Comments on: 4. On Choosing Methods; Statistics are giving me a mild Kurtosis

By: Jillian Swisher

Jillian Swisher — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 01:12:08 +0000

I noticed the same thing in this article, Aaron. Sullivan and Porter explain (this exact sentence actually appears twice in this article), “We further think that by becoming aware of the theory/practice binary that operates inside methodology of research and scholarship, we can develop a set of methodologies for workplace studies that contribute creatively to workplace research” (310). This makes me think that they found it more necessary to build a theoretical foundation for the argument in this article than to propose practical solutions to the problem. A follow-up article or similar could be comprised of those solutions.

Ashleigh, I agree that it makes sense to model our methodologies after relevant scholarship, and that’s definitely my first move when I’m stuck with research. I imagine, however, that Sullivan and Porter might argue that we would only be perpetuating the theory/practice binary by adopting pre-existing research methodologies. I guess that’s where we would very much benefit from the practical methodology for choosing methodologies that Aaron imagined.

By: AshleighP

AshleighP — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:42:16 +0000

I think another strategy could be to take a look at articles with similar concerns to whatever we decide to do for our own papers and examine what kinds of methods other researchers have used.

By: cseymour

cseymour — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 14:48:44 +0000

Hi Aaron, I love your assertion that our readings don’t seem to address the “method of choosing a method.” The one that came close was Koerber and McMichael, and while reading that essay that seemed structured teaching undergraduates, I has the same thought process as you: this just sounds like common sense. We are also offered the answer that methods “depend on the situation.” Okay . . .

There did seem to be a lack of advanced theory about how to apply common sense to various situational research questions. You seem interested in learning more about methodology–maybe you could fill that lack :)