Final post

This will be my final thought of the course "Theory and Method for Media Technology" in the first part will explain what I learned during the course and in the second part I will focus my thoughts on the different methods to answer complex research questions. The comments i have made during the course are in a different post: Comments

Part I: Reflection about the course “Theory and Method for Media Technology”

At the start of the course, I was not quite sure what kind of knowledge I will acquire, I thought would just learn and memorize different difficult methods and theories, but the knowledge I gained was much deeper than that. After completing the course I can say that I have a deeper understanding of fundamental theories and methods for any type of research in Media Technology and I have the capacity to use them in any research I will form part of.  

Particularly I think the first part of the course was the most difficult to understand, since we work with philosophical articles and concepts. Previously I had never had to read about these topics, in all my academic and professional background I did not delve into these topics because I've always focused on more technical and scientific issues. With the first articles I read I began to feel very sceptical about the course and did not understand the relationship of this content with my studies in Media Technology. But after the first seminar it all started to make sense and I think the most important reason for understanding these topics is that they allow you to think differently and take a fresh look at everything and even more a different perspective of the world and all around us.

Among the most important things we deal with in this part of the course was to understand what knowledge is, a term we use in our everyday conversations without understanding the true meaning of the word. It is a complex term and it is important to understand that there are different types of knowledge that depend on the way we perceive the "objects". It was an interesting topic and allowed us to start questioning everything around us and also to have different perspectives on the same topic. Other philosophical topics were discussed as was the term nominalism and the period of enlightenment, understanding its meaning, advantages and disadvantages. It is amazing to stop and think about how over the years the insatiable quest for knowledge has allowed humanity to progress and become as we know it today with its various societies and cultures.

Then the themes stop dealing with philosophical topics but we keep relating the knowledge we acquire early weeks. This part of the course focused on the understanding of what a theory is, and different research methodologies. Understanding and defining what is theory is not an easy task and even was necessary to understand what is not. One important thing I learned is that in a theory, its strength is more related to the amount of phenomena’s it can explain, which it can be measured by its ability to make predictions that can be right or wrong.  Another important and not less complex point was understanding the difference and relationship between a theory and a hypothesis and further understand the importance for any research of spending more time in the definition of the hypothesis or question we want to solve than in the solution the problem. Having the right foundation of any study, to find the solutions of the problem results are ​​easier and more reliable. Once this foundation has come into play the different methods and strategies to solve a problem, which were the subject of the following topics covered in the course. There are various research methods and for these subjects we had a deep study about the qualitative and quantitative methods and we understood the benefits and drawbacks of each. Also learned how these methods can complement and can be used in the same research. Finally we deepen our knowledge in other research method: case study; a method that is very different from the previous ones and is very useful for certain types of research.

Part II: Combining different methods

Combine different methods to answer complex questions can be very beneficial as long as you have a good knowledge of these methods and use the most appropriate. However, before start thinking about what methods are most feasible, is very important to have a question that truly represents the problem and defined the best possible way. As I mentioned earlier the key to performing any type of research, as trivial as seems, is to have a question that really represents the problem. The best way to define a question is thinking about the problem from different perspectives and even more, going beyond of what is in front of us. It is really important to have in mind that when the problem has been defined properly, then the solution will be easier and more reliable. Defining the right problem including the hypothesis includes identifying and defining theories underlying our ideas and if possible would be a new theory after extensive research on the problem.

Once we have all the definition of the problem we want to solve, it's time to select the most appropriate methods. Often certain types of methods are expected to achieve the solution without thinking about doing a combination of them or sometimes even several types of methods will be used without knowing the feasibility they have in front of the particular problem. Select the methods that are most convenient means also gather the data needed to conduct the study. The data range from very simple data to a large and complex amount of data, selecting the most appropriate strategy is very important to conduct any study. Among the topics the course, we also devote some time to understand different types of surveys and questionnaires, understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each, and understanding the importance of evaluating such strategies always thinking about different points of view and not only from the standpoint of researcher. You need to keep in mind that the goal is to select the method of data collection more efficient that provide you the most useful information for your study.

There is no problem in using different methods to conduct an investigation as long as the reasons why you are using are clear, it is not about “more methods, better results”. For example it is important to note that using qualitative methods will allow an in-depth study focused on some problem understanding "Why" of a phenomenon, while if you need "What?" of the same phenomenon is necessary to use quantitative methods that allow you to analyze the results in a statistical domain. Having this kind of ideas, you will certainly achieve more robust and reliable results. When you are facing a very complex problem there are several methods that are based on the combination of various methods, for example, you can use "triangulation", this method is not only to combine different quantitative and qualitative methods but also to combine different theories and research according to the complexity of the phenomenon to be studied. This method allows different research methods take place concurrently obtaining data and information that later would be analysed and compared each other. Making a research is dedication and willingness to carry out any particular study especially if it is a complex problem.

Finally there are other types of research strategies that are also very useful for certain types of studies: case studies. This method differs from the above mentioned that they do not start from a hypothesis to be studied, this strategy begin from a known problem but there is no certainty about  the kind of results gained after conducting the study. A case study provides you with a deep understanding of a certain phenomenon but requires a lot of dedication and time for collection and subsequent analysis of the data.

The course turned out much better than I initially expected and I understand the importance of understanding all this themes, particularly I am sure I got the skills to meet the objectives of the course, and I am eager to apply all this knowledge while performing my thesis, there is no doubt that I am able to make an investigation. Finally thanks to my fellow students with whom we had interesting discussions at seminars and through different blogs and of course thanks to the teachers who took part in different activities during the course.

Comments

THEME 1 

1. http://dm2572mikaelknutsson.blogspot.se/2014/09/post-seminar-1-reflection.html

Hello, very good reflection you have there and I can see that after Lecture and seminar you expand your knowledge on the subject. This topic is not easy, particularly I think it is very subjective and depends on the perspective of each person. The topic discussed in your seminar I find quite interesting in this context, I consider that a newborn begins to acquire knowledge from the moment they are born, because they can feel different sensations and experiences. And all conduct that are demonstrated to them, can influence their thoughts and feelings. But if they actually can process this information and transformer into knowledge it is something that I am not sure and I can imagine there are a lot of people researching about this topic.

2.  http://dm2572-johasjo.blogspot.se/2014/09/theme-1-reflection.html

Hi, I liked your reflection, especially because like you, I had never taken a course in philosophy and at first when I saw the content of the subject asked myself the following question: What good is knowledge in the field of philosophy if my career path is in an opposite direction, however since the first reading, I found it quite interesting and fun area to meet. Now I strongly believe that it is necessary to enrich our work and grow as professionals aware and responsible with our environment.

3. http://gaara526526.blogspot.se/2014/09/theme-1-reflectionsafter.html

Very good reflection, I may notice that you have a greater and deeper understanding of the subject compared to your previous reflection before the seminar and lecture. Like you, i understood the concept of knowledge as pure experience and even before the readings I had never stopped to think about the meaning of the word, for me was simply "Knowledge". 
This topic helped me a lot to see different things and I satarted to make questions about the world around me. Again, I like your thinking and I can see how you managed to understand the main concepts of this theme.

4. http://zhoujie0.blogspot.se/2014/09/theme-1-theory-of-knowledge-and-theory_12.html

Hi!!
I liked your reflection and I agree with you that it is not a simple topic to understand especially Kant. I agree with you that Kant wanted to achieve a distinction primarily Between a priori and a posteriori knowledge and between analytic and synthetic Judgments. In this sense, I believe that the Main question that Kant pretend to answer with his book, is how is synthetic a priori knowledge possible? for which it based its reasoning on Copernican Revolution. With These concepts in mind, Kant Evaluates the Possibility to have a new kind of knowledge, one synthetic that has a priori Approaches: the subject (including Its dynamism and principles) is going to be the main explanation and justification of knowledge, the subject need to have some knowledge from its experience (empiric approach) however the information given by experience have to be organized and synthetize with some principles.

I also think taht is a very interesting what you disscussed in the seminar about how an infant percieve the world, this kinds of thing never had come to my mind before but are really important inorder to see the world with different perspectives. 

5. http://bylundtmm14.blogspot.se/2014/09/reflections-after-first-seminar.html

Hi very good reflection you have there, I know that understanding this topic is not an easy task, however I notice how you managed to understand the main topics of different authors. For me, Kant was the most difficult to understand and I had to read the text several times to get a better idea of ​​what he wanted to transmit and apparently we both understand (at least I think so). 

I find it very interesting to think about as newborns perceive things and the world, and specially your reflection of how exist a possibility that due to our ancestors we have inherent senses of survival. It's a different way to understand how an infant percieve the world, I am not an expert on the subject but it sounds logical your thinking and it is possible that from the moment of our birth and we inherited some "knowledge" related to our survival instincts . 

6. http://pkdm2572.blogspot.se/2014/09/theme-1-theory-of-knowledge-and-theory.html

This reflection was very good, it shows you managed to understand what authors of these texts wanted to transfer, and as well I agree with you that the example of Matrix was very good to understand these ideas by associating it with something that we have more knowledge.

THEME 2 

1. http://hakikth.blogspot.se/2014/09/theme-2-reflection.html

Hi Haky, I really like your reflection on this topic, and share your viewpoint with respect to these readings, particularly knowing the cultural, political and social context help me a lot in order to understand the ideas that the authors wanted to transmit. 
Like you said above, I think that social framework will prevent that we could have plenty liberty as concept of Enlightenment pretend that we should have. Enlightenment despite releasing the humanity of fear of the unknown, made us prisoners of a social paradigm fomented by media technologies.

2. http://gref-tmm.blogspot.se/2014/09/theme-2-critical-media-studies-after.html

Hi, I agree with you that this theme was not easier than the previous one, however, your reflection shows that you have been able to understand the main ideas of the authors. Definitely something that I also learned for the rest of my life, is that when we read any article you must understand the social context under which it was written, in order to capture the ideas of the authors. 
Like you, I believe that one of the most interesting parts of the theme is the use of media to demonstrate, improve and use power over society. Hard to imagine that today there are many societies in which they continue using media technologies to control and manipulate the masses.

3. http://dm2572pontustv.blogspot.se/2014/09/theme-2-critical-media-studies-part-2.html

Hello, good reflection you got there. Like you, at first I hadn’t seen the importance of understanding the social and cultural context in which the authors lived when they wrote their texts, which is essential to capture the ideas that try to convey. It is very interesting to see the relationship between the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, because both of them make a big and important cultural revolution with many advantages and disadvantages in order to eventually form societies we know today. I think the culture has great revolutionary potential, where media is the main factor for these changes. Your reflection seemed pretty accurate and understandable, good job.

4. http://dm2572emelie.blogspot.se/2014/09/reflections-on-theme-2-critical-media.html

Hello, I really like your reflection, it was very understandable, interesting and entertaining. I liked that you used the lessons learned in a daily context, making the ideas you learned with this topic more understandable. The use of media technologies for the manipulation of society is something that happens in many countries of the world especially when it comes to political issues. However in some cases the misuse of the media is reflected more in some countries than in others, for example, in my country (Venezuela) the current government controls most of the media and used to deceive society into believing that nothing is going wrong in the country, that insecurity is not a problem, there is no inflation and shortages of basic commodities is a lie, when in fact the true is totally opposite. I am sure that like in my country in many other same things happens with greater magnitude than another. 

5. http://dm2572mikaelknutsson.blogspot.se/2014/09/reflcetion-after-theme-2-critical-media.html

HI Good reflection, as you said i also consider that this lecture was quite easier than previous ones, however it was really complex. I can notice how you learned after the seminar and how you have clearer concepts. I agreed with you that culture has a huge revolutionary potential and through the years has made that we could see everything with a different perspective. Great Job!

THEME 3 

1. http://evilmadscientists.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-3-postreflections-research-and.html

Hello I found very interesting your reflection, and I can appreciate that you managed to understand the meaning of "theory". I agree with you to understand the relationship between knowledge and theory is not an easy task, however, to read your reflection it shows you got it. There's just something that I do not have very clear, when you say "almost as a hypotheses" because, according to what I understand, Sometimes the term theory is Used to describe a hypothesis; However, the hypothesis is an idea to Assumed That is for a specific topic, while a theory of These define why ideas. That's why hypothesis is very different from theory.

2. http://dm2572-elma-maksumic.blogspot.se/2014/09/reflections-on-theme-3-after-seminar.html

Hi, it is good that after seminar and lecture, you got a better perspective of what a theory is, at first I had a hard time understanding the difference between a theory and a hypothesis, it was not easy. However, I can notice that you understood the main differences, I got the point in a similar way as you expressed. The hypothesis is an idea that is assumed for a specific topic, while a theory defines why of these ideas. In addition, a theory can generate hypotheses that can be validated or refuted through different methods. 
Like you at the seminar, we also discuss the different papers that each one selected, which helped us to better understand what a theory is and how some times to find a theory is not as easy as we can think.

3. http://dm2572johanhuu.blogspot.se/2014/09/theme-3-reflection.html

Hi!
You have a very good reflection there, easy to understand and concrete. I also believe that this Theme was much easier than the previous ones; however, the term theory is definitely complex. I liked how you defined it as a bridge between raw data and hypothesis, a correct and simple definition. 
You are right that each person can define "theory" from different perspectives and before touching this topic in the course, I was one of these people who used the term without truly understanding its meaning and used the word without any special care in a non-working or academic context. I haven’t notice this only with this theme, for example the word knowledge is a word I've used all my life without fully understanding their meaning. It is really good that know we are learning how to use properly these words and understand their meanings. 

4. http://dm2572-johasjo.blogspot.se/2014/09/theme-3-reflection.html

Hi! Good reflection, despite being easier to understand than the previous themes, it is no less complex. I agree with you that understanding the different types of theories is not an easy task, but once you have the concept of "Theory" clear, which will help us understand more the different types of theories, is reading different papers analyzing theories of authors and categorizing them according to the types we know. However the major problem, will be in those papers in which the authors do not provide work to explain or mention the theories on which their research is based.

5. http://andreaspatriksson.blogspot.se/2014/09/seminar-3.html

Hi, this is a topic that needs many thoughts and discussions to achieve a concrete idea of what a theory is, the different types of theories and how to distinguish a theory of a hypothesis. It's complicated because, before this course we never had stopped to think about any of these concepts simply we assumed we understood their meanings. Moreover we used to refer to scientific theories when we use the term, which aims to explain the nature of an event using the popular "scientific method", which can be falsifiable, different from philosophical theories.
On your reflection you have several excellent questions, which despite having my ideas clearer about what is a theory, I'm not able to answer concretely. However i think there are many different points of view when answering them.

THEME 4 

1. http://jennybern.blogspot.se/2014/10/reflection-of-theme-4.html

Hi! Understanding the pros and cons of both methods is fundamental to understanding and knowing when to use each method when conducting a research. Having different points of view is always good to set our own ideas, that’s why I think the way the workshop was conducted was the best way and helped us understand in a better way both methods. For your reflection, I can see that in your case you had a better understanding of the theme after the seminar. Good reflection! 

2. http://theoryandm.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-4-reflection.html

Hi! is an important point which you mention there, the methods we use to perform data collection to conduct any study is vital for proper research. It is important that, the way seminar was made it helped us to understand better this topics. Just like you I learned a lot about both methods, and particularly consider a study that holds both qualitative and quantitative methods achieve a more reliable and accurate study. Good post! is clear and demonstrate the main points you learned with this theme.

3. http://teoriochmetod.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-4-reflections.html

Hi!, Good reflection, very personal which makes it very understandable what you learned after the seminar. Understanding the limitations of qualitative and quantitative methods is essential to do a great job for our master’s thesis. 
Just like you, I learned a lot on this theme, and I understood the importance of surveys and questionnaires when conducting any type of research, in most cases they form the main method to obtain the data for the study. I also really liked the way the workshop was held, helped us a lot to understand the topic with higher performance, I think that gamification serves in any field, especially for learning.

4. http://dm2572ua.blogspot.se/2014/10/post-theme-4-reflection.html

Hi! I also think it was a fun way to learn, and we understood the major limitations of each method, I also believe that using both methods is a way to make a reliable study, however it is important to consider the main objective the research is conducted, to know what kind of methods are most suitable. I liked your reflection, very personal and concrete.

5. http://dm2572aslind.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-4-reflection.html

Hello, the last point you mentioned is very interesting and important, especially because when I made researches of this kind, I do not spend much time evaluating surveys or questionnaires and now is that I can understand how important it is. I agree with you that when one conducts a survey often we assume that those who undertake the survey have the same knowledge of the subject to us. 
This theme was very interesting and the way the workshop was conducted I found it very helpful in understanding the main points of the theme. Good reflection and good job!

THEME 5 

1. http://dm2572johanhuu.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-5-reflection.html

Hello, good reflection you have there. The use of prototypes have many advantages when you want to make a study of any kind, however, depending on the nature of the investigation to determine the feasibility of using prototyping. I find many advantages but also disadvantages in the use of prototypes; the major disadvantages I find is that in some cases, but a prototype is done with just some features intended for the final product, Prototype users may lose reliability in the product because they only can notice the ones that the prototype have.

2. http://dm2572-dlindstrom.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-5-post.html

Hi! I agree with you about collaborative settings, is really interesting to think in this kind of settings, I believe that the results in any research using this will have better and more truthful data. Many times when we do any kind of research we assume many thing that the participants on the study don’t, we have to think how participants would be more comfortable in order to have more “natural” information. I also think that using prototypes is really useful and we can find many advantages like identify some failures or identifying features that can be improve; it is the best way to test our “product”. Good reflection! 

3.  http://evilmadscientists.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-5-postreflection-design-research.html

Hi, both lectures were interesting, however, I agree with you that Haibo’s lecture has been one of the most interesting of the whole course, and we earned a lot of usefull knowledge that will help us when we make a research. In the research I've been involved (they are not many), we haven’t invested much time in defining a question for some particular problem, but we have always been dedicated to finding the solution to a question that probably was not the right one. Taking the time necessary to make the right question to a particular problem may be the key between do some research and make an excellent research with quality results. Nice reflection, simple to understand and I can see how you learned both Lectures, especially the Haibo’s Lecture.

4. http://dm2572mikaelknutsson.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-5-after-reflections.html

Hello just like you, I expected the Eva-Lotta´s Lecture would focus more on research design, however, I believe that a different way of understanding these concepts is seeing an actual case where a research have been made using different methods. The research she conducted was a interesting topic and it was especially innovative. Something that could be seen as you mention, is how cooperative work can facilitate research and help it to get better results.

5.  http://dm2572ilona.blogspot.se/2014/10/reflections-on-theme-5-after.html

Hello, very good reflection you did. Using qualitative and quantitative methods often implies more reliable results and to get more evidence in any research. In Eva-Lotta’s lecture we could see the advantages of using both methods and performing collaborative research, visualizing a real and interesting investigation. Your post was very entertaining and easy to understand. Good reflection!

THEME 6 

1. http://pkdm2572.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study_20.html

Hello, very good your reflection is detailed and understandable and I can tell for sure that with the seminar you are more clearly about what a case study is and how it works. You mention many important aspects key to understanding what is a case study, for what I learned agree with you that one of the most important things in a case study (also more complicated)is after you have a defined problem and a case study formulated, you have to decided want you want to say at the end of the study. A case study is definitely a method that explores deeply some problem and when it is time to design it you do not know how would be the to result. Good post!

2. http://stephanietheoryandmethod.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-6-reflection.html

Hi, interesting post. Before the seminar I thought I understood what a case study is but I realized during the seminar that was not right. I agree with you to differentiate a case study research from another kind of research is not trivial especially since I'm not particularly used to make such a distinction when I read an article or a paper. Conduct a case study have many advantages like you mention, however I agree with you that one of the biggest challenges you have is to compile and analyse thehuge amount of data being handled. Good job!

3. http://idaeldhteoriochmetod14.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study_28.html

Hi I liked your comment is concrete and demonstrate that you have clear what a case study is. Before the seminar i thought that a case study should have a hypothesis as in mostresearches, however as you mentioned after the seminar I realized that I was wrong, which makes performing a case study not an easy task. Good post!

4. http://dm2572pontustv.blogspot.se/2014/10/theme-6-qualitative-and-case-study_9.html

Hi! good reflection that you have there, it shows that passing is not extremely simple to understand you managed to capture the main ideas of the theme. One of your last post ideas, you said a case study is a “safe” research type in which you never face the problem of having an insufficient amount of data to analyse. I agreed with that however I believe that’s is also one of the problems of conduct this kind of research, analyse this data becomes a complex task and moreover increase the time of the study. Great job! I really like your post!

5. http://dm2572gsk.blogspot.se/2014/10/post-seminar-6.html

Hello. Before the seminar I could hardly distinguish a case study for other research, however after the discussion we had at the seminar became much easier. I consider discussing examples of case studies was the best way to understand the theme. Among many of the examples we discussed, they usually used different quantitative and qualitative methods for the development of the research, which is consistent with what you mentioned in your post. Good reflection, it was interesting and easy to understand.

Isaac Rondon

Theme 6: Qualitative Research (After)

In our last seminar we focus on understanding what really is a case study, discussing each the selected papers and trying to identify whether it actually corresponds to a case study. To understand what a case study is, the first thing you have to know is that a case study seeks to answer What ?, How? And why ?, many times when a case study is made, the only thing is known is that there is a problem, however, it is not clear what is going to get as a result.

In a case study vast amounts of data which will be subsequently analysed by different qualitative and quantitative methods are obtained. Many times a case study can be classified as a quantitative method, however, it is important to note that when a case study is performed, you do  not have any assumptions or hypothesis and doesn’t try to prove or disprove any theory, it is simply a deep study of a phenomenon or problem in the environment where it happens from the point of view of the subjects involved in this phenomenon.

After having the case study, it is necessary to collect data and then analyze it, draw conclusions, and to determine how the information obtained is concluded. This type of study has its advantages and disadvantages, the main advantage is that a thorough investigation of a problem is done in a real environment, allowing get lots of relevant data for the study, however, get as much information brings a lot of complexity for the analysis as well as time to get good results. If you want to conduct a study of certain phenomena and do not have much time to do the research, this method is not the most suitable.

  Bearing all this in clear many in the seminar we conclude that a big part of the selected paper were not a case study and is a very common mistake, especially when you have no clear concept of “case study”.

Finally to complete the seminar, we conducted a small discussion about the issues that were most relevant and interesting for everyone all over the course. Most agree that the whole course turned out very interesting and in particular, issues related to the types and methods of research were the most important because of the type of career we have. However, all topics covered helped us see things very differently to how we used to see them, thereby allowing comprehensive professional formation as able to see beyond what we usually see.

Theme 5: Design research (After)

In the discussion of this topic we talked about different types of research, mainly about qualitative research methods, we also spoke about Haptic and collaborative research, but the general idea and the main focus was design research. 

Make use of qualitative methods often involves quantitative analysis to interpret and analyze data generally obtained through interviews of different types. Using both methods often implies more reliable results and to get more evidence in our investigation. Furthermore part of the discussion was based on the haptic, such technologies may be used in many fields and particularly, media can take advantage of this technology. Haptic system can represent an actual human tactile experience, by using specialized technology to simulate these experiences. A haptic system compresses the different information items (heart rate, pressure, cold, hot, etc.) into a single experience. This type of technology in the field of media technology can transmit more complete information with a much higher level of experience to the people who receive it. The advantage of this type of technology is vast, particularly I think for people who have vision problems is a very important and useful progress.

We also discussed about collaborative methods, which is simply to share information and cooperate in any investigation. Such methods can have the vision of different people with different backgrounds on the same theme. Researching with these methods has many advantages, including in learning obtained from other researchers is much higher compared to conduct research on your own.

Theme 6: Qualitative Research

The paper I chose is “Who am I? Representing the self offline and in different online contexts” form the Journal Computer in Human Behavior. The research presented in this paper has the intention of examine the extent in which self -presentation may be affected by context in which is it undertaken. The results of the studies suggested that participants were willing to share less personal information online than offline. Moreover, disclosure decreased as the online context became more specific, and those in the job-seeking context disclosed the least amount of information. 

Which qualitative method or methods are used in the paper? Which are the benefits and limitations of using these methods?

The main qualitative method used for the study was "twenty statements test". The approach is to ask participants in response to the question Who am I ?, Questions can be performed under different contexts and can be grouped into several categories (interests, ambitions, ideological believes and others). The main benefit of this method is the simplicity that is both for participants for researchers to analyze the results. This type of method is particularly beneficial when you want to conduct a study of "self-reflection". The method is very beneficial to the study presented at the paper because the contexts of the questions could be placed as questions online or offline, allowing participants to disclose information in both contexts. Limitations of this method as I think it is less useful for different studies than  self- image, sometimes can be hard to make comparisons between different people, and the answers may vary each time you give the person.

What did you learn about qualitative methods from reading the paper?

A lot of researches can be done using qualitative methods, however, using the most appropriate method will decide the efficiency and productivity of research. It is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each method and determine which one best fits the context of your research. In the selected paper, the method used is coupled to the needs of the study, obtaining excellent results.

Which are the main methodological problems of the study? How could the use of the qualitative method or methods have been improved?

The method used in the research cannot determine why or how of the results obtained. Furthermore, the approach used for the method of "twenty statements test", in which online spaces were imaginary, can make people show a different behavior than they would in a real and specific online space. The advantages of this method can also be exploited if the questions are asked for a real on-line environment, such as Facebook or LinkedIn. Also could also be included the study of some real profiles to compare the amount and type of information people share and disseminate.

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Briefly explain to a first year university student what a case study is.

A case study is used to perform a depth research of a particular situation. It is a method used to reduce a wide field of research to achieve an easily searchable topic. Generally, a case study uses a real-life event for a specific study. Using case studies, offers more accurate and reliable conclusions. Usually through case study, it can  be formed theories.

Theme 4: Quantitaive research (After Semeniar)

After last week's topic, I am more clear what is quantitative and qualitative research, as well as the benefits and limitations of each.  I had previously used this type of research, however, now I possess more knowledge and understand the great importance of this approach, to use it when performing an investigation. While it is true that depending on the research you want to perform, it is desirable to use more one method that another, often using both methods will complement research using the advantages of each to complement the limitations of the other. It is the objectivity of these results, this type of research, in a way, complements the qualitative research.

Usually quantitative investigations are made from large quantities of data collected from a certain population and conclusions are drawn based on statistical analysis of such data. These findings generally are generated to validate or disprove certain assumptions made at the beginning of the investigation. One of the most efficient and used method to collect this data is through the use of questionnaires. It is the objectivity of these results.

Qualitative research in turn, allow you to study at a deeper and more subjective field, generally involve the analysis of the behavior or reactions of the subject studied. Often with this type of research is more difficult attaining an overall conclusion, because of the different subjective factors that exists in each case study, like social and cultural factors.

Conduct research with both approaches in some cases lead to more truthful conclusions. For example to analyze cause-effect phenomena should use qualitative research, however, may include a quantitative approach to statistically analyze the data collected and make more objective conclusions.

The mechanisms used to collect the necessary data for each study are very important for the success of the study being conducted. Questionnaires are the most used mechanisms and often more efficient, however, you have to take into account that they are not always the best option, in addition, to use the questionnaire as a means of collecting data, you have to use the most appropriate according to the study; There are various types of questionnaires each with its advantages and disadvantages, such information may be collected via a questionnaire online or on paper, with both benefits and limitations. When a questionnaire is performed via online, you can create a glitch making the information not be collected properly; however this type of questionnaire is more convenient for participants and researchers than paper questionnaires.

There are many details that have to be present at the time of research to achieve the best results and the most appropriate. Having all this knowledge and ideas in mind when performing