final reflection

What is knowledge? That is a question I still have a hard time answering, but after this course I must say that I am much closer to finding the answer. In this course we have talked about a lot of different scientific methods and what type of questions they can answer. We have also talked about different research methods and what their characteristics are and what the advantages with the specific method are. We have also discussed more philosophical topics and different ways to see and perceive the world. All this combined have led med to a better understanding of how to make a research that we can gain new knowledge from.

When doing research it is important to always remember to distance yourself from the subject to be as objective as possible. Though it is important to remember that we can not be truly objective. Just the very basic thing that we are humans makes us look and interpret the world in a specific way that we probably can not change. We can not look at the world from “God’s point of view” which is a world without any experiences intervening with the perception of it. Kant said “Perception without conception is blind and conception without perception is empty” which means that we must interpret the world in some way for it to make any sense. If we only look at the world as it is and never abstract and generalise we can not question it, thus making us slaves to it.

I think the most important thing during research is to always stay open to the fact that anything can happen. We have to be as open minded and objective as humanly possible. When doing research, we often build upon earlier knowledge and theories. This is necessary since if we did not we would never be able to advance and gain new knowledge. But how do we know that these theories are true? It is very hard to say that something is true, we can only call a priori knowledge to be true. An example that I felt came up a lot during this course is when we discovered that the sun does not revolve around earth, and that in fact it is the opposite. That is an example of a paradigm shift. When a theory or something we take for granted is proven to be false, everything that is built upon that theory is probably also false. That is why we always have to be open minded to changes since everything we know only is true in our current paradigm.

During the second half of this course we left the more philosophical topics and talked more about different ways to research and methods to use in that research. Quantitative and qualitative methods are very common to use in a lot of different researches. Quantitative data can be calculated and measured while qualitative data is more open and complex. Both of these methods gives us data and it is up to us as researchers to analyse it and make new knowledge of it. Before this course, I did not really get what was useful with qualitative data and how you analyse it to be something useful. Quantitative data was much easier for me to understand since it feels more scientific, numbers do not lie and so on. I thought that qualitative data only was useful when analysed quantitatively, e.g. how many answered like this and so on. But after this course I understand that qualitative research is very useful when trying to answer complex question with no easy answer. Questions that are so complex and full with variables that we can not answer them with quantitative data. These questions does not end in a definite answer that is a couple of sentences long, rather it ends in an artefact that contains new knowledge.

When trying to come up with an answer to a really complex question or problem it is very important to define it carefully. The more time you spend on understanding and defining a question, the easier it gets to answer it in a correct way. Think more about the problem than the solution, because the solution can make you blind. It can be hard to see the simpler and better solution if you already are set on one answer. When you have defined the question you can probably clearly see what kind of method you have to use to collect the data. I have written in detail about when and why the different kinds of methods are used in different situations in my earlier blog posts. In some cases it is beneficial to mix different types of method, e.g. yes and no questions with some semi structured interviews. It can also be a good idea to just focus on one method, since I think that it sometimes can be hard time to analyse lots of different data and see how it fit together. In some cases it can also be beneficial to not follow any specific methods, instead use logic and reason to come up with an answer. The important thing is not how you collect data, it is how you analyse the data. It is when you analyse the data that it becomes research and we can gain new knowledge.

During this course I feel that I have gained a lot of insight of how to make good research, and it is something I wish I knew when I wrote my bachelor thesis. One thing I learnt is that the method of how you gain data is not the most important part of a research. It is how you analyse the data, and what conclusions you can draw. We gain new knowledge through a rational and open mind to the universe.

Comments

Theme 1

1. I felt the same as you when we started reading about this theme and the seminar also helped me a lot to understand the concepts. Your example with the baby being brought up by dogs is really interesting and I think it is a really clear example of how important it is for us to interpret what we observe. Otherwise, like you are saying, it would not have any meaning. Even though you are saying that you still feel lost and that philosophy is scary, I feel that you have a pretty good grasp of it and can explain what you mean in a way that is easy to understand. Keep it up!
2. I also felt that it was hard to understand what the theme really was about before the lecture and seminar, and frankly I think most of us did. You wrote one thing about a priori knowledge that I feel really made me understand it fully. That a theory is a priori if we can verify it by thinking. That really made it clear to me what a priori really means. 
It would be nice to hear a little bit more about what your thoughts are on the different topics discussed on the seminar and lecture. 
Also, there are several programs were you can comment directly in the pdf on the computer. For example adobe reader. Just a little tip! 
Good job!
3. Really interesting to read your explanation of what a priori and a posteriori knowledge is, and it really makes sense that a priori knowledge should not be able to exist without a posteriori knowledge. Because, like I just read in another blog, a theory is a priori only if we can verify it by thinking. And without the a posteriori knowledge we would not be able to think about anything really. 
Great post! I feel like for every post I read I understand the topic a little bit more.
4. I liked the idea of listening to the podcast before reading the text since it was, at least for me, really hard to dive straight into the text. I can really see that it would be easier to ease in to it by listening to someone else's thoughts first. I feel that you have understood the most important concepts and were able to explain them in a way that is easy to understand. Good job!
5. You say that "A priori means naturalism such as mathematics formulas" which I guess is right. But what I think is an easy way of thinking about what a priori knowledge is that if you can verify a theory by thinking, then it's a priori. An example from the lecture was that all objects takes up space. If you know what an object is you can verify that statement. 
Great post! Keep it up!

Theme 2

1. Hey! Very good job explaining what the differences are between nominalism and realism are. I feel like (and I think you agree) that none of these ways to see the world is going to work on its own. There has to be a mix between them in order for us to truly understand the world and interpret it in a way that leads us to a brighter future.
2. Hello. It is ok to not really understand the concepts before the lecture and seminar. A lot of us got the concepts wrong. I think that nominalism per se is not negative but it can have consequences if that is the only way we see the world. I think that it is important that we mix realism with nominalism in order for us to strive for a better future.
3. Hey! Good job on summarising the concepts in a clear and understandable way. It feels like you really grasped and understand it. Like you said, platonic realism is the opposite of nominalism and I think it is important to be able to interpret the world in both ways for us to go towards a better future. 
Great job!
4. Hello. The differences in time that you bring up is really important. It's interesting how different Benjamin and A&H thinks just because they wrote their texts in different times and cultures. You also decided to focus on other things as opposed to other blog posts, which was interesting to read. Good job!
5. Hello. 
Thank you for the explanation regarding myths and enlightenment. I also had a hard time understanding that and your explanation made it a bit clearer for me. I feel like you have a very good understanding of the concepts. Good job!

Theme 3

1. Hello. 
The discovery of how earth revolve around the sun is a really good example of a paradigm shift which we also talked about on the seminar. That paradigm shift made a lot of theories, that were considered true, false at once. Like you are saying, it is hard to know what truth is, since the paradigm can shift. Maybe a priori knowledge is the only knowledge that can be considered absolutely true. 
Cheerio!
2. Hello.
 Nice summary of what characterises a theory. I agree with your statement that theories should be verifiable, but they can not always be seen as truth. Like you are saying, a theory is only true in our framework or 'paradigm'. When a paradigm shift occurs a lot of theories can all of a sudden be considered false. It is important to always bear that in mind. I also like how you are saying that data is always filtered and subjective, which means that data is useless without a theory. This theme has really made me understand the importance of a well thought out and logical theory to back up your research with. 
Good job!
3. Hello. 
Great summary of the theme! You say that this week's theme was not about theories that tries to explain how things work. But that is exactly what I thought it was about? A theory is something that explains why. I did not spend much time writing about the five different kinds of theories in my blog post so that was interesting to read about and hear your thoughts. 
Great job!
4. Hello. 
First of all, I agree that this theme was much easier to grasp and understand than before. In my opinion that also means that it is harder to write something about it since it just is what it is. It would be nice if you could explain an develop your thoughts a little bit more. It may seem obvious that the theory of God is weak, but I think that you should try to explain why since it would help you and everyone that reads your post to understand exactly what you are talking about. 
Other than that. It feels like you understood this theme. Good job!
5. Hello. 
I don't really agree with the statement that a theory is true when enough people regard it as the truth. Scientific evidence and theories (in the more hard core science) should not be up for discussion and be decided true or not by people and perception. It is also hard to talk about truth. We are always in a framework called a paradigm that more or less decides if a theory can be considered valid or not. There could always be a paradigm shift that falsifies a lot of theories at the same time. An example of a paradigm shift is when we discovered that we evolve around the sun. So it is hard to talk about theories as truth.
I also think that it would be interesting if you talked and reflected a little bit more about what you have learned from the texts, lecture and seminar during this theme.

Theme 4

1. Hello! 
As always, an excellent reflection that is easy to understand. 
I do not think there is an answer to the question: which method is the best, qualitative or quantitative? Just like you are saying, quantitative methods works for simpler questions that needs a simple answer. Qualitative methods are used for the 'wicked problems' that are more complex and can not possibly be answered with yes or no. Quantitative and qualitative are just different methods and are both very good in their respective area.
2. Hello.
 Excellent summary and description of this weeks theme. You explained the differences between quantitative and qualitative research in a way that is easy to understand. It was also interesting to read about how important it is to really think about how you design the questionnaire. It would be nice to hear more about what you think about the different topics, what are your reflections?
 Good job!
3. Hello.
 I also agree that this week's theme was very easy to understand compared to previous themes. Though in my seminar we had some interesting discussions about when and how both qualitative and quantitative methods could be used, like that qualitative methods can be used to design a quantitative method. We also talked about 'wicked problems' and how one analyses data from qualitative methods, something that I was not very familiar with before the seminar.
4. Hello. 
I also found this theme to be easier to understand since it was not so abstract and I already had knowledge about it prior to this week. Just like you are saying I also do not think that one method is better than the other, it totally depends on the problem/question that we a trying to solve/answer. It is very important to choose the method that you know will be able to answer the question. Very complex questions for example could possibly only be answered with a qualitative method. 
Good job on the reflections!
5. Hello.
 A lot of people feel that they did not learn anything new during this theme, and I agree to some extent. I feel that it is really important to prepare for a research and have a really good base to stand on. I do not really know what you mean by that it is ok for us to not be as accurate when creating new questionnaires? Why would not the way we gather data matter just as much as in other fields? That is what we build our theories and analyses on. 
Anyway, good job!

Theme 5

1. Hello.
 Interesting reflections! I also think that both the example with Johnny English and the bear in the forest shows that a problem and solution is not always what it seams to be. I also liked that you linked your reflections to what we learned in a previous course. I agree with you on that one, I am also not sure that 'Genius design' is such a smart idea anymore. Researching and gather different people's thoughts seems like a better but more time consuming idea.
2. Hello.
 Great reflections on the first lecture. I also thought that what Haibo said about defining the problem versus solving the problem was interesting. Though, I think it is a bit misleading to say that we should spend 90% on defining the problem and then 10% solving it. What I mean is that when we are defining the problem we are also trying to solve it. A very good definition of a problem will also give an answer more easy.
3. Hello. 
I also think that the lack of a seminar was not good. Though, I must say that I enjoyed the second lecture, and it almost functioned like a seminar because of the open discussions we had during it. So I do not think it is that bad. I think that the thing Haibo Li said about 90% defining problem and 10% solving is interesting. But are we not solving the problem when we are defining the problem? A really well defined problem are easier to find an answer to.
4. Hello. 
I think the example with the bear, professor and the student is really interesting. You say that the real problem is to outrun the professor. Event though that may be the easiest solution it will end in the professor getting eaten, which is not very nice! I think it is important to search for the easiest solution and the real problem, but that does not mean that it always is the best solution. We also have to think about what is morally right and what everyone benefits from the most.
5. Hello.
 I felt exactly the same as you when we started this theme, that I did not know how much there was to know about design research, it was really interesting. Regarding the thing about defining the problem for 90% of the time and solve it during the remaining 10%. For me, defining the problem is also solving it. The remaining 10% is just picking out the and finding the answer from your really well defined and already solved problem. If that makes any sense…

Theme 6

1. Hello.
 I also thought that the lecture would have made for a better discussion at the seminar since we then would have the necessary basics of the topic. Like you are saying, a case study is more a type of research than a method. Qualitative and quantitative methods can be used in a case study, but it is important to point out that it is possible to use any other methods as well. We are not constrained to any specific guidelines in this area, since case studies mostly is about observing something new and gather knew knowledge. Great reflection, good luck with the last part of the course!
2. Hello. 
I agree with you that the seminars are more thought provoking than the lectures. But in out group that meant that we spent a lot of time on figuring out what a case study is instead of discussing the different aspects of it. We could have gotten the basic information from the lecture beforehand and have a better discussion at the seminar. 
I think you have a very good explanation of what a case study is and I really liked the definition you came up with. I think that a case study does not have to follow any specific guidelines or methods as long as it is logical. The important part is that we are gathering new knowledge of whatever it is that we are observing and studying. Great reflection!
3. Hello. 
I also feel that case studies was more interesting to discuss since we already had a pretty good understanding of what qualitative methods are. 
I do not really understand what you mean with that a case study stops being a case study when there are more objects to study than one? From what I understood, a case study is not at all based on how many subjects you are studying. A case study is more of a type of research. In a case study you can use qualitative and quantitative methods if necessary but it is more about observing and isolating a specific case which you hopefully can gain new knowledge and craft new theories from. 
The number of people in a research does not decide what type of study it is. What it can do is making the study more or less trustworthy. A qualitative method can be built upon just one person, but depending on what the study is about it might not be a very good study.
4. Hello.
 A agree with you that you can mix qualitative and quantitative methods in a research. But I think that it sometimes can make it hard to analyse and compare the different data you get. Like you are saying, a case study is not a method but more a guideline and a tool on how to observe and study a specific case. It does not even have to use a quantitative or qualitative method, the important thing is that it is logical and new knowledge comes from it.
Really nice reflection, good luck on the last part of this course!
5. Hello.
 I have never thought about that a case study does not have a hypothesis, that is interesting. Could that be because you do not want to skew the results you get and be as unbiased as possible? I think that it is really important to not have any presumptions when starting a case study since like you are saying it could end anywhere. I think that it is very free and anything goes as long as it is logical and rational.
Thanks for your thoughts and good luck with the rest of the course!

Theme 6: Comments

1. http://ninopmedia.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-reflection-this-theme-is-more.html?showComment=1445866872432
2. http://pargman420.blogspot.se/2015/10/post-seminar-reflection-6.html?showComment=1445868392892#c437066653184291856
3. http://dm2572lisa.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-reflection-post.html?showComment=1445871398900#c8946014278629077237
4. http://capitalmyboy.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-post-theme-post.html?showComment=1445873011419#c5537446347857400640
5. http://securepathofscience.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study_18.html?showComment=1445873681030#c4810405240223278965

Theme 5: Comments

1. http://butlikewhyisit.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-5-reflection.html?showComment=1445345274530#c2987291582375368225
2. http://fromplatotocasestudies.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-5-reflections.html?showComment=1445345825541#c3585389664393685256
3. http://lard-have-mercy.blogspot.se/2015/10/post-theme-5-design-research.html?showComment=1445346749663#c8350499266392448728
4. http://mawnzblog.blogspot.se/2015/10/reflections-post-theme-5.html?showComment=1445347138572#c1803478213608868591
5. http://theoryandmethodmediatechnology.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-5-design-research-after-two.html?showComment=1445348373037#c5705188469242143006

Theme 6: Post seminar

For this seminar we had two topics to discuss, qualitative studies and case studies. I feel that I already had a pretty good grasp of what qualitative studies are and what it means. Qualitative studies are often used to gain understanding of an underlying issue. The data is often gathered through interviews and observations in a semi or non-structured way. To make any sense of the data it is later analysed and hopefully results in an answer to the complex question.
During the seminar we did not discuss qualitative research and studies for long, since we all new what it was. Case studies was more interesting. I had heard about the term case studies before but did not really understand it and never thought about it as something different from other types of research methods.
A case study is not defined by the method it is using. I.e. it does not matter if the research is using a qualitative or a quantitative method or something else in order for it to be a case study. In a case study you look at a specific object or subject. I think it is important to really isolate the object you are researching in order to really concentrate on just the characteristics and look at what is unique with your study. This is important in order to come up with new theories which is the really strong benefit of using case studies.
Case studies are really useful when you want to do a first study on something that is weird and new. It can be a good start to come up with a theory and a plan on how to continue study the subject. Illias had a funny example for this that if our kids would start wearing all purple and wearing head mounted displays, bumping into each other. We should study this phenomena by isolating it and look at the different characteristics that could provoke this specific behaviour. It is important to sometimes just look at the subject we are interested in to know more about it. We do not always have to follow a specific method in order to come up with new knowledge. For example, Copernicus wanted to prove the we revolve around the sun. In order for him to do this, he did not follow a specific method, instead he made his reasons and arguments through logic, which I think is important.

Well that is all I got, bye bye.

Theme 4: comments

1. http://butlikewhyisit.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-4-reflection.html?showComment=1444653413315#c7161985179127157217 
2. http://ninopmedia.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-4-reflection-0-false-18-pt-18-pt.html?showComment=1444655588506
3. http://gamlagreker.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-4-reflection.html?showComment=1444656421250
4. http://pargman420.blogspot.se/2015/09/post-seminar-reflection-4.html?showComment=1444658317752#c4362896565030773696
5. http://capitalmyboy.blogspot.se/2015/10/theme-4-post-theme-post.html?showComment=1444658770588#c1692088154064857190

Theme 5: post seminar

Haibo li
Haibo talked about what he thought was important when making a design research. He divided the research in to five different questions or problems to solve in order to write a good paper. First you have to come up with an idea. It is really important to during the first stages of your research that you define the problem very carefully. It is easy to complicate a task that in fact could be really simple. Therefore it is important to really think about all the aspects of the task in hand to be sure that you simplify the problem as much as possible. Think more about the problem than the solution since the solution could make you blind, and not let you think about other solutions that could be simpler. He illustrated this by showing us how they came up with the idea to track head-movement by placing the web camera on the head instead of on the screen in front of you. I think that was a clear example of how they thought more about what was the actual problem and how could we fix it in the simplest possible way. The more we define and think through our ideas, the less time we have to devote to solving the problem.
After you have come up with the ideas you should filter trough them. There should be a technical evaluation on what will work good and what will not work and so on. According to Haibo we should look for a “breakthrough technique” and have a business mind when doing this. A great idea is worth billions of dollar. Personally I do not think it is that simple since a very bad idea in some ares, for example the environment, could still be worth a lot of money. So I do not really know what he meant with this, it can not be that simple.
Then you should validate your idea and build some kind of proof of concept. It could be something really simple just to test that your idea will work at all. When you have built and tested the proof of concept it is a good time to build a prototype and evaluate your idea and later on communicate it to the rest of the world.

Haibo’s lecture give me some new thoughts to think about when making research. Even though I already knew that it is important to really define your problem before starting to solve it, it was nice to see clear examples of when it really paid of and ended in a better solution.

Anders Lundström
This lecture was harder to follow and understand since I did not feel that there was a clear path and goal of it. I understand that Anders did not have time to prepare a lecture since he did not know about it in time, but still, that is how it is. Instead we had a discussion about what Anders thought was the point of a design research.

Through design, we shape a prototype that answers a particular question. In other words, the whole point of design research is to come up with a way that will give you new knowledge. The empirical data that comes from design research is artificial since it does no exist in the “real” world. This data is useless on its own. Therefore it is really important to analyse it thoroughly, since only then it becomes research and we can gain new knowledge. Anders defined new knowledge as the attention to something that has not been thought about before.

Even though I thought this last lecture did not have any structure, I feel like I understood the point of design research. It was maybe a bit more abstract than it had to be. But like Anders said, design research is a relatively new method in science and it could be hard to exactly define what it is.