tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20717535.post283151716109327388..comments2023-11-02T19:46:44.577+11:00Comments on Fumbling Towards Geekdom: Ever tried writing a dissertation without thinking?StyleyGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10287051608503966129noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20717535.post-69439708049174622092006-12-13T06:09:00.000+11:002006-12-13T06:09:00.000+11:00While I see his point would apply to many fields a...While I see his point would apply to many fields and many studies, it obviously does not apply to this one. He reminds me of all the old-school guys who think graduate students don't know anything about their own fields. What do these people think. That they know more about a subfield they are not in, than the people who are actually in it?saxifragahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11350662136988602572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20717535.post-63167878618646941742006-12-12T10:40:00.000+11:002006-12-12T10:40:00.000+11:00This is like the dispute in hubby's field between ...This is like the dispute in hubby's field between the quantitative studies and qualitative studies. Hubby is qualitative and his new uni seems to think that only quantitiative is actually rigorous... of course, when he used qualitiative methods to question every senior thesis project (to the profs, not the students) they started to get the picture...Inside the Philosophy Factoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12255753259090709877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20717535.post-1407853356080186852006-12-12T09:45:00.000+11:002006-12-12T09:45:00.000+11:00Yeah, Zapaper, the thing is, in most of linguistic...Yeah, Zapaper, the thing is, in most of linguistics, there isn't even a debate about it. Certain subareas use top-down methods, others use bottom-up ones, because that's what works. In some areas both are possible and then there is debate. But this isn't one of those areas.<br /><br />This guy thought he was criticising the student, but actually he was showing he had no idea about a whole area of the field.<br /><br />Gorgeous nicko: the funny thing is that this guy DID used to be an accountant!StyleyGeekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10287051608503966129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20717535.post-58361129589459485652006-12-12T08:58:00.000+11:002006-12-12T08:58:00.000+11:00Some people think that the only way to be "scienti...Some people think that the only way to be "scientific" is to create an experiment. The problem is most things can't be made into experiments. Luckily that student's advisor understands the situation, even if that other professor doesn't.Breena Ronanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02566521893585459242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20717535.post-41443365293626274292006-12-12T01:45:00.000+11:002006-12-12T01:45:00.000+11:00And not just pompous and annoying... I don't know ...And not just pompous and annoying... I don't know about you, but my field is one where there's also a methodological dispute between top-down and bottom-up styles. After <i>thinking</i> about it for a long time I have decided I'm firmly on the side of the bottom-uppers, even though it's harder and a lot more frustrating. Because I think top-downers have a strong temptation to impose their ideas on their data, and consequently have a tendency to distort things. Having methodological ideas is important (so is being willing to alter them as you go), but that's only because you have to know what data you're going to go look at. As for what you'll find, you not only can't decide that in advance, but you shouldn't even try, should you??ZaPaperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11024820349475732092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20717535.post-15009698627437317102006-12-11T23:54:00.000+11:002006-12-11T23:54:00.000+11:00oh gosh. this guy sounds so old school, pompous an...oh gosh. this guy sounds so old school, pompous and annoying.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20717535.post-8606428800262468382006-12-11T23:26:00.000+11:002006-12-11T23:26:00.000+11:00I'll bet this irritating academic has never been ...I'll bet this irritating academic has never been to a party to have a good time - always to get laid, or make 4.7 new contacts, or something measurable. Guy shoulda been an accountant, like I used to be before I discovered the excitement was simply too much.<br /><br />Seriously though, what's wrong with exploring something to see how it works?!! Where IOA has a point is that the investigation ought to be constructed in such a way as to promote the drawing of wider-ranging conclusions (or, at least, formulation of hypotheses for further investigation) with implications for language, or whatever, at large.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com