we only had a seminar. I felt that this affected my learning for this theme because I could only base the seminar on what I had read for the pre post and my own interpretations. A lecture would have been good to clear up some of the concepts that were hard to grasp, such as case study.
During the seminar my group discussed both qualitative and case studies that we had read about for the pre post. We talked about our qualitative study papers first. Most of what was said felt as a repetition from the previous theme about quantitative research where there was a question about qualitative methods. I feel that it would have been better having quantitative and qualitative research as one theme instead of splitting them up like this. Because in order to talk about quantitative it’s easier to also discuss qualitative to understand what differs and defines them as separate research methods. I feel that I already explained qualitative studies in a previous theme and the main purpose of it is to achieve a deeper and broader understanding of something. One thing that was new was that the number of participant does not define it being quantitative or qualitative. It’s the content that matters.
We later on discussed what case study research is and took turns in telling each other about the case studies we chose to read for the pre post. We mostly talked on how our papers fulfilled the 8 steps recommended in the literature. I didn’t feel that the smaller group discussion was enlightening, most of us had only our pre posting to base our discussion on and it felt as I didn’t get a clearer idea on what exactly a case study is. Although after the smaller group discussions Ilias talked during the second part and answered to questions such as what a case study is and when it’s good to use one. This part of the seminar felt more rewarding to me. I understood that the main purpose of case studies is to create a theory or rather gain knowledge and not confirming a theory. For example it’s profitable to conduct case studies when you have a field that is unknown or poorly researched that you want to investigate. They allow you to dig deeper and create a theory on the field you are researching. Ilias brought up some good things that I felt helped me understand the concept better. He said that a case study focuses on something specific and investigates what makes it stand out and differ. He also mention it being a good method of investigating a field to see if it's worth to further investigate. For example if a group of people were suddenly turned into robots you could pick up one of them to base your case study on. The case study would then provide you the tools to see if there is more to investigate and gain knowledge on how to further develop your conducted research.
I felt that understanding exactly what case studies are was the hardest part during this theme, but I feel that I have better understanding from my first posting.
During the seminar my group discussed both qualitative and case studies that we had read about for the pre post. We talked about our qualitative study papers first. Most of what was said felt as a repetition from the previous theme about quantitative research where there was a question about qualitative methods. I feel that it would have been better having quantitative and qualitative research as one theme instead of splitting them up like this. Because in order to talk about quantitative it’s easier to also discuss qualitative to understand what differs and defines them as separate research methods. I feel that I already explained qualitative studies in a previous theme and the main purpose of it is to achieve a deeper and broader understanding of something. One thing that was new was that the number of participant does not define it being quantitative or qualitative. It’s the content that matters.
We later on discussed what case study research is and took turns in telling each other about the case studies we chose to read for the pre post. We mostly talked on how our papers fulfilled the 8 steps recommended in the literature. I didn’t feel that the smaller group discussion was enlightening, most of us had only our pre posting to base our discussion on and it felt as I didn’t get a clearer idea on what exactly a case study is. Although after the smaller group discussions Ilias talked during the second part and answered to questions such as what a case study is and when it’s good to use one. This part of the seminar felt more rewarding to me. I understood that the main purpose of case studies is to create a theory or rather gain knowledge and not confirming a theory. For example it’s profitable to conduct case studies when you have a field that is unknown or poorly researched that you want to investigate. They allow you to dig deeper and create a theory on the field you are researching. Ilias brought up some good things that I felt helped me understand the concept better. He said that a case study focuses on something specific and investigates what makes it stand out and differ. He also mention it being a good method of investigating a field to see if it's worth to further investigate. For example if a group of people were suddenly turned into robots you could pick up one of them to base your case study on. The case study would then provide you the tools to see if there is more to investigate and gain knowledge on how to further develop your conducted research.
I felt that understanding exactly what case studies are was the hardest part during this theme, but I feel that I have better understanding from my first posting.
måndag 12 oktober 2015
Post: Theme 5 - Design research
This theme was quite different than the others. We only had lectures and no seminar. I felt that the lack of having a seminar will make this post different than my previous posts after the theme. I felt that after this theme, comparing to the previous themes, I only have my own reflection to base my knowledge and perception on. I think this have disadvantages since we did not get the chance to discuss our opinions with others therefore I’ll write this reflection mostly based on the lectures and some own thoughts. I do not feel that I have gained as much since this themes pre posting as I have on the first themes. I have also noticed them being less and less philosophical than the first themes.
Haibo Lee discussed the process from having an idea to developing a finished product. From his lecture the main point as I perceived was that the most important thing is to define a problem, after having done that finding a solution is the easy part. In fact he said you should put 90% effort into finding and defining the problem and the last 10% on coming up with a solution. He later on continued by talking about how you should reason when choosing, validating,evaluating and marketing your idea. I felt his guidelines were pretty straight forward and it wasn’t hard to grasp at all, mostly since it is not completely new information to me. Good lecture with good points and knowledge directly towards our engineering field.
In the other lecture with Anders Lundström he discussed the difference between two types of prototyping; industrial research prototyping and design research prototyping. I hard trouble grasping everything from Anders lecture, since it felt a bit unstructured. But what I did understand that I didn’t know earlier is that prototype itself does not have to be made in order to solve anything but they are also there to help gain knowledge. This is primarily applied to when using a design research.
I felt that a seminar for this theme would have been well needed. It would have been fun knowing how others perceived the lectures to be and the pre assignment, since I feel feelings could have differed which makes the discussion more interesting. Overall I felt this theme to be very interesting since it can be related to our engineering field, and could very much be something that I might use in a work situation.
söndag 11 oktober 2015
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