John James Marshall thesis.pdf - OpenAIR @ RGU - Robert Gordon ...

started with a theoretical statement 42 that was developed and revised
repeatedly. Yin (1994) describes this as ‘explanation-building’.
The researcher considered Grounded Theory (GT) (Glaser and Strauss, 1967), as
the general research method. GT is based on the finding and labelling of
phenomena in a field - discovering theory from data.
“In discovering theory, one generates conceptual categories or their
properties from evidence, then the evidence from which the category
emerged is used to illustrate the concept” (Glaser and Strauss, 1967, p.23)
The major strategy used for this is a general method of comparative analysis.
Modified GT has recently been cited as a practice-based research method in art
and design by Sevaldson (2005, p.179) and Hohl (2007, p.89). However, the
researcher realised that although many of the collecting, coding and analysis
methods being used in the current study are consistent with GT 43 - because the
study spans multiple domains and at least a decade of practice - the exhaustive
and prescriptive levels necessary for true GT 44 are impossible in this case.
Yin defines the case study research method as an empirical enquiry that
investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context and in
which multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin, 1994, p.23). The researcher
recognised the advantages of case studies in creating an understanding of the
complex, multidimensional issues arising from the present study. In a
qualitative case study the analysis is about making sense of the object of study.
The purpose of this study is to explore and evaluate what new types of computer
designed and fabricated objects are being created by art and design
practitioners. This research project provides an opportunity to critically
examine and map this area of enquiry. The evidence gathered through multiple
methods has been analysed through categorising and identifying patterns from
42 Is a hybrid model of art and design practice emerging out of the use of computer-based tools across traditional
disciplinary boundaries?
43 “The constant comparing of many groups draws the sociologist's attention to their many similarities and
differences. Considering these leads him to generate abstract categories and their properties, which, since they
emerge from the data, will clearly be important to a theory explaining the kind of behavior under observation” (Glaser
and Strauss, 1967, p.36)
44 “In trying to reach saturation he maximizes differences in his groups in order to maximize the varieties of data
bearing on the category, and thereby develops as many diverse properties of the category as possible” (Glaser and
Strauss, 1967, p.62)
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