1. http://rchcc.blogspot.se/2015/10/reflection-of-theme6.html?showComment=1445592434807#c5228240931142206164
2. http://mediatechnologybycorinna.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study_19.html?showComment=1445594933702#c2637231636885271234
3. http://sannanodm2572.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-reflection.html?showComment=1445596050294#c3117201351535769164
4. http://dont-panic-forty-two.blogspot.se/2015/10/in-retrospect-theme-6-but-is-quality.html?showComment=1445597565204#c3624733027279260136
5. http://remarkableathenianyouth.blogspot.se/2015/10/post-qualitative-research-or-its-all-in.html?showComment=1445607052376#c4749989607359844135
Showing posts with label Theme 6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theme 6. Show all posts
Friday, October 23, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
Theme 6 - Reflection
For the last theme we investigated qualitative methods and case studies, and did so by once again reading articles using these techniques. Since we touched upon the subject of qualitativeness last week, we did not have much new to discuss. We did talk about objectivity again (a recurring theme!), and my argument was that it’s probably more difficult to be objective when doing a qualitative research using a more intimate approach, such as interviews, than investigating samples from afar where you can distance yourself. However, does one really have to be objective? I would argue that yes, scientific research would benefit from that, but then again, we have already noted that it probably is impossible to be entirely objective. And many articles does come with a personal analysis, so yeah.
We also talked about the definition of qualitative methods as being a research with a select few test subjects, as opposed to quantitative methods where there can be many test subjects. However, the conclusion was that this definition is false, as there can actually be quantitative researches where only one subject is used and qualitative researches where a lot of subjects are involved (which would probably require a bit more time to conduct though). An example of the first option could be a person who has a very rare illness, like “the only one in the world with that illness”-sort of rare, and you could do a quantitative research on that person where the biological levels for each day are used as samples.
Moving on to case studies. First off, we tried to define the term and got stuck since the line between a case study and any other study is a bit blurry. I mean, for every research there is a case being investigated, right? Furthermore, I was under the impression that a case study was about watching test subjects do something, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case either. After discussing a bit we decided that case studies is a method investigating the specifics. It’s also about finding out new things, and not about proving old theories. In that aspect, case studies are also a good way to begin a research and establish a theory which you can further investigate using quantitative and qualitative measures. Ilias had a rather funny example where strange purple people wearing visual headgear suddenly appear and walk around on the street. We don’t know what questions to ask them, so instead we go around and take of their headgears to see what’s underneath first.
To summarize this week and the previous, I think that I’ve actually learned a lot, even though I previously thought that I already knew enough about all these terms and subjects. There is always more knowledge to acquire, and different ways to perceive things, which is important to acknowledge in whatever business field we choose in the future.
We also talked about the definition of qualitative methods as being a research with a select few test subjects, as opposed to quantitative methods where there can be many test subjects. However, the conclusion was that this definition is false, as there can actually be quantitative researches where only one subject is used and qualitative researches where a lot of subjects are involved (which would probably require a bit more time to conduct though). An example of the first option could be a person who has a very rare illness, like “the only one in the world with that illness”-sort of rare, and you could do a quantitative research on that person where the biological levels for each day are used as samples.
Moving on to case studies. First off, we tried to define the term and got stuck since the line between a case study and any other study is a bit blurry. I mean, for every research there is a case being investigated, right? Furthermore, I was under the impression that a case study was about watching test subjects do something, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case either. After discussing a bit we decided that case studies is a method investigating the specifics. It’s also about finding out new things, and not about proving old theories. In that aspect, case studies are also a good way to begin a research and establish a theory which you can further investigate using quantitative and qualitative measures. Ilias had a rather funny example where strange purple people wearing visual headgear suddenly appear and walk around on the street. We don’t know what questions to ask them, so instead we go around and take of their headgears to see what’s underneath first.
To summarize this week and the previous, I think that I’ve actually learned a lot, even though I previously thought that I already knew enough about all these terms and subjects. There is always more knowledge to acquire, and different ways to perceive things, which is important to acknowledge in whatever business field we choose in the future.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Theme 6: Qualitative and case study research
The assignment for this week was to chose a research article which uses qualitative methods, something that was easier said than done since it would seem like quantitative methods are more popular for some reason. Anyways, after some googling I found “A Qualitative Examination of the Impact of Social Media on Media Relations Practice“ by Dustin W. Supa, which analyses how social media has affected the relationship between journalists and PR-professionals.
In order to do this, the author has chosen to conduct semi-structured interviews with people from both professions. He mentions that there has been quantitative research about this before, but that the aim of this paper is to get a better understanding and fill in some gaps, which it actually manages to do it would seem. The results were that the PR-people thought that social media aided in establishing better relationships with the journalists, which leads to more trust and, ultimately, better business. What this particular research also noticed was that the journalists did not agree fully, as the majority thought that the rise of social media hadn’t really changed much of the relationship. One journalist stated that “it’s another medium they [the PR-people] use to bug me” (Supa p.6), which I think is hilarious.
After having read the article, I would say that qualitative methods really are good to use, as it did give more detailed information about the subject which had not been brought up before. As was discussed last week, the disadvantage of quantitative research is that the answers are limited to the questions, which may result in lost additional information or incorrect generalization. By conducting interviews and asking follow-up questions, things like this can be prevented. The limitation with using qualitative methods is that the interviewer has to be skilled enough to conduct them correctly, and not affect the results with personal opinions which might sometimes be difficult.
After having read the article, I would say that qualitative methods really are good to use, as it did give more detailed information about the subject which had not been brought up before. As was discussed last week, the disadvantage of quantitative research is that the answers are limited to the questions, which may result in lost additional information or incorrect generalization. By conducting interviews and asking follow-up questions, things like this can be prevented. The limitation with using qualitative methods is that the interviewer has to be skilled enough to conduct them correctly, and not affect the results with personal opinions which might sometimes be difficult.
A negative aspect with the paper was that the author does not mention what questions were asked, just what general questions he wanted answers to. It would have been nice to have more samples of what was being said, in an appendix for example, as it now becomes difficult to judge how the research could have been done differently. Apart from that, the samples were diverse and chosen with care, which was good.
1. Briefly explain to a first year university student what a case study is.
According to Eisenhardt, a case study is a “research strategy which focuses on understanding the dynamics present within single settings” (Eisenhardt p.534). In other words, someone who does a case study investigate situations, or cases, and how the participants behave and interact. These cases often include a problem or dilemma which the participants have to solve or discuss in some way (Eberly Center). One could probably compare this to roleplaying games in some cases, for example “Cluedo” where the players are facing various situations, which the players have to act upon. The researching methods within a case study can be both quantitative or qualitative, include interviews and/or simply observations (Eisenhardt p.534).
2. Use the "Process of Building Theory from Case Study Research" (Eisenhardt, summarized in Table 1) to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your selected paper.
My chosen article was “Technology, Pedagogy and Digital Production: A Case Study of Children Learning New Media Skills” by Rebekah Willett. This was a case study conducted during a game making course for 9-13 year old children in Great Britain, where the author was present during all sessions and gathered data through observation, recordings, and by analyzing the products being made. At the end of the course, individual interviews were conducted in order to clarify and complement the data. The aim of the research was to investigate how digital media and an informal setting influences the learning process, which is an interesting and relevant topic seeing as more and more schools are adopting this way of learning.
..............
1. Briefly explain to a first year university student what a case study is.
According to Eisenhardt, a case study is a “research strategy which focuses on understanding the dynamics present within single settings” (Eisenhardt p.534). In other words, someone who does a case study investigate situations, or cases, and how the participants behave and interact. These cases often include a problem or dilemma which the participants have to solve or discuss in some way (Eberly Center). One could probably compare this to roleplaying games in some cases, for example “Cluedo” where the players are facing various situations, which the players have to act upon. The researching methods within a case study can be both quantitative or qualitative, include interviews and/or simply observations (Eisenhardt p.534).
2. Use the "Process of Building Theory from Case Study Research" (Eisenhardt, summarized in Table 1) to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your selected paper.
My chosen article was “Technology, Pedagogy and Digital Production: A Case Study of Children Learning New Media Skills” by Rebekah Willett. This was a case study conducted during a game making course for 9-13 year old children in Great Britain, where the author was present during all sessions and gathered data through observation, recordings, and by analyzing the products being made. At the end of the course, individual interviews were conducted in order to clarify and complement the data. The aim of the research was to investigate how digital media and an informal setting influences the learning process, which is an interesting and relevant topic seeing as more and more schools are adopting this way of learning.
When reading this article, the advantages of doing a case study for this kind of research become evident. For example, by observing the children the author noticed that older children understood things quicker, and could also remember things better as they had a more sophisticated general understanding of the software. This is something that is difficult to discover by doing ordinary research methods, especially among children who might not be as good at self-reflecting.
After having studied the points in Eisenhardt’s article, I would say that Willett’s case study has many strengths - she uses different research methods within the study, analyses all factors thoroughly and makes comparisons between the relationships. One disadvantage could be that the author conducted this case study alone, whereas it might have been good to have different input from another researcher. Furthermore, the software used for the study wasn’t chosen with the research in mind, and therefore obviously affected the results. However, it was still a good way to investigate how children used this kind of software which could also benefit the research of user friendliness.
Sources
Sources
Supa, D.W. (2014). A Qualitative Examination of the Impact of Social Media on Media Relations Practice. Public Relations Journal, 8(2). Available online: http://www.prsa.org/intelligence/prjournal/documents/2014supa.pdf
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building Theories from Case Study Research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550.
Willett, Rebekah (2007) Technology, Pedagogy and Digital Production: A Case Study of Children Learning New Media Skills. Learning, Media and Technology, 32. pp. 167-181. ISSN 1743-9884.
Available online: http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/227/1/Willett2007Technology167_%282%29.pdf
Eberly Center. Case Studies.
https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/instructionalstrategies/casestudies.html
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building Theories from Case Study Research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550.
Willett, Rebekah (2007) Technology, Pedagogy and Digital Production: A Case Study of Children Learning New Media Skills. Learning, Media and Technology, 32. pp. 167-181. ISSN 1743-9884.
Available online: http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/227/1/Willett2007Technology167_%282%29.pdf
Eberly Center. Case Studies.
https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/instructionalstrategies/casestudies.html
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