Theory and method in project work
Outline
1. Introducing theory and method
2. Theory and method in a hypothetical
project on the internet and social
relations
3. A Phd story on the use of theory and
method
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Outline (cont.)
4. On the use of theory
• What is theory?
• Case story on the use of theory in a ’real’ project
• Hand out of a stylized case story on the use of
theory
• How to use theory in projects
• How not to use theory in projects
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Theory and method in project work
5. On method
1. What is method?
2. A case study on method - in a project work
3. Concluding on method
6. Problems with theory and method in my
recent research…
7. Final piece of advice
8. Conclusion
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1. Introducing theory and method
First lecture was: how to make a
problemformulation?
– This lecture: How to operationalize the
problem
• implement into practice = make a project
– Analyzing the problem - using the theory is part
of this
– Describing how the analysis is done = method
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1. Introducing theory and method
– Can’t teach you in a lecture how to do theory
and method – sorry – stimulate your thinking
about it:
– Learning by doing…
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1. Introducing theory and method
Four key elements:
1. How to use theory?
2. How to do method?
3. How to describe the use of theory?
4. How to describe the method?
- interlinked…
- examples/case studies on these elements
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2. Internet and social relations
During first lecture: Topic: Internet and social relations.
• What puzzles you about this topic?
• Use your wondering to turn it into a scientific
problem:
– e.g. for long the Internet has been seen as a
blessing only – Why does the Internet also tend
to undermine social relations? [Why does the
Internet often undermine social relations?]
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2. Internet and social relations
– Which theories??
– Which methods??
• In other words: discuss how you would work with
this problem (and not ’solve’)
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3. A case story on theory and
method
• My PhD-thesis as an example
• Time to digest and use theory and reflect
upon and revise methods applied
• Problem: Tried to figure out how the Single
Market worked in practice in Denmark
(within public procurement)
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3.1. Theories and their application
– EU regulates the public sector buying of
private goods and services (EU tender) in
order to increase trade in EU = integration
Which theories to choose?
– theory of economic integration, theory of
public procurement, theories of innovation
(and theory on method!)
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3.1.1. What was theory used for?
1. As review: Public procurement difficult to
’integrate’ = conventional wisdom =
theory as state of the art
2. Formulating my pre-understanding:
Theoretically based expectations
• that prices would be influenced => interviews
about prices
• that cross-border trade would increase =>
measure before and after the Single Market
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3.1. Theories and their application
• As benchmark: Prices did not fall and
trade did not increase!!
• Do deliver concepts: But (intra)national
trade increased = national integration!!
• To help explain findings [in theory one
has assumed that firms react to the
removal of barriers]
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3.2. Which Methods?
• Counted EU-tenders within and across borders
(quantitative method)
• Interviewed suppliers and purchasers
(qualitative method)
• Used results from a questionnaire (quantitative
method)
• Used press material (second hand sources –
qualitative analysis)
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3.2. Which Methods?
• Compared my ex post (after) study with
previous ex ante (before) studies
– in qualitative and quantative terms and using
comparaison as a method)
• Please note several methods and the
combination of qualitative and quantitative
methods
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3.3. Describing my method
1. A general description of the method
- how the data were gathered, described the
qualitatively oriented method, discussed
problems of generalizing
2. Compared the method with that of a core
study (to show the strength of my method)
3. No description of the use of theory!! (tsk,
tsk) – one is allowed to become wiser…
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3.4. Conclusion on the case
• Actually ’doing’ method is a messy and
time consuming(learning) process
– I read about qualitative method after having
conducted the interviews… I changed my
method during the writing of my PhD-thesis
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3.4. Conclusion on the case
• Methodology is to describe this learning
process with the benefit of hindsight: what
did I do and why? (Describe the product
rather than the process).
– Including a description of how theory was
used
• Questions to this case?
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4. On the use of theory
- What is theory?
- List some specific examples of theories
- Discuss why these examples are theories and
not ’facts’
- Share some experiences on your own use of
theory (if any…)
- Discuss
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4.1 What is theory?
- Specific example of (the use of) theory: why a
financial crisis? What to do about it? (state
intervention versus leaving it to the market).
- General examples of theory: economic theory,
political theory, cultural theory, but also review of the
knowledge of a topic etc.
- Theory in general: a sort of generalized knowledge of
a given field of research (’the economy’ etc.)
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4.1 What is theory?
- Hypothesis based on theory: Eliminating
’discrimination’ would lead to increased trade in
EU
- Theory suggests a concept and a possible causality
(a focusing device – for good and for worse!)
• Why theory in projects? A helpful requirement!
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4.2 Case study of use of theory in
a project
• In a project on flexibility of work theory
was used to describe and explain a
positive and negative scenario (possible
future developments)
• These scenarios were compared with
actual developments shown in other
studies
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4.2 Case study of theory in a
project
• Actual developments were mixed
• Theory was used to interpret and explain
the mixed empirical results
• Finally, the empirical results were used to
critically evaluate the theories (a spin off
product…)
– You might make theoretical projects dealing
with purely theoretical problems (e.g. the
concept of sovereignty)
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4.3 Hand out of a stylized case
• On the use of theory in an idealtype
project group:
– This case study an example of a qualititative
method
– Could be any group or no group at all – but
condenses some qualities most groups would
or will come to recognize
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4.3 Hand out of a stylized case
• Could you recognize anything?
• What can we learn from this case?
– To make useful use of theory…
• Other comments?
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4.4. How to use theory in project
work?
• First step: describe the use of theory in the
method section
– ’conceptual’ or ’analytical framework’, but try
to be more explicit…
• Ask yourself: ’Have you really used theory?’
’How?’. Try to describe how. Be specific.
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4.4. How to use theory…
• Second step: apply the theory on the
problem already in the theory section (’this
suggests that an answer to our problem
might be found in relation to e.g.
discrimination’)
• Third step and in general – try to use
theory as much as possible in the analysis
– when it makes sense – a process
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4.5 How not to use theory
1. Long chapters summarizing theory
without relating it to the problem
• important to your process – not to the project
2. Analysis without any theory
3. Theory used in artificial ways because
you feel you have to…
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5. On method
5.1 What is method?
• What is method?
– Suggest specific examples of what you
consider to be a method
– Try to generalize this example (is it a
quantitative or qualitative method and why?)
– Share experience with method – if any…
Discuss
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5.1 What is method?
• Quantitative methods:
– Questionnaires
– Statistics
– Counting something
– Using quantitative studies made by other
people
– Comparaisons (e.g. of economies described
quantitatively)
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5.1 What is method?
Qualitative methods:
– Interviews (structured, semi-structured, open)
– Participatory studies, field studies
– Text analysis, discourse analysis
– Comparaisons (of countries, cultures etc.
described qualitatively)
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5.1 What is method?
• Why is a method section a requirement?
– To demonstrate ’your ability to think’
• Try to imagine how a method section in a
project on the Internet and social relations
could look like
• And let me give you an example of a
method section from the flexibility project:
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5.2 Case study of method in the
flexibility project
Four sub-sections in the method section:
1. Delimitations
- what is the focus - what is omitted -
why only Danish evidence - problems
of generalization
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5.2. Case study of method in the
flexibility project
2. Theoretical perspectives
- mentioned that theory is used to derive
possible optimistic and pessimistic
perspectives on the problem
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5.2. Case study of method in the
flexibility project
3. Relation between theory and empirical
assessment
- specifying what is and what is not the
purpose of the theoretical chapter in relation
to the empirical work) – ’conceptualise the
empirical data’ (??)
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5.2. Case study of method in the
flexibility project
4. The empirical studies
- general overview, presenting limits to
3 studies and discuss whether and how
they can be compared and discussing
problems of measuring flexibility
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5.3 Concluding on method
Method is not:
– an overview of the project (not part of method)
– or labelling (using methodological buzzwords)
• Method is to:
– describe how you think and work (’having this
problem you have chosen to do so and so in
order to answer the problem’)
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5.3 Concluding on method
• Important distinction: what you have
planned/intended and what you actually do
• Write the method section early – and
adapt it in the end to what you have
actually done
• And more than one student should write
on this section…
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6. Problems with theory and
method in my recent research
The use of economic experts in Danish
newspapers, but I only analyzed one
expert in depth
– could the results be generalized?
– how?
– should I interview the expert?
– should I analyze more experts? How many?
How? What about depth?
• All about: How could I convince the reader?
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6. Problems with theory and
method in my recent research
• no theoretical agreement on the definition
of an expert = theoretical and
methodological problem
– Did choose two different experts – said the
same! =>
• a dominant economic paradigm in the media
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6. Problems with theory and
method in my recent research
– Method also about choice
• Maybe rather: what are the consequences of this
dominance?
• Or being normative: how to cope with a dominant
paradigm as a journalist?
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6. Concluding on theory and
method in my recent research
• Doing method and using theory = a
process
• Results, method and theory interact – like
a living organism…
• Methodological choices determine the
results – and results might lead to new
methodological choices
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7. Final advice
Five pieces of advice:
1. Do only summarize theoretical elements you
actually use in the theory chapter.
2. Do not try to make theory ’fit’ or ’test’ the theory as a
whole
3. As a minimal requirement: do use some of the
concepts from the theories in the analysis
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7. Advice
4. Describe what you have actually done - your
method - using your own words
5. Write a method section early in the process
but revise this section before you hand in
(and do not leave the writing of this section
to one of the group members).
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8. Conclusion
– Method is the heart of the project
– To turn theory into a helpful device is a challenge
– Describing the use of theory is part of a method
section
– Describing method is the second big challenge
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