yukun's questions

Questions about objectivity and research ethics

In p 35 (Klaus Bruhn Jensen),” qualitative researchers emphatically interact with their objet of inquiry.” In P 57 (Nicholas Jankowski and Fred Wester), “what degree the researcher should maintain a distance from researched.” Though objectivity is not the standard to evaluate qualitative research papers, in my opinion, how to keep balance between subjectivity and objectivity is a challenge for a good researcher. In addition, I am wondering if a researcher will intervene the interviewees’ life too much. Is there any research ethics issue about that?

Conflicts among different methods

In p64 (Nicholas Jankowski and Fred Wester) “all triangulation is that the weaknesses in each single method will be compensated by the counter-balancing strengths of another.” In p63 “this signals not the end of the study, but the beginning of a phase of theoretical analysis….” According to the authors, combination of different qualitative methods is an excellent approach to conduct qualitative studies. In addition, nowadays more and more researchers combine qualitative and quantitative methods. For me, conflicts between different methods are big issues. I am not satisfied with the notion provided by the authors: it means the beginning of a new study. It is too simplified for me.

How to build a general theory by qualitative methods

In p69(Nicholas Jankowski and Fred Wester), According to Burgess, the third form of qualitative research reports is “substantive accounts intended to contribute to general theory.” One of obvious characteristics of the qualitative method is to detail situations or “thick description”. It is different from the quantitative method, owing science orientations to build general theories. I don’t know how the qualitative method builds a general theory.

Empirical methods and qualitative methods

In p35 (Norman Denzin and Yvonna Lincoln), the fifth moment, they indicated that we are already in the “post” period. This new age means uncertain and messy. After reading all materials of this week, I find qualitative methods are still related to empirical methods. I don’t know if the coming new age present a new route, which is not so empirical.

New media formats and research methods

Those materials stress the role of language in qualitative research methods. Even though research methods applied on visual communication are also from linguistics, we need new research method to study new media breaking the line between words and images and creating some new formats we have never seen before.