from my other blog on art+IT

art and software: which research method?

software research has encompassed different research methods from mathematical based theorem prooving to, system development, interviews, questionaires, and experiments. which method can be used when looking at art and software questions?

see www.letiziajaccheri.splinder.com

ICMTL palermo 9-11 march 2005 by LG

The Institute for Educational Technology - Italian National Research Council
announces the first InternationalConference on
“Methods and Technologies for Learning” (ICMTL 2005)
to be held in Palermo (Italy) from 9th to 11th March 2005.

''The aim is to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning methodologies and technologies to support distance learning processes. The main purpose of the conference is to bring together researchers, academicians, professors, educational scientists and technologists in all areas of ICT in education who are interested in exploring methodologies and systems and sharing current research in Education and Training Technologies. ''

On March 10, 2005, sala delle Capriate, Palazzo Steri, Palermo, in the Parallel Session: Collaborative learning environments, chaired by S. Downes (National Research Council, Canada) , i will present a paper entitled Learning research methods via experience sharing
whose subject is the present Blog.

Inside post from Thursday, January 27, 2005, some literature on research methods

If you look at http://www.idi.ntnu.no/grupper/su/publ/ese/witten93.pdf
you will find "Getting research students started:
a tale of two courses." This is a simple paper that addresses issues like CRITICAL EVALUATION, PRESENTATIONS, THESIS PREPARATION.

There is also a lovely sentence about research philosolophy:
"Finally, it is worth sketching the opposing views of science as a
rational (e.g. Popperian) endeavor and as a non-rational (e.g. Kuhnian; see Kuhn, 1970)
process (Newton-Smith, 1981) in order to equip students to locate their research in the
context of contemporary scientific thinking."

Some comments by PF

Why talking about research inspires a lot of fear and resistance?

Is it possible to do research without knowing what is the meaning of doing research?

Is it possible to learn how to do research with methodologies using only logic?

Surely, for a Phd student in a technological or scientific field is important to find also some methodologies, to ask to themselves right questions and to find occasions of discussions on technical results. I think that this is not the only aspect to have some concern.

Let's start with the question: why do you decide to be a researcher?

To answer to this questions it seems that somebody answer: to be a succesful person. Why success and fulfillment is so important? Maybe to be in a leading position can be important to attract, to arouse the attention of others, even to appeal the other sex.

But, luckily, there is also who is leaded by deeper reasons and demands. The demand is in finding answers to human being deep and inner questions.

Many persons think that rationality can answer to everything and make them happy, preserving them from crisis. This is a very dangerous idea. I think that differentiating research on the bases of technological or humanistic aspect is a sign of a gap.

An other important question is: How creativity is linked to research? Is it possible to teach, learn or improve creativity?

In my opinion i see that the dread of talking about research lies in the fact that it involves profound personal aspects regarding achievements and irrationality.

The irrationality is not something that is in conflict with the rationality but is something that feeds it...