Methodologies and Critical Analysis

Methodologies and Critical Analysis 

Methodology 

Methodology is a way to go about researching and the planning behind it.

Evidence it in project development, research and resolution.

A logical, systematic and structured way of organising a research project and gathering necessary information.

Evidence that you have reflected critically on various research methods and chosen the ones that are most appropriate for your research project. 

Doing your research project - Judith Bell & The Postgraduate Research Handbook - Gina Wisker (chapters 13,14,15) books to read

Palgrave Study Skills - Choosing appropriate research methodologies - Online resource

What kind of research methods are you going to use? Are they mostly:

Quantitate, or qualitative or both?

What do you think you methods will enable you to discover?

What might they prevent you from discovering?

What kind of research methods would be best suited to the kind of research you are undertaking and the research questions you are pursuing?

What sort of problems do you envisage in setting up these methods?

What are their benefits?

What will you need to do to ensure they gather useful data?

Include:

Literature Review - Libraries, Journals, Internet

A particular theoretical approach

Questionnaires - Sample size, Reliability and Validity

Interviews - Structured or unstructured? Bias?

Sketchbooks/Critical Diaries/Reflective Logs

How can making physical work be part of research, critical analyse of the outcomes based on theories from source research or gather feedback from professionals regarding a certain issue for them to evaluate it from. 

Outline your methodology at the start of the Dissertation. 

Introduction to include the strategy of the project, chapter breakdown, suggest the type of research and how they are going to tie elements together. Reference books you will investigate and what mini arguments you will investigate into to answer a main question.

Critical analysis 

Selective, separating, choosing information valid to an answer

Having an idea or opinion and testing it with many sources to supply evidence to come to conclusions. 

Consider different points of views

Consider the opinions of the author, or the person supplying the information, what are there beliefs, are they biased to some view points? Consider this and analyze this too. Consider there emotional, intellectual, emotional, philosophically and political opinions. 

Where am I coming from? 

Context is everything, consider the influence of one or more of the following; the time, place, society, politics, economics, technology, philosophy, scientific thought

Argument, how am I going to develop answers to my question

What do I want to say? Regarding the question whats the point of the investigation

Never lose focus of central argument, have a focused central argument

Have I got the evidence to back it up?

Could you find more evidence to support your conclusions? 

Where else do I need to look in order to find more evidence?

Am I expressing myself clearly and logically? 

Triangulation - Piting alternative theories against the same body of data. 3 sources absolute minimum. 

A bad argument style to avoid

Contradicting

Have no relationships with previous statements

Do not have any logical sequence

Are based on assumptions that were never questioned

Appeal to authorities that are known to be limited or suspect (wikipedia, dictionaries, historical traditions)

Present opinion as argument unsupported by evidence 

Take no account of exceptions or counter claims

Try to claim absolute instead of qualified truths, don't conclude everything I have wrote is truth, use evidence as reference to suggest how it could be a possible resolution

Have opinions backed up by lots of evidence

Combine block quotes, paraphrased quotes, adds depth and then focused support influence combine a combination of evidencing with paraphrasing, block quotes, imbedded quotes.  

Evaluation
You need to show the reader that you are evaluation the evidence for its relevance and reliability 
Looking at and coming to conclusions about the value of your evidence. 

Plan

Keep it simple, refine what you want to say and focus on a few key issues

Look into your key issues in depth and bring in the maximum evidence in to support your views

Discuss your issues and the evidence you have found in a clear and logical manner

Move from general theories to specific

How to analyse a text
1. Identify an aspect of my specialist subject to explore.
2. Select a writer or theorist and a piece of writing about this subject.
3. Make notes identifying key points in the writing.
4. What evidence is used to support or prove these points?
5. Is it convincing? What else needs to be said in order to prove these key points and opinions?
6. Write a response to the piece of writing and comment on; the implications of my work, do I agree or disagree on whats been said? Does it help support my views and arguments? What thoughts have I had upon reading these texts? Analyse the evidence the writer uses.

Visual analyse
Line, Color, Tone, Texture, Form, Composition, Type etc and how these are related to the function or message communicated through the work?

How are these aspects relate to context; media and materials available, use of technology, attitudes and mood applied to work.

What evidence do I have to support my conclusions?