PhD Research Methodology

Outline of Research Process

• Phase 1: essential first steps

• Phase 2: data collection

• Phase 3: analysis and interpretation

Phase 1

• Clarify the issue to be

researched and select research
method(s).
• Essential because a question that is
unclear or too broad cannot be
answered.
• The research method allows the
research to be conducted according to
a plan or design.
Phase 1 cont.

• Clarifying the question and method

enables the researcher to be clearer
about the data that is needed
• Therefore to make a decision about
what sample size, or the amount of
data, is needed.
Cyborgs:

– Interviews : I identified four categories of

people to interview:
• performers working in the field of cyborg
performance art;
• disabled people whose bodies had been
modified;
• scientists making prosthetics;
• and the main funders of technological research
– the military.
Performers

• The first category was relatively easy –

I knew people who could put me in
touch with these performers, and I
quickly secured interviews with two of
the leading figures in the field –
• Stelarc
• Eduardo Kac.
Disabled People

• The second category was the most difficult, in many

ways, not least because of the ethical dimension of
undertaking such interviews.
• As it turned out, approaches to the prosthetic
department in the university for assistance in
identifying potential interviewees went unanswered.
• However, one disabled person, Ju Gosling, author of
the website “My Not So Secret Life as a Cyborg”,
attending a Performance Research conference and
giving a paper about her experiences, gladly agreed
to give me an interview, and from her experience
and awareness of the issues gave me probably a far
more insightful interview than I might otherwise
have been able to achieve.
Scientists

• For the third category I simply made

a search on the internet.
• Most of the cutting edge prostheticians
seemed to be based in the US.
• Of particular interest were the very small
number of neuro-prostheticians, and the
celebrated Utah Array – a tiny chipset that,
once implanted in the brain, can both read
and transmit signals between brain and
computer.
• Fascinated, I wrote to its inventor, Professor
Richard Norman, in Salt Lake City, and he
agreed to give me an interview.
The Military
• None of the other scientists I approached
was able to grant me an interview at the time
but one of them wrote to me to tell me about the
forthcoming conference, in Washington DC, run by
the US Department of Defence, entitled
“Exoskeletons for Human Performance
Augmentation.”
• This would be perfect for the fourth category.
• Having read Ballard’s “Crash” (Ballard 1995) I was
already interested in how the car forms an inorganic
skin to a specific and very modern role played out by
huge numbers of us in the west every time we sit
behind the wheel. How much more so would the
inorganic skin of a military exoskeleton – a high tech
suit of armour - make its impact upon our
personalities!?
 Phase 2
• Collecting the data
– surveys, interviews, literature review,
participant observation, etc…..
– I undertook the interviews I had arranged,
recording them, then transcribing the
recordings
– I attended the EHPA conference and made
copious notes throughout
• Summarising and organising the data
– Excerpts from and summaries of transcripts
– Thoughts arising from notes on conference
Phase 3

• Analysis, interpretation
• Relating the data to the research
question
• Drawing conclusions
• Assessing the limitations of the study
Reporting and Writing up

• Writing up occurs after the

research is done
• Not everything that is done
is reported
• Have to leave some stuff out!!
• The research report summarises the
activities in such a way that they are
clear to the reader, and so the reader
could repeat the research.
A Research Report
• A Research Report should generally include:
– Statement of problem
– review of relevant literature
– statement of hypothesis or research objectives
– description of research design
– selection and operationalization of variables
– description of sample selection procedure
– description of how data was collected
– data presented and summarised in words
– conclusion, limitations, and implications
– bibliography or references cited
– appendices
Cyborgs Research Report
• The Cyborgs Research Report included:
– Statement of problem
– statement of research objectives
– description of research design
– description of how data was collected
– review of relevant literature
– collected data, presented and summarised in
words
– conclusion, limitations, and implications
– bibliography and references cited
– appendices - the interview transcripts and the
complete notes from the EHPA conference