jenniferdebeer

some quotes re research methods (funny)

i have a healthy scepticism ( i guess, what else to call it) when it comes to all things "research methodology". well, i remember when in SA my experiences there were such that once in a while you would bump into someone who would swear (very high and very low) by research method x, and that other methods were, by implication, inferior. that always annoyed me somehow because the person did not seem to recognise the limits of their own thinking in this regard. the method used is the one that is the best tool at getting you to the/some answers to your research questions, no? so, quantitative, qualitative. you choose. obviously, i think often/usually people have a preference, or a natural bent with one method or approach, or the other.

but thinking about these things. and having attended the seminar of a DPhil colleague this morning, I thought some light humour (what I regard as humorous at least) would bring some general mirth, and remind folks that in the end, it´s got to be a fun thing, the research that you do.

ok. some quotes:

"Methodological discussions, it has been said, are a good cure for insomnia." (Vernon Valentine Palmer. 53 AJCL 261)

so, i guess all my friends are forewarned re what kinds of mails to expect from me when the next bout of insomnia strikes ;-)

"...sciences which have to busy themselves with their own methodology are sick sciences... (Ralf Michaels quoting Zweigert, Kötz, and further:

"Usually, the scholars who deal with issues of methodology are not the most productive ones."

these are the funny recent ones. if you were expecting more, sorry :-)

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hhhmmm. quisiera decirles algo. hoy conocí a una chica de Mallorca en una cafetería a la que suelo ir. no sé su nombre, pero hablábamos por un rato y me dí cuenta después: no sé cuándo voy a viajar a Madrid de nuevo. de veras, ahora no me apetece viajar a ningún lado. ah. me acuerdo de una cosa: yesterday´s posting re the movie pan´s labyrinth. it was a story well told, not forgetting that it was set in rather horrid times, near the end of the civil war in Spain. so, not an easy story to tell, nor watch.

Labels: humour, methodology, spain

posted by Jennifer A. DeBeer @ 18:29