Final blog posts

From answering the question “what is knowledge?” to learning about producing new theory by conducting case studies; during this course one has taken a journey through both theory and method. In this final text I aim to take what I have learnt during the course and reflect around how different research methods can be combined in order to answer complex research questions. In order to do so I will start off by focusing on the “theory” part of the course and then move on to the “method” part. I think one can simplify the themes we have had into two groups, the first three into the “theory” group and the last three into the “method” one. When focusing on how to answer complex research questions the first themes focused on what one wants answered and how these answers could look while the last themes focused more on how one could go about finding these answers.

The first three themes of the course was focused on theory of knowledge and science, critical media theory and research and theory. During these three weeks we created the ground to research and started off by discussing what knowledge even is, an important discussion to have if one hopes to gain it which is the goal of most research. We never came to one clear definition of what knowledge is, but rather discussed the philosophical nature of the concept as well as objectivity and subjectivity when it comes to knowledge; how perhaps there is no completely objective knowledge but rather how our previous experiences will affect everything we perceive with our senses and learn. We discussed both a priori and a posteriori knowledge, in other words knowledge gained through reasoning or through experience and how important it can be to not be afraid to look at issues from new perspectives in order to gain new knowledge. 

Following the discussions on knowledge came more focused discussions around using knowledge to build theory. Here we started off by looking into media theory and for example differences between realism and nominalism and in doing so dived deeper into the concept of knowledge from the previous week. Here focus was put on different ways of looking at knowledge and its meaning in society, from there we ventured in to the concept of theory. When discussing theory we did not look at the casual meaning of the word, which is most often synonymous with a hypothesis, but rather theory in scientific research. This meant both theory used to build research and theory produced by research. Theory was seen as a somewhat fleeting concept which was difficult to define, but one could see theory as an interpretation of facts and answering the questions as to why things are. 

So, when conducting research the aim is often to gain knowledge, or build theory. After laying the ground by discussing exactly what these aims mean we continued in this course by discussing different methods to achieve this. This meant qualitative, quantitative, design research and case studies. Discussions around how and why the methods work as well as their strengths and limitations. So when hoping to answer complex research questions one can take different approaches depending on the type of question and what one hopes to gain from answering it. 

Qualitative research methods are beneficial when wanting to look at something where opinions are of great matter, these methods provide a wider image of the complex research question. In these methods it is often the case that the subjective views of participants are of great importance and questions are answered and theory is built using it. In the qualitative study I chose to look at during this course the research question was focused on the opinions of students whose teachers used social media and mobile phones as a part of their teaching. This is a typical example when a qualitative method is the best means to provide an answer to the research question. However, when using these methods it is difficult to generalise findings over a wider sample than the one used in the research. In order to do that one can with great benefit use quantitative methods instead. These methods focuses on collecting data which can be used to perform statistical tests and therefore conclude the validity of ones theory, or answer to the complex research question. These methods can be used when the research question is not as much dependent on opinions, but rather more factual in its nature. The qualitative paper I analysed during this course focused its research question on whether youths who participate in user generated content online are also more politically engaged. A question which is very factual in its nature and suited for quantitative research methods. The main limitation of quantitative methods are that they provide a more narrow and factual picture of an issue; in fact, the limitations of qualitative methods are more or less the strengths of quantitative ones and vice versa. This correlation between the methods mean that many studies use a combination of the two in order to answer complex research questions. Many questions are best answered using a combination of methods and if time and money is available this could be a good alternative when one hopes to provide a broad answer to a complex question, if not it could be very beneficial to base further research on looking at similar questions from a different perspective. Research will always lead to more research.

Besides the wide concepts of qualitative and quantitative research we also looked into answering research questions with the help of design research and case studies. These are more strategies when conducting research within which qualitative and quantitative methods are used, but the aim of them and when they are appropriate differ. Design research is a strategy used when wanting to produce something, when the research question is more aimed towards wether a concept could be suitable or towards the design process in itself. Case studies on the other hand is a strategy used when one hopes to look deeply into one specific case, this can be appropriate when venturing into a completely new field and producing new theory. It is also appropriate when a unique case of something is interesting and can provide answers, this could for example be disease or natural disasters. 

Overall this course has shown the many ways one can go about when wanting to answer complex research questions as well as the importance of actually asking the right questions and being aware of what gaining knowledge means; the meaning and importance of both theory and method.

Collected Comments

Theme 1

1. It seems like you really grasped the concepts during this theme! Your post outlines what theme 1 has been about in a great way and if someone did not quite get the concepts after the theme your post would probably help them understand.
   I do miss some more of your own thoughts of the process during Theme 1 however, I for one found the texts difficult to read but the subject grew on me as the theme went along. For next time maybe you should think about incorporating your own experience more, but great job on theme 1!
2. Well written reflection on the reading in Theme 1! You are very clear when explaining your thoughts and ideas and to me you grasped the concepts well even before the theme had started. I especially like your thoughts on the Kant text, the most difficult one by far in my opinion, where your ideas are very thought provoking!
   It is interesting to read your short reflection on the reading in the beginning, I definitely shared your feelings after having read the two extensive and sometimes difficult texts on a subject completely new to me.
3. Your experience with the seminar is definitely different from mine! The seminar real helped me understand the reading better and look at certain concepts in a new light. I found the reading difficult and the subject matter unfamiliar and so the seminar helped clear some things up for me. So it is interesting to read that you didn't find that the seminar helped clear things up for you, you must really have understood the reading! It is interesting to read that one discussion during the seminar stuck with you more than others. My seminar group did not discuss paradigms, so it was interesting to read your reflection on your discussion about this.
4. Great post theme reflection! Your week was definitely similar to mine. It is nice that you have included quotes from both the reading and the lecture, this means that things really stuck with you which is nice. The fact that you took a concept from Theme 2 and applied it to the knowledge you gained this theme is also really nice to read! I hadn't made this connection, but as you say the concepts and Plato's text do fit together nicely!
5. Great post reflection! Like you I also found the topic hard to grasp during this week. But learnt a lot during the week! It is interesting to read about the discussions your group had at the seminar, they do differ from the ones we had in my group. The discussion about the baby being brought up dogs seems really mind-boggling! It is interesting that your group actually came to a conclusion during your discussion, many of the topics discussed in my group went unanswered as many had differing opinions. Like you I also feel intrigued, but perhaps a bit scared too, about philosophy after Theme 1! Keep up the good work :D
6. Seems like theme 1 was really interesting for you! I had a similar experience when reading Kant, it was a really difficult text. It is nice to read that the seminar discussion really helped you fill in gaps in your understanding of the lecture. The categories were a bit hard to understand for me as well, I specifically asked about them during the discussion in my group and one person had a very clear picture of it!
   Having to on one hand read and reflect on the texts, then go to a lecture about them and finally discuss them at a seminar is a very good way to learn in my opinion and seems like it has been beneficial to you as well.
7. Nice reflection! I can definitely relate to the issues you had when reading the Kant text. The entire process of the theme helped me get a better understanding of both text and it seems like you feel the same. It is interesting that you connect the quote from the lecture in such a direct way as an answer to one of Kant's concepts! I had not thought about it in such a direct way and it is an interesting approach. It would be interesting to also read about the seminar in your post-reflection! What did you discuss? How did discussing the concepts with the other students help your understanding?
   Good luck with the future themes! :D
8. Wow! Your experience with this theme is so different from mine! Yours is the first blog I have read where the person actually had read one of the texts before. As you say this must have contributed a great deal to your process during this theme. For me the Kant text was by far the most difficult one and I spent a great deal of time just trying to come to some sort of understanding of this text. But it is nice to read that you instead of simply seeing this theme as a piece of cake, so to speak, decided to try and focus on less general aspects of the reading and by doing that expanding your knowledge. It would definitely had been interesting to have you as a part of my seminar groups, feel like you could have contributed with some insights. Good luck with future themes! Interesting for you when the themes touch upon subjects which perhaps are a bit more foreign to you.
9. Hi! You and I definitely had different takes on what Plato means with "we do not see and hear 'with' the eyes and the ears, but 'through' the eyes and the ears", how interesting! My take on this was that since our previous experiences and thought affect how we interpret things we see and hear there is no way to simply learn "with" our senses, we have to learn "through" them. Therefore knowledge though perception will always be subjective. This theme has really brought though differing opinions! I like reading how there people have thought about the concepts. Keep up the good work and analysis for the coming weeks!
10. Hi! Good job with this honest reflection. We all learn from mistakes, and it is refreshing to read that you own up to maybe not spending enough time preparing for this theme. It is nice to learn to the future themes! But yeah, the Kant text was veery extensive and I don't think anyone could prepare for the amount of time it took to try and understand it. It is nice that you use the word dialectic, one of the main concepts from theme 2, when discussing this theme! Perhaps you already used that word, or perhaps you are connecting the themes to each other. Great work either way! ;)

Theme 2

1. The example of the cave was given at my seminar as well and I also found it to be a great example explaining realism and nominalism! I also found it interesting to put the texts in the right historical perspective, it gave me a better understanding of them, but I actually had not thought about the perspective of going to America and thus experiencing culture from a different point of view. Great point!! I also found dialectics interesting, maybe one can see Plato's text from theme 1 as a bit dialectic? I hope you find out interesting things about the concept!
2. Great reflections! Since you were already had knowledge (no pun intended) about last week's theme and had read the texts before it is interesting to read your thoughts on Theme 2. It feel like when simply reading the texts it is easy to miss some things, I for one did not give much thought to the historical context of the two texts, and therefore the lecture and seminar is very rewarding! Seems like you experienced something similar during this theme. Culture as a means of oppression is one of the most interesting thoughts I shall take with me from this theme. It is true what you say, some questions weren't really answered which perhaps makes it more interesting to discuss? Great reflection! Keep going for the future themes :)
3. Nice reflection :) Interesting to see how your perspective changed during the week! The way Adorno & Horkheimer put forward that culture can be used as a means of oppression is one of the main ideas I for one will take with me from this week's theme. It would be interesting to also read something about what you discussed in your smaller group during the seminar :) The groups always seem to find different subjects the most interesting one. Good luck with future themes!
4. Really great reflection! Your explanation of nominalism vs realism actually made me understand the concepts even better, great job! In my seminar we did not discuss historically influenced perception that much, the example with the paintings you bring up was a really interesting one though. You summarise and reflect on the concepts in the theme in a really detailed manner, however I think it would be interesting to read some more about your own learning experience during the theme as well. Good luck with the future themes!
5. Great reflection Maria! Seems like you found the concepts of realism and nominalism the most interesting ones from this theme; I actually had not thought about the common use of the word "realist" and how it contradicts what realism is about, the two words never got a connection in my head but reading your texts I can really understand why it would be confusing! It would be interesting to read your thought on some of the other concepts discussed during this theme as well, did you learn anything else during from the lecture and seminar? Keep up the good work in future themes!
6. Interesting reflection! I really appreciate how you bring in things from your own life so to speak when discussing the concepts, such as programming, it really feels like you have taken the concepts from the theme and really understood them and applied them on your own life, interesting reading! I also really like how you not only discuss the views of Benjamin and Adorno & Horkenheimer when it comes to culture but also discus how culture is today from your point of view. I for one really think that user generated content is a really interesting concept where the culture is put completely in the hands of the consumer.Keep up the great work!
7. Interesting thoughts on Theme 2! I especially liked your explanation of dialectics which was not long but to me really captured the main core of the concept. Your example of beauty as a historically determined perception is the best example I have read yet! If i were to explain the concept to someone who had not heard of it I would probably use your example as it is really easy to understand. Keep up the good work!
8. Great reflection! I for one had not considered the historical context of the texts while reading them, so I found the lecture really interesting in that sense. You go about to summarise the main concepts of the theme and do it in a very straight forward way, one really gets a sense of the theme from reading your post.
   I think it would be interesting to also see a bit more personal reflections on your learning during the theme, perhaps for the next theme :) Keep up the good work!
9. Great reflection! Your short snippets in italics are really nice!
   I for one did not really understand the point that nominalism can be dangerous in enlightenment because it keeps us from looking beyond what is.
   The point that culture can be used as means of oppression is also a view I will take with me, what did you think about the historical context of the texts? I found them even more interesting when thinking about them considering when and where they were written.
   Keep up the good work!
10. You give a very clear summary of both texts in your reflection! One gets a good picture of the entire theme after reading this. The historical context is especially something I found interesting and learnt during this theme's lecture.
    But I for one would find it interesting to read some more of your own personal thoughts about your learning process during the theme!
    Keep up the good work!

Theme 3

1. Great reflection of this theme! You sum up both the theme itself and your learning experience during the week. I too will take with me the practice and theory dicussion, the mental picutre of actually taking a step back and viewing from afar. That truth is relative feels like something which is relevant in almost every theme so far! This course has really made me think about how things are not so obvious as they might seem and we never really know if something is "true".
   Keep up the great work!
2. I also enjoyed how this theme felt more straight forward than the previous ones! The paper you chose seems really interesting, for theme 4 I also read one concerning politics and ICT in politics is very interesting to me.
   
   The risk of thinking of theory as hypothesis is as you say large. Previous to this theme I for one had not given much thought to if there was a difference between them. This course in general to me provides many "aha moments" concerning concetps one has not thought about that much before.
   
   I feel that you summed up the concepts of this theme in a really good way in this reflection, but to an extent is feel like you are simply lining up all the concepts one after one. I for one would love to read more about your own feelings regarding this theme and your learning process :)
   
   Good luck with the future themes!
3. Hi Alexis! Great reflection on this theme! I like how you mix information about the concepts with your own reflections on what you learnt and found interesting this week.
   
   Seems like your group had a really interesting discussion during the seminar! The example with Newton's laws of motion is really thought provoking and must have spurred a great discussion. The concept of truth is something that I have really changed opinion on during this course, can things even be true? Or are they always "true" in the sense that the construction of the concept implies that truth is relative? This course has really made me think about these things :)
   
   I also like how your group seem to have put this theme in perspective with the previous ones, I am going to try and do that more. Keep up the good work during the coming themes! :)
4. Great reflection! I especially enjoyed your explaination of scientific theory, very straight forward and informative.The notion of truth is something which I have really started thinking about during this course, how an absoute truth does not exist but all truths are relative. Not something I for one think about normally!
   Keep up the good work during the future themes! It would be nice thought to get a bit more personal reflection in these posts, not just lining up all the concepts we talked about during the week :)
5. Hi!
   I agree with you that theory was the main concept during this theme, how theory and hypothesis are two separate things was something which felt central to me. The fact that theory in science differs from theory in the casual setting is something I know I will take with me from this theme. Did you think about how theory relates to truth? I found discussions about that very interesting!
   Keep up the good work!
6. Hi Hannah!
   I understand that the theme perhaps was less interesting if you felt that you aldready had an idea about what theory is since it was the main concept of the week. I for one found the differene between scientific theory and theory in the more casual setting, which is pretty much a hypothesis, very rewarding! And also the discussions on how theory relates to the concept of truth.
   
   My group discussed the papers we had chosen during the seminar's smaller group discussions! I think that if you want to discuss something you should just say it :)
   
   Let's hope you learn more during future themes!
   Keep it up
7. Great reflection! You sum up the main concepts of the theme in a very straight forward way, I especially liked you mention of the saying "it might work in theory, but not in practise" I found the discussion about theory and practise very interesting but had not thoguht about this.
   That universal truths do not exist is something I will take with me from this course, it seems very relevant in pretty much every theme so far and has changed my viewpoint. Did you also discuss paradigms when discussing theories and truth? I found the relation between them extremely interesting! If you did not talk about it I think you should check it out.
   Keep up the good work in the coming themes!
8. Hi!
   The difference between theory and hypothesis is something I also found interesting during this theme. Prior to this week I would probably have said that they were the same thing, the notion of scientific theory is something I have learnt during this week. I do disagree with you when you say that "it might not be relevant to get an overview of the concept Theory", even though theory differs between different areas of study I do believe that there is a core which is always present. Theory is about answering questions as to "Why?" and that is something I will take with me from this theme as the core of scientific theory. But you must have had a different view?
   It was interesting to read your reflection, but I would like to have read a bit about what you discussed when you sat in a small group during the seminar. What different groups found interesting is always fun to read!
   Keep up the good work!
9. Hi Marcus!
   I agree with you that theory and hypothesis were the main concepts of this theme. I do not know however if I agree with you that " a hypothesis helps answer the question at hand", I believe that the hypothesis in itself does not provide an answer to questions but is the step prior to getting an answer to a question and that theories answer questions as to "why?".
   Te discussion about truth and paradigm shifts is something I also found very interesting! The notion that all truts are relative is something I will really take with me from this course.
   Keep up the good work!
10. Nice reflection! I agree with you that this theme felt a bit more straight forward than the previous ones, it is probably closer to natural sciences than the others and therefore closer to what we are actually studying. I was not able to attend the lecture unfortunately, but according to you it seems like I did not miss anything important then. This is too bad, I think the lectures usually provide new information regarding the theme! Did you think anything about the notion of truth and how it relates to this theme? I for one found it very interesting.
    Keep up the good work Måns!

Theme 4

1. Hi Björn,
   I like your reflection and it seems like even though you already had a lot of understanding of the subject already you still found interesting parts! I also found the question of prejudice in the paper on VR would have been interesting to discuss, I do believe that they had other clothing on the avatars as well in order to make the differences even more clear and perhaps remove some of the sensitivity in the subject?
   In my discussion group we also found that all of us had a good understanding of qualitative vs quantitative research methods after the bachelor thesis; so we decided to actually discuss everyone's thesis and discuss the methods, what everyone learnt and why we chose the methods we did. It provided a really interesting discussion! So a good tip if discussions are difficult could be to focus on people's own experiences :)
   Keep up the good work!
2. Hi!
   You seem to have grasped the concepts of qualitative and quantitative research in a good way and has reflected on them nicely. I agree with you that it can be beneficial to use qualitative and quantitative in unison! However that required both more time and more resources than the usage of only one category of methods, which is something one has to keep in mind also. Even if a mix of methods is not possible I believe one kind of research can lead to the other in a good way, if a problem has been looked at using quantitative methods future research could attack the problem from a qualitative point of view and vice versa, don't you think?
3. Hi, Great reflection! I like how you did not settle for a paper which you know you would not find interesting simply because it had a high impact factor! I have also put time into finding research papers which I know will be interesting for me to read since one learn more then in my opinion. I can also relate to what you say about the confusion of the overlapping themes! However I do think it is positive in the way that it makes to easier to connect the themes to each other, but mostly it is confusing. I would like to read a bit more about what you learnt and thought about the concepts of the theme in your reflection! But overall a good reflection. Good luck in the coming weeks!
4. Hi Jonathan!
   I like your critical reflection and think you make some valid points. The main highlight of this theme to me was reading the papers, both the one provided and the one I chose, I think these concepts are the most interesting when actually applied and research papers are almost always interesting to read! I hope you will find the future themes more interesting, good luck in the future themes!
5. Hi,
   Great reflection! I like how you found something interesting during the lecture and the decided to learn even more about that subject! Reading your reflection taught me some new things on questionnaires and it was very interesting. It is thought provoking to see how people can take with them so differing experiences from the lectures, I did not find the focus on the design process as interesting as you did and did not give it much thought. It would be interesting to read a bit about your seminar experience as well, but overall a great reflection!
6. Well written and interesting reflection Oscar! The concept of virtual body ownership is very interesting indeed! I have actually experienced it myself when playing a "horror game" using oculus rift where the goal of the game was to not remove your hands from a keyboard, both your character in the game and yourself sat with fingers pressed down on keys on the keyboard. In the game different things started to happen in the room you were and to your character with the goal of making you remove your hands. I actually failed the game when I removed my hands by reflex when a knife fell down into one of them in the game. So I understand virtual body ownership to some extent and it is a very cool concept!
   
   You have focused your reflection on questionnaires, but of course there are other kinds of qualitative methods as well. It is also interesting to reflect no the usage of qualitative and quantitative methods together in research as complements, Perhaps that is to prefer in some cases?
   
   Good luck in future themes!
7. Hi! I like your reflection on qualitative research methods. I agree with you that results are more reliable in the sense that they can be generalised over a larger group than the one used in the experiment, however I do believe that results from qualitative research can be reliable as well! Qualitative research provides a wider picture to me, which is more subjective but not less reliable in my opinion. Keep up the good work in the future themes!
8. Hi!
   Great reflection! I agree with you that this theme did not spark as much discussion as the previous ones, the concepts were much clearer. I liked how we discussed that qualitative is actually sometimes better than quantitative because it does feel like in our area of study quantitative is often seen as the better and more reliable alternative, but that is not always the case!
   Keep up the good work!
9. Hi Stina!
   Thanks for your reflection :)
   You seem to have focused much more on questionnaires than I did during this week, so it was very interesting for me to read your reflection since it touched on subjects I had not given much thought.
   You say that the amount of participants perhaps is not the most important part in qualitative research, I do believe that when one does statistical calculations on the data and wants to generalise the result on a wider populations the amount of participants does matter a lot! You also say that you wish you had learnt about these things before your bachelor thesis, so let's hope you can use this information in your master thesis instead then.
   Keep up the good work!
10. Hi Cèline! I like your reflection and it is nice to read that this theme changed your point of view on qualitative and quantitative research! I feel that I did not learn as much as you at all since I just wrote my bachelor thesis and we discussed these subjects in depth then, so to is nice to see that the theme was more beneficial to others.
    
    I love your example with the candy! It is very clear and exemplifies the concepts in a great way!
    
    I feel that objectivity and "truth" is something which has been relevant in all themes in this course so far and my understanding of these subjects improves with each week. These concepts is something I will take with me from this course. Seems like you discussed interesting things in your seminar. 

Theme 5

1. Great summary of this week! You seem to have grasped a lot more from the lectures this week than I did so kudos to you! I feel that I learnt even more what the lecturers meant from reading your post than I did when I actually listening to them. The thing I found most interesting from both of the lectures combined was what Haibo said about defining the problem and not just looking for a solution! From Anders' lecture I liked the thing about prototypes in research and industry being different!
2. Hi Hannah! Like you I found parts of this theme's lectures a bit unclear. What I mostly took with me from Anders' lecture was that there is a difference between prototyping for industry and prototyping for design research. Previous to the lecture I had only thought about prototyping from an industrial point of view so that I what I learnt from that lecture. But I agree with you that it was not the most structured lecture I have ever been to :P
3. I must also agree with the opinion that this week's lectures were sub par. Besides the point that you bring up in your text about the importance of defining the problem and not just solving it is what I found interesting about Haibo's lecture too. Besides that I did not really understand what we was trying to convey. Unlike you I did find one interesting part in the second lecture though! The difference between prototyping for research and prototyping for industry is not something I for one had thought about before, I only thought about the industrial prototyping, and that is what I will take with me from that lecture.
4. Hi Sanna!
   This week was somewhat sub par to me and like you I did not find everything that interesting. But I unlike you I did take one thing with me from Haibo's lecture! The fact that you should not only focus on solving a problem but it is also important to try and define the problem and perhaps look at it from a different point of view.
   I like your reflection about Anders' lecture! You definitely found it more interesting than I did and I learnt some new things from reading your text :)
5. Hi!
   I like your reflection! You give a very clear overview of the lectures we had this week. The bit about defining the problem was the one I found most interesting from Haibo's lecture, how sometimes you spend great amount of time trying to solve a problem and do not try and look at it from a different angle instead. From Anders' lecture I also found proof of concept interesting! And how prototyping is different in industry and research! Prior to the lecture I had mostly thought about prototyping from an industrial point of view. Good job in your text!
6. Hi! Like you I found the part of Haibo's lecture about the importance of defining the problem and not just trying to solve it! The second lecture, which you do not mention, was interesting too in the way that prototyping differs from industry and research to me. Interesting that you include a quote in your text but I would have liked som more of your ideas as well :)
7. I like your critical reflection! Like you I appreciated how Haibo put emphasis on defining a problem and not just solving it, I do disagree with him though that you should put 90% into defining the problem and 10% into solving it. I think 10% is a bit too little in many cases when solving problems.
   
   Your point on HCI and management issues not being solved with mathematics in all cases is very good and I agree!
   Keep up the good work!
8. Hi Olof! I agree with you that the seminar was really missed this week, discussing the questions is one of my favourite parts every week. I like that you used the knowledge gained in this course in another course! Kudos to you. I would have liked to read a bit more about the concepts and perhaps the lectures, but overall I like your reflection :)
9. Hi!
   I like your reflection and that it is very centred around your own experience of the theme! I also missed the seminars a lot, it feels like something was missing this week. Like you I found the concept if prototypes one of the most important ones this week and during Anders' lecture the point that prototypes are different in research and in the industry really struck with me. I had not thought about that before!
10. Hi Sanna!
    Good that you had your friend take notes for you during the lectures even though you were not able to attend! The part if Haibo's lecture about the importance of defining the problem and not just solving it was one of the most interesting to me! I did, unlike you, learn something new about prototypes! I learnt that there is a difference between prototyping for research and prototyping for industry, I guess you already knew that so kudos to you :)

Theme 6

1. Hi! Interesting thoughts on this week's theme! I do disagree with you that a case study is a qualitative method though! A case study is a method which in itself can consist of both qualitative and quantitative methods, so it is neither but rather its own thing. 
   
   I do like however how you tie this last theme back to the first one, good job!
2. Hi!
   I like your reflection, I agree that one of the main strengths of a case study is that it can consist if both qualitative and quantitative methods and that is can explore something new in hopes of formulating new theory. I do not know if I agree that hypotheses is formed, I would like to think theory is. Good that the seminar gave you a clearer view if the theme in the absence of a lecture!
3. Hi! How nice that your understanding of case studies have improved during this theme. I agree with you that quantitative research had been discussed in depth during previous seminars, but I did find it interesting how difficult it was (at least for me) to find a study using only qualitative methods, most I found used both qualitative and quantitative!
   I liked the idea about case studies that they are a good tool when creating new theory, that then can be tested and modified using other methods, since one can get an in depth view of a subject. So yes case studies can be used to study something unique like you say, but I also think they can be used to get a good overlooking view of a new subject.
4. Hi! I like your reflection a lot!
   I especially like the idea that case studies can be seen as a strategy! Since it in itself contains several research methods I really like that definition. I agree with you that case studies are good in an unknown field, I would however like to think that the goal of case studies is not to formulate hypothesis but rather new theory that then can be tested by new research. 
   How interesting that one of your group members had participated in a longitudinal study! That must have given a great perspective to your discussion. When it comes to focus group interviews I agree with you that smaller groups are to prefer, but I think there are a lot of limitations to having interviews in groups at all. When you conduct them in a group there will always be group behaviour and people agreeing with the majority opinion and perhaps not feeling the same way they would in an individual interview.
5. Hi! Interesting reflection with many good points!
   I agree with you that a case study is perhaps not a methods but rather a strategy one has when doing research since case studies in themselves contain several other methods. I like the example that a case study can be done on something even if that something is not unique, I believe that is often a misconception people have about case studies that they have to be about unique medical conditions or such.
   Great Job!
6. Nice reflection! It is great that the concept of qualitative research became clearer for you during this theme, it was already pretty clear to me but I did learn more about different kinds of qualitative methods. I usually distinct qualitative and quantitative by the kind of data they produce, qualitative produce longer texts while quantitative produce data which can often be numerically compared.
   Nice reflection overall! Great work.
7. Hi, I agree with you that case studies can be used to understand a situation better,but I also to some extent disagree that case studies are good to understand existing theory, yes ot can be used for this but I believe that case studies are better suited for creating new theory.
   Overall I find your reflection a bit confusing at times, what do you mean with "if we do a questionnaire, the answer of which can be divided into different levels without asking question"? I believe questionnaires can be used as both qualitative and quantitative methods depending on the type of question, perhaps that is what you are getting at but the phrasing could be a bit clearer.
8. Hi! Interesting reflection, finally indeed!
   It seems from your reflection that you would classify case studies as a type of qualitative research method, I disagree with this! Case studies are more of a strategy when doing research and can in itself contain both qualitative and quantitative methods. You reflection is mostly on qualitative research so perhaps I have misunderstood your standing on the matter, but to me there is no doubt that case studies are not a simply qualitative method.
   I would also disagree that qualitative methods provide no new knowledge, perhaps the knowledge they produce cannot be generalised on a wider sample but they can indeed provide new knowledge about the sample used!
9. Hi Anton!
   I greatly enjoyed reading your reflections and your points regarding case studies! You seem to have gathered a deeper understanding of the concept during the theme and really grasped what it is about. I find case studies interesting since they are more of a strategy of research than a method in themselves. Case studies can then contain both qualitative and quantitative methods to gain knowledge and create theory.
10. Hi Arvid!
    I enjoyed reading your reflection a lot and agree on many of the points you made about case studies! I believe it is especially important to understand that case studies are more of a strategy when doing research than a method since it in itself contains other methods. I agree that you isolate a case to the extent that you look at just that case, but not to the extent that it is isolated from the environment in which it occurred. I believe the setting of the case is very important in case studies!
    Great job and good luck with your final reflection!

Theme 6 - Comments

1. http://meglia.blogspot.se/2015/10/post-theme-6.html?showComment=1445711791752#c8022624973179494821
2. http://mashasthoughts123.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-reflection.html?showComment=1445712229886#c2093834794795599611
3. https://tmmkappa.wordpress.com/2015/10/19/theme-6-post-reflection/comment-page-1/#comment-35
4. http://dm2572byen.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study_16.html?showComment=1445767160747
5. http://elindm2572.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-reflections.html?showComment=1445767456045
6. http://mediafluttery.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-reflection.html?showComment=1445790072829#c6410850110679864491
7. http://cloudsong223.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6after.html?showComment=1445790543518#c2514545668962108874
8. http://dm2572fan.blogspot.se/2015/10/post-theme-6.html?showComment=1445791119094#c488452074052575718
9. http://duckyduckyducky.blogspot.dk/2015/10/post-seminar-6.html?showComment=1445791550874#c4885624344788196534
10. http://theoatmeth.blogspot.dk/2015/10/theme-6-post-seminar.html?showComment=1445796278565#c6860814029596122609

Theme 5 - Comments

1. http://ninopmedia.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-5-reflections-0-false-18-pt-18-pt.html?showComment=1445248642035
2. http://u1ifqcuc.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-5-design-research-after.html?showComment=1445249623565#c6451849355322876116
3. http://u1x5o721.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-5-reflections.html?showComment=1445249866256#c1673061197765830400
4. http://thetheoryandmethodofeverything.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-5-friday-reflection.html?showComment=1445250123229
5. http://capitalmyboy.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-5-post-theme-post.html?showComment=1445250441716#c4312809790174117983
6. http://cliodile.blogspot.se/2015/10/after-theme-5-design-research.html?showComment=1445251069987
7. http://pargman420.blogspot.se/2015/10/post-seminar-reflection-5.html?showComment=1445251555333#c3301653237488578440
8. http://dont-panic-forty-two.blogspot.se/2015/10/in-retrospect-theme-5.html?showComment=1445252722438#c219450601132252565
9. http://gamlagreker.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-5-reflection.html?showComment=1445252183943
10. http://sannanodm2572.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-5-reflection.html?showComment=1445253311853#c238194310789287325

Theme 6 - Post Reflection

This week's theme has been centered around qualitative research as well as case studies, it consisted of just reading and a seminar since the lecture unfurtunately got canceled. Overall I have found this theme interesting but perhaps not groundbreaking to me personally.

The reading consisted of choosing two papers, one using qualitative methods and one case study, as well as reading a paper on the nature of case studies. I put in quite a lot of time on trying to find interesting papers and found the reading very interesting! My qualitative study used focus group interviews as its only method, this is not a method I have used myself and it was interesting to read up on the limitations and strengths of it. I studied a bit pf psychology during high school and learnt about case studies during that course, during this course it was interesting to read about case studies from the perspective of natural science as well.

During the seminar the discussion was mostly centered around case studies, mostly since we already discussed qualitative research to some extent during week 4 when the theme was quantitative research. In the smaller groups we mainly discussed the studies we all had chosen to read and the methods used, it was interesting to hear about other qualitative methods such as individual interviews and free text surveys. We also discussed in my group why one would choose to perform a qualitative study in our area of study and brought up things such as getting a wider perspective and doing an exploratory study. In the larger group we also discussed wether the amount of participants is a deciding factor whether a study is qualitative or qualitative and concluded that it is more common to have fewer participants in a qualitative than a quantitative study but it is the methods which decide the method not the number of participants.

When discussing case studies we talked about the studies we had chosen and why we think the researchers had decided to perform a case study. We talked about natural disasters and such which are not extremely commonly occurring and can therefore be interesting to look at as single events as well as certain disease and accidents which could be interesting to observe as single events. We also talked about doing exploratory studies here and how a case study can serve as something which produces new theory and not just prove existing ones. It also became clearer during the seminar how a case study is not defined by its methods, which can be both qualitative and quantitative, but rather the approach had when deciding what to study.

Overall I have found this theme okay, it was a pity that the lecture got cancelled but I did learn a few new things through both the reading and the seminar.

Theme 4 - Comments

1. http://bjornsblogggg.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-4-post-reflection.html?showComment=1444564759827
2. http://blog4course99.blogspot.se/2015/10/reflection-on-theme-4.html?showComment=1444565120737
3. https://agrik.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/qualitatively-quantitative/#comment-37
4. http://jonathansbs.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-4-post.html?showComment=1444565827280
5. http://meglia.blogspot.se/2015/10/post-theme-4.html?showComment=1444566069729
6. http://oscarlimback.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-4-quantitative-research-after.html?showComment=1444566564007
7. http://cloudsong223.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-4after-quantitative-research.html?showComment=1444566813590
8. http://thewind-egg.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-4-reflection.html?showComment=1444567140667
9. http://stinazwahlen.blogspot.se/2015/10/post-seminar-theme-4.html?showComment=1444567527784
10. http://u1vfukfo.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-4-post-posting-quantitative.html?showComment=1444568115020

Theme 5 - Post reflection

This week's theme has been focused around Design Research and has consisted of reading three assigned papers and two lectures during the week.

During this week I found the reading of the papers the most interesting part. They focused around interesting concepts to me, especially the one by Réhman et al. since I am very interested in football. The paper was a bit dated, from 2008, but their ideas about being notified about match events in your phone is something which has been adapted in today' smartphones but in a different way. After the reading we reflected on concepts such as prototyping, proof of concept, empirical data and design research in general.

The two lectures by Haibo Li and Anders Lundström, two of the researchers who had written the papers we had read, did not give me as much as the lectures usually do unfortunately. I found the one by Li very all over the place and I got confused by how fast he changed subject and by the way he had no clear line of argument in his lecture; the most interesting part of this lecture to me was when he discussed how one has to not only focus on solving a problem but also look at the definition of the problem itself since sometimes the problem is looked at in the wring way. This felt relevant to both design research and to be honest life in general. The lecture by Lundström was not prepared on his part, since he was not suppose to be the one having the lecture, so it got a bit improvised instead. Due to the lack of preparation I had a hard time following the line of thought this lecture as well. Still he had interesting ideas on design research! The discussion about the importance of a section on implications or something similar in a design research paper was perhaps the most interesting, a discussion on how something cannot be considered design research if one does not have something which the research implies, could be in the form of for example guidelines or advice.

Overall this week I found learning about prototyping the most engaging. When doing my pre-reflection this week I focused mainly on prototyping within industries, where a prototype is a model on which one can perform tests and after that make iterations in order to arrive at a final product. But during Lundström's lecture he talked a bit about the difference between prototyping in design research and in industries and that really got me thinking on differences between them! In design research a prototype is mainly used in order to test out ideas and actually have something tangible when making tests, the goal of this is not mainly to make iterations on it in order to arrive at a final product. Instead research is performed on it and one arrives at conclusions and implications of the research.

Overall this week I missed the seminar since we never got to actually discuss the theme with each other and so I look forward to reading the blogs of other students! I had learnt a bit about design research in previous courses so the concepts was not entirely new to me, but I still found the concept interesting in itself even though the lectures were not as interesting as I would have hoped.

Theme 6 - Pre Seminar

Qualitative research

I have chosen the paper Mobile computing devices in higher education: Student perspectives on learning with cellphones, smartphones & social media by Joanne Gikas and Michael M. Grant [1]. It explores both teaching and learning when devices such as smartphones and cellphones were implemented in higher education.

Which qualitative method or methods are used in the paper? Which are the benefits and limitations of using these methods?
The study uses focus groups interviews as its only method. The main benefits of focus group interviews are that they provide an opportunity for free discussion among the participants, it saves both time and money compared to individual interviews and tone of voice, body language and other visual and auditory queues can be detected by the moderator which would go unnoticed in a survey or questionnaire. But there are also limitations to using focus group interviews; since the interview is conducted in a group setting some participants will take more space in the discussion than others meaning that some opinions might not be fully voiced, there could be social pressure to agree with the common opinion and some participants might not be comfortable with sharing certain information in a interview or group setting.

These interviews were conducted online, which provides some extra benefits and limitations. The main benefits are that there is a lower cost to conduct these interviews and it allows for easier participation over long distances, the main limitations are that there might be technical difficulties and delay which could hinder discussion, the participants also won't be able to interact in the same way as they would face to face and auditory and visual queues are much harder to detect in an online setting.

What did you learn about qualitative methods from reading the paper?
I learnt that focus group interview can be used as the only method in a study, I have never really considered it a viable alternative as a sole method. But the study was conducted in a very good way in my opinion, and it also showed how important the opinions of participants can be when conducting research and that quantitative data is not always needed to draw compelling conclusions.

Which are the main methodological problems of the study? How could the use of the qualitative method or methods have been improved?
I would say say that the main methodological issue in this study is that the interviews were conducted online. While it did make it possible for the researchers to conduct interviews with students from institutions from different parts in the US the technology is still very limiting. I believe that individual interviews are to be preferred when conducting them online, this mainly due to delay which makes group discussions close to impossible, and that this study could have been improved either by having online individual interviews or in person focus group interviews. 

Case study

Briefly explain to a first year university student what a case study is

A case study is a reseach method which focuses on one or several specific subjects, or cases, in a specific context; this could for example be persons, events, projects etc. It focuses on understanding the dynamics present and provides an in-depth view into this subject and can be used in both social and natural sciences but is more commonly used in social sciences. Within a case study several other research methods are used, both qualitative and quantitative, such as interviews, observations and experiments. Case studies are used to create new theories and descriptions as well as to test existing theories. [2,3]

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.
I have chosen the study Social Media Competetive Analysis and Text mining: A Case Studt in the Pizza Industry by Wu He, Shenghua Zha and Ling Li [4]. It analyses unstructured text content on the three largest pizza chains in the US's Facebook and Twitter in order to perform a social media competitive analysis. 

The main strengths of this study is the first steps in Eisenhardt's eight steps of the process of building theory from case study research. It is very clear and precise when getting started, selecting cases, crafting instruments and protocols, entering the field and analysing data. Especially the selection of cases is done with good reasoning and data behind it. The population "pizza chains" was chosen because it was one of the first industries that entered the social media arena for business purposes and has a large social media user base, then the three largest pizza chains. The outputs Twitter and Facebook because they have been shown by previous research to be the largest social media outlets and lastly the time period of October because it is the busiest period for pizza chains. It has also chosen both a qualitative, text mining and analysis and quantitative, looking at follower count etc, methods of data collection which provides a good ground for theory to stand upon.

The weaknesses of this study would be the latter steps in the process: sharping hypotheses, enfolding literature and researching closure. In my opinion they do not compare the three cases with each other, which one of the research questions was based on. No competitive analysis, meaning identifying and evaluating competitors' strategies and their strengths and weaknesses relative to your own [5], is actually being done in my opinion. There is also a lack of comparison with both conflicting and similar literature.



[1] Gikas, J., & Grant, M. M. (2013). Mobile computing devices in higher education: Student perspectives on learning with cellphones, smartphones & social media. The Internet and Higher Education, 19, 18-26.
[2] http://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/fallstudie
[3] Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research.Academy of management review, 14(4), 532-550.
[4] He, W., Zha, S., & Li, L. (2013). Social media competitive analysis and text mining: A case study in the pizza industry. International Journal of Information Management, 33(3), 464-472.
[5] http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/competitive-analysis 

Theme 4 - Post reflection

This week's theme focused on quantitative research, and naturally qualitative research was also brought up to contrast and discuss.

The reading consisted of a paper of our own choosing which used qualitative research methods and a study conducted by Kilteni et al. about virtual reality, VR, and body ownership during those circumstances. I found the reading very interesting! The paper about VR used qualitative research methods in the sense that is measured participants movement patterns and drew conclusions based on the numbers alone. The paper I chose was called "Information, expression, participation: How involvement in user generated concent relates to democratic engagement among young people", it investigated if youths who post a lot of unser generated concent online are more engaged in politics both online and offline. It was a very readable study! It used a quantitative questionnaire as its main method, one containing no free text questions but only ones which's answers could be quantified and be used in statistical measurements.

During the lecture qualitative and quantitative methods were discussed a bit and the paper on VR was explained in depth, especially the statistics they had done to arrive at their result. Even though I did find the study interesting I did not find the lecture especially giving. I think there was too much specific information on that one study for my liking.

During the seminar we discussed in smaller groups, my group discussed both qualitative and quantitative methods and their weak and strong points. We discussed how quantitative research provides data on which statistical measurements can be conducted and therefore the result could be generalised on a wider sample than the specific one used in the study, it is also in many cases less time consuming to collect data but a great deal of data has to be collected in order for the result to be statistically relevant. Qualitative methods often provide a wider picture since it contains more open questions and issues and pheomenons the researcher did not anticipate could occur more easily since the study is not as "boxed in". However qualitative data cannot be generalised and so the result is relevant on a much smaller sample, it is also often more time consuming than qualitative methods in both the data gathering and analysis. We also discussed how in qualitative research it is even more important that the researcher try to remain as objective as possible since the data gathered has to be analysed using a more subjective method than statistical measurements.

During the dicussion we discussed that if the time and resources are available a mix between both methods could sometimes be a good alternative. It is also good if qualitative research leads to quantitative and the other way around, if one study looks into something using quantitative methods it is sometimes relevant for another study to look into the same thing using qualitative methods.

I feel that during this theme I could relate to things I had done and learnt before to a greater extent than during the previous themes. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were discussed in depth during the degree project we wrote last semester. In my small seminar group we also discussed what everyone had done in their project and what research methods were used. We concluded that by conducting a study in that project we learnt a lot about research methods and that when we conduct our final degree project we will look at research methods in a different light after having actually used them. Another very interesting subject we touched upon during this discussion is how not actually getting a result in a study is perhaps looked down upon, why publish a study with a non-result? But those studies are interesting too! The fact that no result was found is a result in itself.

I do not know if I learnt that much specific information during this week's theme. The concepts were pretty clear to me before. But I found it interesting to discuss studies and learn how others thought about the concepts.

Theme 3 - Comments

1. http://oscarlimback.blogspot.se/2015/09/theme-3-research-and-theory-after.html?showComment=1443895643385
2. http://paullinderoth.blogspot.se/2015/09/theme-3-research-and-theory-after.html?showComment=1443896430913
3. http://alexisdm2572.blogspot.se/2015/09/theme-3-post-seminar.html?showComment=1443897093619#c3539394654274136694
4. http://ninopmedia.blogspot.se/2015/09/theme-3-reflections-0-false-18-pt-18-pt.html?showComment=1443942691748
5. http://fromplatotocasestudies.blogspot.se/2015/09/theme-3-reflections.html?showComment=1443943135817#c6506038922650410774
6. http://u1ifqcuc.blogspot.se/2015/09/theme-3-research-and-theory-after.html?showComment=1443943544206#c269615525201228844 
7. http://meglia.blogspot.se/2015/09/post-theme-3.html?showComment=1443944709678#c3237788831509623787
8. http://amlinden.blogspot.se/2015/09/theme-3-reflection.html?showComment=1443945149384
9. http://theandme15.blogspot.se/2015/09/theme-3-research-and-theory-part-2.html?showComment=1443945649095#c7710261738706808797
10. http://mawnzblog.blogspot.se/2015/09/reflections-post-theme-3.html?showComment=1443946038472#c8104825478595548713

Theme 5- Pre Seminar

1.How can media technologies be evaluated?

Media technologies can be evaluated using many different approaches. In the study by Réhman et al. 2008 they evaluated a prototype of their concepts with user tests. In these tests they aimed to evaluate the usability of the concept using the aspects effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction. This approach seems like a good choice to me, to evaluate usability using several perspectives. Usability is an important concept in many parts of media technology and a concept which in important to evaluate.

Media technology could also be evaluated using a pure technological approach. A user is often involved in media technology, but it cold also be pure machine to machine communication. In such a case it could be effectively evaluated without involving a user but otherwise user tests feels like an important part of evaluating media technology.

2.What role will prototypes play in research?

It depends heavily on the type of research being performed. In the field of media technology, and many others, prototypes let you perform test and get a more hands on approach in your research. When evaluating for example usability being able to present a user with an actual prototype is important if one is not evaluating an existing product. When a user is presented with a prototype it is easier to find flaws and receive relevant feedback than if simply presented with a concept.

3.Why could it be necessary to develop a proof of concept prototype?

A proof of concept prototype could be important in order to show that a product is achievable. Instead of creating an entire product one creates a proof of concept which shows that the concept has potential for real world application. Such a prototype can be tested and reviewed before an actual real life product is created, making changes to a prototype is often cheaper than developing a fully functioning product and then go about reviewing and making changes [1].

4.What are characteristics and limitations of prototypes?

A prototype is a model of something from which new prototypes and in the end a finished product can be developed. It can take many forms, such as software and hardware in different combinations. Various tests are performed on the prototype in order to gain information that will be useful when creating the finished product.

The main limitation of prototypes is that they are just prototypes, one prefers to not spend more time and money than necessary on it in order to maximize efficiency. Therefore a prototype will always have compromises and there is a risk that the limitations found during tests it due to the fact that a prototype is used and not a finished product. A prototype cannot remove all risk involved when developing a product since it is not a finished product.

5. How can design research be communicated/presented?

It can be presented through research papers such as the ones we read for this theme. Researchers can also create a prototype or product based on the findings in their research and present it in such a way. The Furhat Head being developed here at KTH comes to mind as an example.

What is the 'empirical data' in these two papers?

The empirical data in “Finding Design Qualities in a Tangible Programming Space” by Fernaeus and Tholander is the empirical data gained when observing the children try out the system, interact with the physical objects and the screen.

In “Differentiating Driving Range: Exploring a Solution to the Problems with the ‘Guess-O-Meter’ in Electric Cars” by Lundström gathers data through interviews and observation and analyzing of online forums.

Can practical design work in itself be considered a 'knowledge contribution'?

I believe practical design work can be considered a knowledge contribution! We can gain knowledge through experience, a posteriori, when doing practical design work. The finding can then be used in relation to what is already known about the subject and therefore contribute with knowledge.

Are there any differences in design intentions within a research project, compared to design in general?

In a research project the design intentions are often of an exploratory character, the hope is to gain knowledge though the design and the testing of it. Design in general to me is not aimed at gaining knowledge to the same extent; here one is often hoping to simply solve a problem using design, while in design research the problem itself is explored as well as a solution.

Is research in tech domains such as these ever replicable? How may we account for aspects such as time/historical setting, skills of the designers, available tools, etc?

In my opinion one could try to replicate research like this if the method is fully explained, but it feels like the result would vary to a greater extent than in other areas of research. Technology moves forward in such a pace so that the conditions of the research would change quickly, testing on users would also change due to the knowledge of the users and the technology they are used to.

Are there any important differences with design driven research compared to other research practices?

The design driven research is often user-oriented to a degree which is selfdom found in other areas. It is not as often about finding the “answer” to a hypothesis but rather to explore a concept.

[1] https://www.techopedia.com/definition/4066/proof-of-concept-poc