torsdag 2 oktober 2014

Reflection after Theme 4

I think this seminar/workshop was a little confusing but still very interesting. We got to come up with pros and cons regarding both quantitative AND qualitative methods although this weeks theme was Quantitative Methods.

The tasks during the seminar was fun and I thought it was a little ironic that it was the qualitative answers we got points for and not the quantitative. So one could think that Olle Bälter wanted to promote qualitative methods before quantitative, because it was the qualitative answers that were rewarding and they are often obtained through qualitative methods…

Anyway, the most practical experiences I’m taking with me from the seminar is the way to construct a survey for example:
  • You should always have a odd number of boxes if the respondents are to answer some question of which degree they are agreeing or disagreeing so they have the opportunity to be neutral. 
  • Do not have statements that can be interpreted or answered in two ways such as “Some people wander aimlessly through life, but I’m not one of them”.
    If I disagree then what am I disagreeing with? Do I think that some people do wander aimlessly and that I am one of them, or do I think that every person do have a plan?
We also discussed much about web questionnaires vs paper questionnaires. I think that web seemed like the best option most of the times, but paper has it’s profits as well and it shouldn’t be forgotten. Web has the strong advantage of getting the answers digitally at once which makes it easier to compile and the one thing that Olle pointed out (which seemed to be one of the most important parts) were that web is safer due to the lack of middlemen!
Upplagd av kl.
Etiketter: ,

6 kommentarer:

  1. Emelie Ekman3 oktober 2014 kl. 06:58

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Malin! I've read your comment (And answered) on my blog on this topic. However I wanted to read what your thoughts on the subjects were. Since you pointed out the odd number boxes example, I will probably remember it too. I also thought that was very hans-on useful information.

    It is hard to comment on such a non-philosophical theme in order to open for a discussion. However, I also thought the knowledge on how to choose (advantages/disadvantages) methods were useful. It would have been good to know when writing the essay last spring and it will for sure be useful when writing the next essay next spring (2016).

    I enjoyed reading your post and I will read some more of you even though we talk very(yyy) much about this topic IRL. Anyways, good post, well-written and reasonable thoughts! Thank you for sharing!

    SvaraRadera
    Svar
    1. Malin Bokström9 oktober 2014 kl. 01:09

      Thank you for your comment :)
      I will look into your blog and looking forward to reading your answer on my last comment!

      Radera
  2. Unknown7 oktober 2014 kl. 00:03

    Hi Malin,
    Haha, funny reflections over what Olle’s favorite research are, quantitative or qualitative.
    I learned similar things like you on the workshop, but I think is wired that the majority of us think that is supposed to be a even number of options on a survey. I still a bit shattered if I agree with Olle or not. I feel like the result and date might be hard (and boring) to interpret if the majority of people end up picking the middle option but on the other hand you don’t want to upset people by not giving them a option that suits them.
    Anyhow, keep up the good work (again)!
    Sofia

    SvaraRadera
    Svar
    1. Malin Bokström9 oktober 2014 kl. 01:07

      Thank you for your comment Sofia!
      Do you think there is a majority that wanted an even number of options in a survey? I think it's good to have an odd number of boxes, and if I were the researcher I would definitely hope that the respondents answered truthfully instead of taking the "easy way out" by only picking the middle box. Eva-Lotta Sallnäs also talked really quick about this and said that she preferred 7 boxes instead of 5. That might also help to give the respondents more opportunity to choose a box that is close to the middle but only a small bit to either edge. So I for one like the idea of odd numbers of boxes and preferably 7.
      I hope this answer made any sense! :)

      Radera
  3. Candy-Kaye28 oktober 2014 kl. 02:40

    Hello Malin.
    Great reflection!

    I like the key points that you are taking with you from this seminar. Especially the second one which essentially is that statements/questions should be as clear as possible and not contain ambiguity. I think a good way to avoid ambiguity is by not having several statements in one question. So instead of writing as your example "Some people wander aimlessly through life, but I’m not one of them” which is very difficult to answer since the participant doesn't know if he/she is answering to the statement that "some people wander aimlessly through life" or "am I one of them?" or both? The researcher should write something like "I wander aimlessly through life" or "I live life without aim and goals" and then the participant can answer if he agrees or doesn't. This seems more straightforward and I believe that the answers still gives the same information for the researcher.

    I also agree with you that the seminar was a bit confusing but fun :)

    SvaraRadera
  4. Unknown29 oktober 2014 kl. 12:05

    Hi Malin,

    Haha, i dont know if that was something that Olle Really thought about, perhaps he just prefers qualitative answers over quantitative answers.... I believe that your second experience point was really interesting aswell. The questions you post in surveys have to be really clear and not contain negations and ambiguity.

    SvaraRadera

Prenumerera på: Kommentarer till inlägget (Atom)