INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL THEORIES AND CONCEPTS IN THE CREATIVE AND CULTURAL INDUSTRIES (CCI)
Charlene YY
Lecture_10_61074.pptxResearch Methodologies and Creative and Cultural Industries
Research and research methods
Research methods are split broadly into quantitative and qualitative methods
Research and research methods
Research methods are split broadly into quantitative and qualitative methods
Quantitative data is about quantities, and therefore numbers
Research and research methods
Research methods are split broadly into quantitative and qualitative methods
Quantitative data is about quantities, and therefore numbers
Qualitative data is about the nature of the thing investigated, and tends to be words rather than numbers
There is no right or wrong answer to choosing your research methods
What is the unit of analysis? For example, country, company or individual.
Are you relying on universal theory or local knowledge? i.e. will your results be generalisable, and produce universally applicable results, or are there local factors that will affect your results?
Will theory or data come first? Should you read the literature first, and then develop your theory, or will you gather your data and develop your theory from that? (N.B. this will likely be an iterative process)
Will your study be cross-sectional or longitudinal? Are you looking at one point in time, or changes over time?
Will you verify or falsify a theory? You cannot conclusively prove any theory; the best that you can do is find nothing that disproves it. It is therefore easier to formulate a theory that you can try to disprove, because you only need one ‘wrong’ answer to do so.
Quantitative approaches
Attempts to explain phenomena by collecting and analysing numerical data
Tells you if there is a “difference” but not necessarily why
Data collected are always numerical and analysed using statistical methods
Variables are controlled as much as possible (RCD as the gold standard) so we can eliminate interference and measure the effect of any change
Randomisation to reduce subjective bias
If there are no numbers involved, its not quantitative
Some types of research lend themselves better to quant approaches than others
Quantitative data
Data sources include
Surveys where there are a large number of respondents (esp where you have used a Likert scale)
Observations (counts of numbers and/or coding data into numbers)
Secondary data (government data; SATs scores etc)
Analysis techniques include hypothesis testing, correlations and cluster analysis
Qualitative approaches
Any research that doesn’t involve numerical data
Instead uses words, pictures, photos, videos, audio recordings. Field notes, generalities. Peoples’ own words.
Tends to start with a broad question rather than a specific hypothesis
Develop theory rather than start with one inductive rather than deductive
Gathering qualitative data
Tends to yield rich data to explore how and why things happened
Don’t need large sample sizes (in comparison to quantitative research)
Some issues may arise, such as
Respondents providing inaccurate or false information – or saying what they think the researcher wants to hear
Ethical issues may be more problematic as the researcher is usually closer to participants
Researcher objectivity may be more difficult to achieve
Sources of qualitive data
Interviews (structured, semi-structured or unstructured)
Focus groups
Questionnaires or surveys
Secondary data, including diaries, self-reporting, written accounts of past events/archive data and company reports;
Direct observations – may also be recorded (video/audio)
Ethnography
Analysing qualitive data
Content analysis
Grounded analysis
Social network analysis (can also be quant)
Discourse analysis
Narrative analysis
Conversation analysis
Most Common Methods in Research on Cultural and Creative Industries
Query, which involves acquiring material from archival sources at offices and institutions.
obtain the information we need, based on documents, such as reports, balances or contracts stored by the organisers.
reports about the organisers, budget, number of festival visitors, its programme, history, etc.
Most Common Methods in Research on Cultural and Creative Industries
In-depth interviews, which are guided conversations with the organiser, but may also include sponsors or other participants.
These interviews can be based on guided questionnaires or conversation guidelines.
There is certain flexibility with interviews in order to cope with the subjectivity of the interviewee.
Most Common Methods in Research on Cultural and Creative Industries
Participant or ethnographic observation, which involves shadowing key representatives of the field of study.
This method is highly explorative and often used in contexts, where very little is known about a certain social practice or social field.
Participant observation can be online as well as offline.
Most Common Methods in Research on Cultural and Creative Industries
Focus groups are used to draw out immediate reactions with view to finding solutions to a certain issue.
Focus groups gather diverse groups of people in order to maximise on the reactions to a given problem.
Focus groups are typically used to ”fix” a certain problem.
Most Common Methods in Research on Cultural and Creative Industries
Quantitative evaluations or quantitative data often involve conducting a survey, collecting feedback from as many as possible or using secondary statistics.
This method is often used to collect feedback, to understand why people participate in the cultural industries or to understand broader structures of this field.
Statistics can be mainly descriptive, often used in reports, but they can also have a more explanatory role if they focus on understanding correlations.
Case Studies
Analysing Urban Art Scenes
Analysing Music Networks
Analysing Creative Work
