Theme 4: Quantitative research - Comments

1.

Hi,

I think that your reflection presents a very interesting perspective on quantitative and qualitative data. I agree with your argument that quantitative data is not automatically objective by being presented with numbers, and that for example depending on which variables is decided to be included in a questionnaire the information that will be received will be shaped from the beginning. 

To add to your discussion I came to think about the first lecture for Theme 5. Among other topics I think that the term “curse of dimensionality” relates to your discussion. In other words that numerical data do not always represent all aspects/dimensions of the observations that can be made in a study. There is information that can be difficult to include in numerical data.

Interesting reflection and great use of examples from research papers!

2.

Hi,

I think that you have written a great summary of what you have learnt and discussed during the seminar. It seems that you had an interesting discussion on the text about drumming and how culture was presented in it.

I also feel that the papers have given me a new understanding of how many different ways it is possible to do research, and that not only one useful method exists. To add to your discussion I also thought that they gave a deeper understanding of different types of data that can be used in quantitative research methods. As for the text about drumming where motion was measured and later on analysed.

Great reflection with a good summary of texts and interesting discussions based on your thoughts!

3.

Hi,

I think that it was really good that you researched the term qualitative research in order to be more prepared for discussing the differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods.

 I also think that it was interesting to hear about the importance of testing for example a questionnaire before handing it out to the participants. In a paper that I read for Theme 6 they discuss how they did not test their questions before they held interviews, and the participants thought that the questions were difficult to understand. So I agree with you that it is important to test the methods of collecting data before using them.I like that you have written both what you have learnt and what methods you have used to get a deeper understanding for Theme 4. 

Interesting reflection!

4.

Hi,

I also found the lecture on "Drumming in Immersive Reality: The Body Shapes the Way We Play" interesting. I think that you have pointed out an interesting aspect of the paper when discussing the participants and how representative they are.

 I think that your suggestion for further research have an interesting perspective on how not only methods and data are important for the generalisation of an experiment, yet also the participants. I had not taken this perspective in to consideration when reading the paper at first and therefore I found this interesting to read.

Great reflection with good explanations of your thoughts and what you have learnt for this theme!

5.

Hi,

I think that you have an interesting discussion on collecting objective data with the help of quantitative and qualitative research methods.To add to your discussion on quantitative methods: 

I think that an example of focusing on a minor set of data from a big set of data is when a questionnaire consists of predefined answers. In this case the answers lead to not collecting all types of answers to a question. Instead a certain amount of alternatives are presented, which can be discussed in terms of leading to objective data or not.

Great reflection with a clear explanation of the discussions held on the different topics!