I have read two text for this week’s theme. Ilias Bergström and colleagues Drumming in Immersive Virtual Reality and an paper I have chosen to analyze: “Social Networking Sites: Their Users and Social Implications — A Longitudinal Study ” by Petter Bae Brandtzæg. The article was published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, volume 18, issue 4. The paper investigates the rapid adoption of social networking sites (SNSs) by looking at the social implications of their usage. I have also participated in a lecture held by Ilias himself that was mostly about his his paper about virtual reality and about the two main data collection methods.
We started the seminar by discussing within our small group about our experiences with qualitative and quantitative data before this course and our view of them. Most of us had done our bachelor thesis very recently so we had some understanding of the subject even before this theme. We could all agree that our understanding of the different methods of conducting research has since then expanded.
During the seminar we discussed and compared the two main forms of studies: qualitative studies and quantitative studies. In our group we started by listing the situations where one type of study form was better than the other. We concluded that a lot depends on the question one wants to answer and what type of answer you are after. In Ilias Bergström’s Drumming in Immersive Virtual Reality they wanted to find out how their test persons behaved and acted subconsciously. Their study could be based on both qualitative and quantitative data. What form of study to conduct must therefore be answered by what answer they want from the study. Ilias explained during the seminar that they wanted the subconscious reason why a stronger body illusion has an effect on the performance. Since the test persons wouldn’t know the subconscious reasons behind the illusion not much would be gained by explaining it through a qualitative research. However, if the answer they were after was different, a qualitative research method could have been preferred. There are different advantages and disadvantages with qualitative and quantitative research methods. With a quantitative research method it is easier to generalize and compare your findings. There are statistical and analytical tools to utilize to present your findings in an understandable way. The drawback is that you don’t take everything into account. The underlying reasons can be lost since a quantitative research doesn’t care about the before or the after. Qualitative methods can take a lot more into account (reasons behind the whatever you’re are examining or consequences) but it takes more work, is not as replicable and it’s hard to avoid being bias.
During the seminar we also discussed wicked problems - problems are so complex that can only be answer qualitative because there are too many factors in play. It would be impossible to answer a wicked problem purely qualitatively, it would be too much to try to squeeze in, in a quantitative stud. These types of problems are often seen in fields like humanistic or psychology.
Hi Alexis,
SvaraRaderaWhat a delightful read! I understand that you've put a lot of work into this weeks theme and that you have been active during the seminar. I totally agree with you that the questions asked controls the type of data collecting method you conduct in your research. I too, discussed the methods that Illias used in his research and we also concluded that his method probably was one of the better one, but that it was dependent on what they wanted to know. I think that human behavior in general needs to be examined using both qualitative and quantitative methods!
Hi~
SvaraRaderaPerfect summary of this week! You really did a lot of work to this theme. I cannot agree more with your idea that with a quantitative research method it is easier to generalize and compare your findings. Especially for engineering , statistics and analysis is absolutely useful in scientific research. Good job!!
You did a good job explaining the difference between qualitative and quantitative methods and their advantages and disadvantages. An example use case for both methods (or at least for the qualitative one since we had some practical examples in the papers we had to read this week ) would have been nice, though. If one would want for example to make a research about the change of Scandinavian literature in the last century that could only be properly analysed by using a qualitative methods. This would include asking questions like "What we're the main subjects? What stylistic devices have been mainly used in which time period?". Therefore I agree with you that humanistic studies mostly use qualitative methods. But I disagree that it is the same in psychology. I would even say that most of their theories are based on quantitative data.
SvaraRaderaHi Alexis!
SvaraRaderaGreat read, I think you grasped the theme and presented it in a good way. You explained the different methods in a good way with it's benefits and limitations. I like that you explained wicked problems, I didn't pick it up completly at the seminar so it's good to get better understanding.
You summarized this week's subject in well thought out way, good job! As many have stated, I like how you explained "wicked problems" because it was only brought up for a short moment in my seminar.
SvaraRaderaNicely written reflection! For me, the most important part to take away is that the method is wholly dependent on what question you ask, or rather which answer you are looking for. Different methods are used to get different answers, and you should let the question guide you to the right method in your research.
SvaraRaderaIt was interesting to look at this week's theme through the glasses of having recently done a bachelor, agreed on that. In fact, it might have been useful to have had this course before that one... Anyways, nice write up. I agree with above, that the core seems to be that different questions require different methods.
SvaraRaderaHi,
SvaraRaderaI also feel like this theme very interesting and I like the paper given by Ilias.It was a very interesting paper aiming at finding out wether different avanta can lead to different self recognition. It gives me many new idea s and I learned a lot from it.I also agree with you that Qualitative methods can take a lot more into account and it also takes more work, is not as replicable and it’s hard to avoid being bias.
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