Comments to
other blog postings
Theme 1
1. I like your post and you examples. I
want to focus on your thoughts about “we see through our eyes and ears, not
with our eyes and ears”. Our sense are not enough to create knowledge, as you
said, we need also our reason and our soul. For example a 1 month old baby
cannot “see”. Also Kant suggests us to think in term of meaning and not in
terms of fact, which is quite similar to Plato’s opinion about how we should
perceive the world.
2. In the seminar, with our group we
also discussed about infinity, and if we can make a judgment of it using the
categories of knowledge. Obviously not a clear answer had given. We cannot
perceive the idea of infinity clearly, since space and time are the forms of
our intuition. But I agree with you that if humans could leave forever, “time”
would lose its concept and as a result maybe we could understand infinity. In
this case also, it is interesting to think that the meaning of whole life it
would be different, since it would not exist such a thing as “we live only one
life”.
3. I would also like to add in you
thought that everything we know about the world its depending on us. We cannot
have a world independent on us. As a result anyone can see a different world
through his eyes. All the objects of the world have a concept, but if we change
the way we perceive the world the concept also will change. For instance, a pen
in this world is a pen, but in a different world the pen will not have the same
meaning.
4. It's impressive that you found Kant
easier than Plato. I found Plato a little bit easier to understand, because the
dialog helped me follow his thoughts. Socrates is also known for his method to
give birth to the knowledge of his discussant. In his dialogs he pretends that
he doesn’t know anything about the subject, and through questions lead his
discussant to knowledge. This method is also used nowadays in the education.
Anyway, It was interesting to read
your post since in my seminar we didn’t discuss so much about the concept of real
truth.
5. As I understood it, both Plato and
Kant argue that the knowledge of the world is depended on us. The first one
says that we learn through our senses, and the second one says that we cannot
no longer accept the world as it is by itself. We have to use our point of view
and not god’s point of view. You mentioned it well. Also, it is nice to read
that you made a relation between your previous lesson and this one.
6. You have well mentioned that we
cannot make a judgment complete independent of us. If we want to make this
happen, we have to eliminate the human subject, which means to eliminate our
sex, culture, religion, body etc. Only then we can achieve the ideal of
objectivity and furthermore perceive the thing from a view of nowhere, from a
god’s point of view.
We also talk about the example of
coca cola can, i think it is very interesting.
7. I think Copernicus understanding is
a very good example to what Kant said “Let us assume that our faculties of
knowledge don not conform to the object, but the objects conform to our
faculties of knowledge”. As you said it’s not easy for anyone to change his
point of view. In order to do that we have to eliminate or change human
subject, such as culture. Also, not all of us question the things around us.
That’s why Kant suggests thinking not in terms of facts, but in terms of
reason.
8. Hi, in my seminar we didn’t talk so
much about Plato. I am glad that you pointed out. It is interesting that you
related the mind and soul, according to Plato, with cloning, teleportation, and
Siamese twins. I would be happy if you could share more about this
conversation.
We also talk a bit about perception in technology, and an example is about Microsoft Office, and how they have changed the user interface through the years.
Thank you.
We also talk a bit about perception in technology, and an example is about Microsoft Office, and how they have changed the user interface through the years.
Thank you.
9. I like your analysis of both texts,
and the fact that you search the background of the philosopher Socrates and Aristotle.
There were so many new meanings and ideas that we had to understand in theme 1.
I think that you briefly explain most of them! Good job!
10. Enjoy reading how you combined 2
different lectures in your seminar, and the explanation about modern theory and
Kant's theory of perception. That makes me think how things change over the
years and the progress that has been done from pre Kant epistemologists to post
Kant epistemologists and then to modern epistemologists.
Theme 2
1. The allegory of Plato's cave
explains very well the terms of Platonic realism. Everything we see is just a
reflection, and if we want to see the real things and understand the concept we
have to look at the things in a different way. In this case I think that
Platonic realism is opposite to nominalism, since the nominalism suggests to
get rid of the concepts and realism suggests understanding the concepts. Hope
that helped you understand why nominalism and Platonic realism are opposite
ideas.
2. Once again, this week I enjoyed
reading your reflections. I think you have done a great job and you have
understood most of the points of the texts. I like that you have mentioned some
historical information about the background of the authors, which clear up some
things in my mind. Benjamin has found revolutionary potentials in the media,
like the running horse you mentioned, or the humans’ dignity in some movies.
However, A&H have opposite opinion about that. Maybe all we need is to find
a balance. Also this makes me wonder it is possible to benefit from media and
technology without having any side effect.
3. I agree with you that if you know
the background of the authors it is easier to understand what they have written
and why they perceive it that way. Since everyone are influenced by when and
where have lived, their opinions cannot be independent of that. This holds true
also for the authors. In my opinion,
nominalism was the most difficult part of this theme, but after the lecture and
the seminar the meaning cleared up. Plato’s cave allegory was really helpful
and nice to read about it again. Your reflections complete mine. Thanks for
sharing!
4. Hi,
My small group in the seminar also
needed a lot of time to define nominalism. We first searched on internet about
Platonic realism, and then we searched about nominalism. Having in mind the
meaning of the first made it easier to understand the second.
I would like to add to your thought
about natural and historical perception that Benjamin wanted to decrease the
opinion that German art is the best. He tried to explain that there is not such
a thing as good and bad art. The historical context make people thing that a
piece of art is bad or good.
5. Hi,
I agree with your reflections and I
enjoyed reading them. I would like to point out the opinion of Benjamin about
mass media. It is interesting that Benjamin's argument is opposite to A&H
argument. As you have mentioned, movies are a mirroring of the actual
conditions of life, and also lead us to thing that this how life should be. Enlightenment
supposed to be a free way of thinking but it is not. In contrast, Benjamin
believes that superstructure is related to mass media and that media have
revolutionary potentials. He argues that even though we cannot see the results of
media now in our society, the results will come as time passes.
6. Hi,
I like the fact that you mentioned
about aura. I have not read about it in other posts so far and also in the
seminar we didn’t have so much time to discuss about it. With mass media and
reproduction of pieces of art the aura is erased but the art is free to
everyone to experience it. People do not have to be rich to have the possession
of an expensive piece of art or of some relicts, they can have the copies of
the original one. This is good because now the art is free to everyone, and as
Benjamin argues this is an important weapon against fascism.
7. I had also a hard time in
understanding nominalism before the lecture and the seminar. In addition, I
couldn’t give a clear answer about the opinion of Benjamin and A&H about
culture revolutionary potentials. I am not sure if your reflections about
A&H opinion are the reflections that you had before the seminar or after
the seminar. If it is your reflection after the seminar I think that it is not
correct because Benjamin was more optimistic that the culture will change
society, in contrast with A&H who argues that there are no revolution
potential and the things isn’t going to get better. I am sorry if I
misunderstood that part of your reflection. Overall, you made a good job!
8. I like that you try to explain
nominalism and realism with an example. I also noticed that we spent most of
the time talking about nominalism. At the seminar we didn’t talk at all about
dialectic and we talk for a while about aura. I think that those meanings are
also interesting, and even though there were easier to understand than
nominalism, I would have like it if we had discussed them under historical
context. As for aura we talked about pieces of art that have aura and are
possessed by few, probably rich, people. Nowadays the technology has evolved
and we can reproduce art pieces, they may not have aura anymore but they are
available for anyone to experience and to possess them. This is dignity of
people that are not rich in the society. Fascism argues that no matter what,
people belong to the social class that they were born, and that situation
cannot change. The liberation of the art helped people to overcome this idea
and to make progress.
9. Plato's Cave is a great a very
helpful allegory to understand realism. Once we have understood realism it was
easier to define nominalism. Realism is quite tricky, because I had connected
the world realism with something that is real, but this is not the case.
Realism is about understanding what is real; the things we see are just the
reflections of the real objects. Nominalism is about the opposite. As you very
well mentioned, balance between those two are important. Nominalism can be
dangerous for the society, because it can erase the concepts and lead people
just to accept the things as they are. People in that case are "slaves",
they don't explore things, they don't try to make changes and the progress of
individuals and the society stays stable.
10. I am also wondering how the
superstructure will be in a few years. With the use of internet and the
technology everyone now can have access to information and produce information
too. Everyone can say his opinion no matter if it is right or wrong. We have to
be critical in order to filter all this huge amounts of information that we
receive every day. Social media these days has changed the social bones. We
have more friends than we had before, we spend a lot of time with them on
internet, but the real relationships are integrated. That is to say that we
cannot always avoid the side effects and we have to keep a balance. The results
in our culture/superstructure will be shown in a few years. Thank you for
sharing your thoughts!
Theme 3
1. I totally agree with you that it is
easier to understand what theory is, when you get to know what theory is not.
This way of understanding and thinking can be used also in understanding
several stuff in other fields, like physics and math.
I am not in your seminar group and I would like to know what you discussed, since you didn’t find it helpful. To me our seminar was very useful. It helps me understand clearly the meaning of paradigm and how paradigm shifts change our way of thinking over the years. Also at the end we mentioned again the main points of the meaning of theory and we made a summary that really sort things out.
I am not in your seminar group and I would like to know what you discussed, since you didn’t find it helpful. To me our seminar was very useful. It helps me understand clearly the meaning of paradigm and how paradigm shifts change our way of thinking over the years. Also at the end we mentioned again the main points of the meaning of theory and we made a summary that really sort things out.
2. Enjoyed reading your reflection and
I found your examples helpful. I am also thinking about good and bad theory in
papers. Due to our low experience in research and the specific field I find
hard to understand when a theory is strong or meaningless. A way to understand
if a theory is weak or strong is to know where does or does not apply and if
its explanation makes sense in other context. But I still believe that you have
to be very experienced in a field to criticize the theories of the papers you
read in order not to get lost or disoriented.
3. Hi,
We didn’t talk in our seminar about
hypothesis. It was nice to read about it and how it is linked to the theory. So
hypothesis is a way to construct theory, but not all theories constructed with
the use of a hypothesis. Also, theory is not a hypothesis as a detective could
say, theory is about explaining why something is happening, is the connection
between phenomena, and theory can be built on other theories or in contrast to
them.
Thank you for sharing the answer to the question about what is a man. I was thinking the same, how this question is relative to our theme and why we spent so much time on time. I didn’t ask Ilias about it because I thought that it would be silly, but seems that other students had the same question. Now I get the point of that discussion!
Thank you for sharing the answer to the question about what is a man. I was thinking the same, how this question is relative to our theme and why we spent so much time on time. I didn’t ask Ilias about it because I thought that it would be silly, but seems that other students had the same question. Now I get the point of that discussion!
4. Your reflection introduced some
different dimension of what theory is. We didn’t discuss any of them in our
seminar and it was nice to read about them and learning something new like the
"Ringelmann effect". All these, make me think how difficult is to
define the theory and to set some clear limits in the definition. The same
holds true about all the theories, we cannot divide them into categories
easily, since theories are built on theories and we cannot really separate
them. Also, in research we lead by theory, we built on theories. Nothing starts
from scratch, theory is our starting point.
5. Inspired by your reflection I am
wondering which truths we will be valid in a few years. I mean that now we take
something for granted but in a few years maybe some of those things will be
proved wrong. We depend are way of think on truths, and then those truths
proved false, we have to change our way of thinking. We also talked about it in
our seminar, but in terms of paradigm. Paradigm is a way of thinking and there
are old and new paradigms. Paradigm shift happened when the old paradigm is
replaced by a new one which leads also to change the way we think.
6. I like your reflection because you pointed
out all the important parts of the lecture and the seminar. However, I would
like you to share with us your interpretation of post humanism. In that part of
the lecture I got a bit confused and it would be really helpful if I read more
about it. I have interpreted as a theory of what humans are, what is your
opinion?
7. Your idea about reading the same
paper is really good. As you said everyone has a different opinion, everyone
perceives the world from a different point of view. Different opinions about
the same topic are always interesting to be presented and discussed! I want to
point out one more thing about hypothesis. If a hypothesis proved right then it
is a theory. Means that hypothesis is a way to construct a theory, but not all
theories were based in hypothesis.
8. Hi,
Before the lecture I also found it
difficult to explain what theory is. It was difficult to describe it without an
example or without any context. But after the lecture and the seminar things
became easier. I like that you written example and that you said your opinion
in most of the part of your reflection. Theory is a form of practice. Praxis or
practice in about doing and theory is about seeing. However, both of them are
knowledge of the same thing, they are different ways to understand something. Thanks
for sharing!
9. Hi,
Reading your reflections helped even
more to sort thing about theory, praxis and hypothesis. I like your structure
and it was easy to follow your thoughts. In our seminar we didn’t talk about
practice and it use really helpful to read it from you. I agree with you that
theory is something constructed, based on facts events or hypothesis that have
been proved right. Hypothesis also has a meaning and it could be theory only if
it exists in space and time, and as you said if it can be compared to reality.
Good job!
10. Theme 3 at the beginning seemed
easier than the previous themes, since it was more straight forward and not
talking about philosophical opinions and reasoning. But, it was proved not so
easy to define what theory is. I agree with you that it was easier to
understand what theory is not. Sometimes it works to define something by
defining what it is not. After the lecture and the seminar things are clearer.
It was interesting to read your reflections that especially focused on the
difference between theory and hypothesis. The example that you have used
illustrated both of them very well. It is also an example that could be use to
describe paradigm shifts.
Theme 4
1. It was nice to read about your point
of view in this week's theme, since you already have some knowledge on it. In
our seminar we also talked about objectivity of data. I agree with you that is
difficult to gather objective data, but the objective data is not the point of
the research. Researchers want to know the opinion of the participants and
theirs spontaneous reaction. In other words, the most important when you gather
data, is not to influence the participants before they take part in the study.
2. Hi, I like your reflections, it was
interesting to read about what you have discussed in you seminar, since we are
not in the same group. The example that Ilias gave for the independent and the
dependant variables was funny and helped me understand a lot the difference of
those variables. We have to be focused on those variables when we design a
questionnaire. Each question has to ask about one variable, in order to be
simple for the participant to understand and answer. Also in the validation of
the survey, we have to check if you have data for those variables that we used
in our experiment. Worth to say that the experiment will be more complex as the
number of the variables increases.
3. Hi,
I enjoy reading your reflection! It
seems now you have a better understanding of the methods, that you had before (in
you bachelor degree). I also agree with you that it was easier this week to
understand the theme but harder to discuss about it. In our seminar we didn’t
talk about internet questionnaires and it would be interesting to read more
about what you have discussed! Maybe it’ s easier faster and cheaper to have
internet surveys, but yes by choosing internet questionnaires you automatically
exclude the group of people that do not use computers or internet.
4. Hi,
I like your inflection, because it
focuses more on your opinion about this week’s context and what you have
discussed during the seminar. Looks like the discussion in each seminar group
vary. I am thinking about your discussion that every study is quantitative at
the end, if you draw conclusions and sum up the results. Quantitative data can
be extended from the sample to whole population, but qualitative not.
Qualitative data have to be represented one by one us you said. But if you
analyze the qualitative data and construct a statement does this make the
qualitative study quantitative? I would have like to read more about your
thoughts on that, and maybe an example will have made the things clearer.
5. Hi,
I also enjoy reading the paper of
Ilias. It is very interesting how our actions depend on our body and our
appearance. This could be used in further research in different fields, like
education or psychotherapy and as you said to investigate a sensitive or
controversial subject such as prejudice and racism. Also, you gave very well
definitions about qualitative and quantitative methods. There is not such a
thing as quantitative method is always better than qualitative or the
reversed. The method that suits best in
our study depends on the questions we want to answer through our study and
sometimes a combination of both is necessary.
6. Hi,
After three weeks of almost
philosophical discussions, this week’s theme made a difference. It was easier
to follow and understand, but not so easy to fire up an interesting discussion
in our seminar. It seems you were not so satisfied this week, because you
already have knowledge of this subject. But this course gave to me a deeper
understand of quantitative and qualitative method and a different approach to
learn about them. I think it will be
very useful during our master programme and our master thesis.
7. Hi,
The study of Ilias about homeless
people in London is so interesting. Thank you for sharing, since this example
had not come up in our seminar. I agree with you that qualitative and
quantitative research complete each other. The method that we can use to gather
data for our study depend on the field and the subject of the research. When we
use one method the context that we examine is reducing. As a result, if we
choose the wrong method or we do not combine both of them, it’s possible to
lose the main reason of our study. Based to that we cannot compare and decide
which method is the best without having a context to apply them.
8. Hi! I like you post you did a great
job summarizing the limitation and the benefits of qualitative and quantitative
research. In our seminar we didn’t discuss about the researchers that each
student had choose. I believe it would be interesting to spend some time of our
group conversation to discuss about them. That could fire up an interesting
conversation since this week it was not so easy to start one. As you said
almost everyone have learned about those methods before. However, in our group
we discussed about our experiences of taking part in studies and answering
questionnaire. Every one of us had taken part at least to one questionnaire
that last more than one and a half hour. Questionnaires of that extend make
people tired and lead them to just answer the questions without thinking a lot.
So we conclude that the size of the questionnaire is also important for having
results that represent the actual fact.
9. Hi,
I feel like you have understood a
lot this week’s theme. Your reflection was a good mass up of the important
parts. It was easy to follow and understand your thought. Thank you for pointed
out how we can analyze qualitative data. While i was reading the post of our
colleagues, this question came up to my mind and now by reading your post it is
answered. I agree with you that the method we choose depends on the research
question. We have to be careful which method we will choose in order not to
miss the important part of the study. Sometimes also a combination of both is
the best solution. Qualitative method support and complete the qualitative
method and the reversed.
10. Hi,
Your reflections are always very
interesting. You have a nice way to write about things, and your descriptions
are easy to follow and understand! In
addition, you didn’t have any background knowledge on the theme compared to
most of us but I feel like you have done a good job and you have well
understood the subject. I also enjoy reading your post this week, because you
gave some helpful examples and most of us didn’t. I agree with you that the
quality of the research could be improved by choosing the right method or the
combination of those. Thanks for sharing!
Theme 5
1. Hi,
I agree with your opinion in step
two. I also didn’t like the categorization of the ideas in great ideas, big
ideas and innovative ideas according to the amount of money that you gain
through this idea. As you said money are important, but I don’t think that
money should be our motivation when we want to come up with an idea or to
create something. Also, there s a possibly for a great idea never to gain the
fame and the money it deserves. In addition, it doesn’t mean that every idea
that gains a lot of money is a great one. But maybe this also depends on our
personal opinion about what we consider as a great idea.
2. Hi,
I also this week missed the
opportunity to discuss more about the theme in a seminar. In the seminar you
have the opportunity to discuss in smaller groups, see things for a different
perspective, make questions, summarize and gain a better understanding. I also
found interesting that the definition of the problem is more important than the
solution. Looks like you can solve a problem that you couldn’t solve before or
having a solution easier and quickly by define the problem again. I am going to
apply this from now and now, since most the time I go directly to try to find
the solution of a problem without trying to redefine it first. The example of
the bear and Mr. Bean were funny and helpful.
3. Hi,
It was interesting to read your
reflection. I like that you gave examples to define what design is. I still
cannot tell clearly what design is, but as the lecturer said is a really hard
question. I would have like to discuss a bit more about it in a seminar. Your
example was helpful and illustrative. As you said in a design research
different theories and process are combined. That means that people from
different fields and professions work together and help each other to
understand all the constructors of the problem and to come up with a good
design.
4. Hi,
I like the fact that you wrote more
about your personal opinion and how the first lecture reflect on your life and
studies. Reevaluation is important when it comes to research. Also, a
suggestion of Haibo was to not always believe to ourselves. Mean that we are
not perfect and by hesitate our thoughts and our ideas we will end up with
better results. I didn’t really like the context of the example about the
creepy man, but I got the point of it. I would have like to read how the second
lesson reflects on you.
5. Hi.
I like your reflections about this
theme. However it is quite interesting that you prefer to have two lectures
than one lecture and one seminar. I agree with you that last week was hard to
fire up an interesting conversation in the seminar, but it is always nice to
discuss with your classmates and share opinions and questions. I really believe
that the seminar every time help me gain more knowledge and form a clearer
opinion about each theme. This week's theme it could be a lot more interesting
if it has been discussed in seminar.
6. I also have mixed feeling about the
first lecture. It was better organized than the second lecture, and the way
that he represented the theme was entertaining. However, I didn’t like that the
value of an idea depends on the money that can earn. The most important part of
the lecture was the redefinition of the problem-research question. We have to
keep in mind that the problem is defined by someone else, so we need to
redefine it I order to get a better understanding and come up with a solution.
I had never thought about that a solution of a problem is based on 90% of the
definition of the problem and 10% at the actually solution.
7. Hi,
You have stick out the most
important points of this week. You have very well defined that prototype
doesn’t have to be a solution of a problem; prototype is more like a tool that
helps giving answer to research questions. Prototype also is not a method of
research. The use of the design in order to create a prototype and give answers
to the research question is the method. Process is giving the empirical data as
you said; the empirical data are the reality.
8. Hi,
I think that the notes of the first
lecture helped you understand in my opinion the most important part of the
lecture. The way that we define the research question is the most important
part of giving an answer to that. We usually run directly to find a solution
before we define again the problem. If we spend more time to define the problem
then it will be easier to find the solution. I am not sure if I agree with you
in your reflections of the second lecture. It was for me also hard to
understand some parts of it. I hope that by reading to other people reflections
you will get a better understanding.
9. Hi,
I make a different interpretation of
the scene of Johnny English. If he could just try to follow the thief he
would not have succeed. He passes the obstacles by redefining them. he finds
different solutions than the thief, solutions that he can easier achieve. This is what we have to do when it
comes to research. The research question maybe is defined by someone else. So
we have to spend time in redefine it in order to give an answer later easier.
Your point of view in this example of Haibo is also interesting. Overall good
reflection. Thank you for sharing.
10. Hi,
It was really interesting to read
more about prototypes of the further research you have done on this topic.
Thank you for sharing. Looks like you really wanted to get a clearer idea about
that. I believe that a seminar could have helped us all in forming a clearer
idea, since as I have read in a lot of posts, most of us were struggling with
the second lecture. My opinion about the main reason of prototype is also same
with yours. I would like to read more about your reflection. Thank you also for
pointed out how Cisco Company evaluates an innovative idea, because I didn’t
understand it very well during the lecture.
Theme 6
1. Hi,
We were in the same group this week,
so it was easy to understand your points and the examples despite of some
spelling mistakes in your text. I like that in the end you pointed out the
answer of Ilias. A lot of students last week were complaining that they should
have learned all of that before their bachelor thesis. Ilias was so right
saying that you can understand better something when you have tried and failed
first. Also, now in the master programme we have the maturity to discuss about
some topics and gain more knowledge than if we have discussed them in the
bachelor programme. After six weeks of studying and learning new things it was
nice to end your final post with the thought that we are never done with the
knowledge and we can learn as long as we live if we want it to.
2. Hi,
I like that you referred to your
previous course that is connected to this one. Maybe it would be nice if you
had expanded a little bit on that and your selected paper about focus group
interviews. I like your reflections. I agree with you that the number of the
participants doesn’t define the type of the method, but the type data that we
want to gather do. However, the number of the participants/subjects defines if
a case study is a case study. A case study is about examining a single thing
that is interesting and different from the other. If a case study applies to
more than one, is not a case study any more.
3. It was also for me difficult to find
a paper that contains a case study. I was searching for a long time but I was
getting more confused. I finally decided to do the same as you and pick one of
those that the case study is written in the title. It's bad that your selection
wasn't a case study at the end. When we sat in smaller group to discuss, all of
us had the some difficulty. I agree with you that it would be easier to
understand what a case study is if some papers were suggested by the professors
instead of picking up one on our own. But maybe, we are ready to perceive
knowledge when we have tried and failed first.
4. Hi,
I really enjoy reading your reflection. The example of 11/09 is very interesting. The aspect that defines a case study is not the method of research but the case of the research. The case has to be about one thing that different from the other. That's why this thing is interesting to be investigated. Also, you explained well that the case study is not about confirming a theory. The case study is about something new and there is nothing similar that has been done before to base your research, you are kind of blind when you start a case study.
I really enjoy reading your reflection. The example of 11/09 is very interesting. The aspect that defines a case study is not the method of research but the case of the research. The case has to be about one thing that different from the other. That's why this thing is interesting to be investigated. Also, you explained well that the case study is not about confirming a theory. The case study is about something new and there is nothing similar that has been done before to base your research, you are kind of blind when you start a case study.
5. Hej,
Very nice reflection post. As I have
not experience in qualitative methods and the different types of interviews, it
was very interesting to me to read about them. Thank you for introducing these
techniques, and explain a bit the strengths and the weakness of semi conducted
interviews and group focus interviews. My conclusion about case study is almost
similar to yours. A case study is about a thing that is interestingly different
from the other. We try to understand how it works and why it’s different
without having similar studies to base on. This can be a way to form new
knowledge at the end of the study, but you cannot know in advance if it will
come up with something or not. In a case study you are on your own, you are
exploring something new, so you can set your own example and method of
research.
6. Hi,
I would like to share an example
that Ilias gave to our seminar, because I believe it demonstrates most of your
thoughts. He talked about a case study
on a new and weird fashion that a lot of young people follow. We cannot make
qualitative or quantitative research because this case is completely new and we
don’t know what to ask the people, we don’t know the research questions since
we don’t know anything about this fashion. So we can make a case study to one
of those people, in order to understand what is going on, what all of this is
about, what is in people’ s mind and lead them to do this. After that we have
an idea of what is going on so we can continue with qualitative or quantitative
research in more people. We can draw conclusion about this fashion and have
general results. Hope you will find this example interesting and helpful!
7. Hi,
I have read a lot of your post and I
believe that always you work hard and try to improve yourself and your
knowledge. I think that you did the same this week too. Looks like you have
understand completely now the qualitative and the quantitative methods. However,
I couldn’t get very well your reflection on case study, in some points sound
like it is the same with design. It is interesting that you talked about the
case study length since we didn't in our seminar. Do you mean that the paper of
case studies should not exceed a specific lenght? It would be nice if you
expand on that a bit more.
8. Hi,
I like the fact that you wrote about
your experience in the course. It was nice to read that your skills have been
improved during this course. I feel also the same. All the papers that we have
ready and the post that we have write helped me a lot to improve my English and
my ability to read faster than before, understand research issues and more.
From the first week till the last week the difference is noticeable. Also, the
structure of the course, with the pre posts, the lectures, the seminars, the
reflection post and the comments help me grasp all the week themes and I feel
like I have learned a lot, and I have learn more than I could have learn if we
just have written exams. Now, in the last week I can understand the meaning of
this structure and the contribution of the course to my knowledge. My opinion
about discussing our selected papers is the same with yours. Always the
discussion with my classmates helped understand better and see each theme from
their perspective. Sharing thoughts, opinion and ideas is like sharing
knowledge.
9. Hi,
Based on the content of your
reflection I can assume that we were in the same group. You summarized well
enough our discussion with Ilias. It was interesting that we could have
qualitative research with only one participant. As long as the patient with the
rare disease is the only one in the world with this disease, we can have
qualitative research and our results will be accepted. But this could not
happen if there are more than one patients. Also, the discussion about
Copernicus was fruitful and helped me see the meaning of the case study from a
different point of view.
10. Hi,
I was thinking that the seminars are
more useful than the lectures. But now, that we missed the lecture I changed my
mind, I believe that the lectures are equally important. It would be very
helpful if we had a lecture this week, in the lecture we would listen to a
lecturer talk about case studies and different types of qualitative methods, in
which I have no experience. However, the discussion at the seminar was very
informative. I like the conclusion that you draw about case studies, it
reflects my opinion too. Case studies are not made to confirm a theory but they
can lead to form a new theory. Case study is about "a specific
situation" as you said, that is different from the other and worth to be
further investigated to know more about it. Case study as I perceive it, it is
a type of research that can be realized by using research methods such as
qualitative methods or any method that the author wants. Since case study is
about something new, the researcher can create his own method and plan.
Commentary
This
course consists of six weeks with different theme in each one. The themes of
the first two week were so different from what I was used to study in my
Bachelor. As a result it was hard to understand a lot of parts of them on my
own. The lectures and the seminars helped so much to grasp the themes and
overcome any difficulties I had on understanding them. The lectures, the
seminars, the smaller group discussion with my colleagues and reading and commenting
the blog postings during all the weeks helped a lot to enhance my knowledge and
gain a deeper understanding.
The
first themes were interesting to discuss but I couldn’t understand the relation
of them with the course. The last weeks we were involved in research and
different types of methods to do research. The course from philosophical and
theoretical became more practical over the weeks and now the connections
between all of the themes are clear to me. Below is represented a summarize of
the methods we can use when we want to answer a research question.
When it
comes to research the most important part is the research questions that we want to answer with our
research. It is advised to spend
more time in defining the research question since it is the one which
will orient the whole research what methods and what type of research we will
use. We need to define the problem several times in order to find out what the
real problem is. Also, the problem or the question might be defined by someone
else, when we redefine it, we see the problem from our point of view, which
probably will make things easier. After this process, it will be easier to answer the research
question and we will need less time. The definition of the problem is more
important part than the solution of the problem.
As the
question now is well defined, we can understand what type of data we need to
our research and which method we will use.
Quantitative
methods depend on numerical measurements. This type of data can be
gathered by asking participants with questionnaires, by electronic equipment
measuring or by observation under uncontrolled conditions. Qualitative methods help
us explore a topic with more details and gain an in depth understanding. We can
use different type of interviews to gather these data. Both of the methods have
strengths and limitations what we have to consider. Which method we will use depends on the field of
the research and the context of the research question. We have to be
aware that when we choose
a method the context of the research is reduced, so it is likely to lose
the main reason of the study if we choose the wrong method to collect data. A combination of both methods
is also used to help us get better results and a complete knowledge of the
field. In this way we reduce the risk of missing important data for our
results.
We haven’t answered our
research question simple by gathering the data. The data have to be analyzed in order to form new
knowledge on the field. Graphs, statistic data and diagrams do not simple give
the answer, an argument has to be formulated to explain the results. The same
holds true also about the interviews. Conducting interviews is not a
qualitative method of gathering data, if we not take these data under consideration,
make connections between the long and complex answers and draw results and
conclusion.
We have also to consider in a
research the objectivity
of the data. In theme 1 we have learned about the ideal of objectivity which pre Kant scientist
supported. Objectivity is about perceiving the world independent from our
experience and eliminating the human subject when we product knowledge. Kant
and post Kant epistemologists argues that we cannot accept the world as it is,
the world depends on as. The data are in the world and when we conduct a
research we have to gather them. Since we choose which method and what type of
data we collect, the data cannot be always objective. However in a research the
point is not to have objective data but to have the experience, the opinion and
the subconscious reactions of the participants. In other words the point is to try not to influence the
participants before the experiment and as a result to not influence the
data that we got.
Instead of a research question
in a research is possible to have a hypothesis. In this case through our research we try to prove if
this hypothesis is true or not. If it is true we have created a theory from
that hypothesis. The researches usually based on theories and nothing starts
from scratch. Theory is about looking and seeing not only with our
eyes but with our mind, which reminds me of Plato who argues that we perceive
through our eyes and ears and not with our eyes and ears. Truth is a state of knowledge that
is valid now, but this can change over the years and things we take for granted
could proved wrong in the future, this is the paradigm shift. If we want to make changes and
contribute with new knowledge we have to think in a different way sometimes and not accept
the things as they are. This is connected to theme 2 where Nominalism suggests
us to accept the things we see as real and don’t question them. Nominalism is
the opposite of Platonic realism in which we have to look further in order to
understand what is real. This also reminds me of Kant, who suggest to think in
terms of reason and not in terms of fact.
A new idea or something that
is different from all the others could be a subject of a research. This is what
we call a case study.
A case study in contrast to regular research is not trying to prove a theory
and is not based on similar studies because it’s about something new from what
we knew so far. So in a case study we try to understand why something is
different and steak out. We don’t also have research questions in a case study
because we don’t know anything about what we investigate. After a case study a research
with qualitative or quantitative methods can be realized in order to
gather more information about it and have general results.
A very useful tool in our research can be a
prototype. Prototypes are not the solution to a problem but a way
that help give answers to the research question. During the design process we
create the right prototype, we collect empirical data and we redefine the
problem. This is a back and forth process. We present our project to the
people, we get feedback from them, we make the necessary improvements and
changes to our project and then we go back to people again. Design is all the steps between
an idea and the realization of the right prototype.
Overall,
this course was an interesting journey that equipped me with knowledge and
skills I will use during my academic and daily life. I will keep in my mind what
Ilias said in the last seminar that we are never done with knowledge meaning
that we still have a lot to learn as long as we want it to.
