the order in method
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How the Messy World of Writers Becomes Tidy. The Order in Method. From Eso to Exo. Cycle of Abstraction. Methods and their importance. Methods bridge the theory with the analysis Operationalize theory, articulate assumptions Set rules for analysis Methods provide - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Order in MethodHow the Messy World of Writers Becomes Tidy
From Eso to Exo
Cycle of Abstraction
Methods and their importance Methods bridge the theory with the
analysis Operationalize theory, articulate assumptions Set rules for analysis
Methods provide Clarity: Process of mixed methods used Trust: Rigorous process with honest
limitations Confidence: Suitability of technique for
questions
Methods: Data Collection Sources
Appropriate choices Understanding
context Techniques
Clarify process Argue consistency Argue suitability Acknowledge
limitationsSmagorinsky, P. (2008). The method section as conceptual epicenter in constructing social science research reports. Written Communication, 25(3), 389–411.
Methods: Data Reduction Representation
Segmentation Numerical
abstraction Analysis Prep
Transcription Representativeness▪ Overall shape▪ Typical case
OutliersSmagorinsky, P. (2008). The method section as conceptual epicenter in constructing social science research reports. Written Communication, 25(3), 389–411.
Methods: Data Coding
Code Origins From literature Analytic
assumptions Code Development
1st cycle to 2nd cycle Code schema &
examples Refinement Testing and
reliabilitySmagorinsky, P. (2008). The method section as conceptual epicenter in constructing social science research reports. Written Communication, 25(3), 389–411.
Barton and Eggly (2009)
Barton, E., & Eggly, S. (2009). Ethical or Unethical Persuasion?: The Rhetoric of Offers to Participate in Clinical Trials. Written Communication, 26(3), 295–319.
Schryer et al (2009)
Schryer, C., Afros, E., Mian, M., Spafford, M., & Lingard, L. (2009). The trial of the expert witness: Negotiating credibility in court documents in child abuse cases. Writ. Commun, 26, 215–246.
Spinuzzi (2012)
Spinuzzi, C. (2012). Working Alone Together Coworking as Emergent Collaborative Activity. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 26(4), 399–441.
Data Collection and Validity Assure representativeness of data
"[A] total of 11 encounters with White american patients were also selected, creating a sample of 22 encounters balanced by other factors in the following order: type of cancer, education, income, gender, and age" (Barton and Eggly, 2009, p.5)
"I interviewed proprietors at nine Austin-area coworking sites and toured their facilities. [...] I also interviewed 17 coworkers at the three most populated coworking sites" (Spinuzzi, 2012, p.405).
Data Reduction and Reliability Assure consistency
"Following grounded theory principles, data collection and analysis proceeded in an iterative fashion" (Schryer, et al., 2009, p.226).
"For the discourse analysis of valence, each element of consent under consideration here—purpose, benefits, risks—was coded by consen- sus between the two authors for a positive valence, a neutral valence, or a negative valence, with valenced defined, as noted above" (Barton and Eggly, 2009, p.7).
Data Analysis and Validity Assure meaningfulness
"To compare the distribution of evaluative lexis […] the frequency of each lexeme was calculated in each category. To ensure that a high frequency […] was not caused by the different number of letters[…], the percentage of letters containing each key word was also calculated" (Schryer, et al., 2009, p.227).
"I wrote blog profiles of each site [...] [s]ite proprietors reviewed and gave feedback on these profiles before posting them. [T]his method […] allowed me to check the profiles’ accuracy and build trust with proprietors" (Spinuzzi, 2012, p.407).
Limitations
Admit constraints "I collected data for the study from July
2008 to February 2011. Given the number of sites and the difficulty of setting up interviews with people who have busy and fluid schedules, I collected data snapshots rather than longitudinal data: The data represent points early in the life of the coworking spaces, not necessarily the current state of these spaces" (Spinuzzi, 2012, pp.405-406).
ReferencesBarton, E., & Eggly, S. (2009). Ethical or Unethical Persuasion?: The Rhetoric of Offers to Participate in Clinical Trials. Written Communication, 26(3), 295–319.
Fleck, L., & Kuhn, T. S. (1981). Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact. University of Chicago Press.
Latour, B. (1999). Circulating Reference: Sampling the Soil in the Amazon Forest (pp. 24–79). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Schryer, C., Afros, E., Mian, M., Spafford, M., & Lingard, L. (2009). The trial of the expert witness: Negotiating credibility in court documents in child abuse cases. Writ. Commun, 26, 215–246.
Smagorinsky, P. (2008). The method section as conceptual epicenter in constructing social science research reports. Written Communication, 25(3), 389–411.
Spinuzzi, C. (2012). Working Alone Together Coworking as Emergent Collaborative Activity. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 26(4), 399–441.
QuestionsJason Swarts – North Carolina State University [email protected]