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first, laia, thanks for expertly clearing up a confusion I had with Jeff's terminology.  second, I totally love your name, combining as it does the star wars and the laissez les bon temps roulez.

Eric

On Nov 4, 2011, at 2:19 PM, Laia Robichaux wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> Jeff,
> 
> Actually, "qualitative research" is a definition of the methods of the
> research, not the goals. What you've described as "start with data, then
> work toward a hypothesis" is (one type of) exploratory research, as opposed
> to more confirmatory research ("start with a hypothesis, then collect and
> analyze data").  Exploratory research can use quantitative methods (random
> sampling, statistical significance, experimental design, etc.) just as
> easily as qualitative (interviews, focus groups, observation, etc.), just as
> confirmatory research can use any of these techniques.
> 
> 
> Laia Robichaux
> Environmental Sciences Program
> Environmental Education
> Doctoral Program
> [log in to unmask]
> [log in to unmask]
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Informal Science Education Network
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jeff Courtman
> Sent: Friday, November 04, 2011 7:26 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Exhibit evaluation in Dimensions magazine
> 
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
> ****************************************************************************
> *
> 
> Eric, what you are talking about is qualitative research - you start with
> data, then work toward a hypothesis.  Conversely, you can start with a
> hypothesis, then collect and analyze data to see if your suppositions are
> supported.  There are also mixed methods designs.
> 
> I also think your choice of "knowing how our audiences react" is very
> telling - as Charlie mentioned a few threads back, learning is a
> complicated, mushy topic that can be approached from multiple directions,
> through multiple theoretical models.  For instance, even as an exhibit
> developer, you might be interested in learning as a function of emotional
> response, a behavioral, or a cognitive response (or something in between).
> In other words, you might be interested in knowing how they felt after the
> experience, what they learned, or what you taught them (I shudder when I
> wrote that last one :).
> 
>  What strikes me as being the common thread throughout this discussion is
> that learning is both spectral and dimensional - that is, we can talk about
> behavioral learning or social learning - points on the spectrum - and then
> we can talk about the finer aspects at each of those points - the
> dimensional.  So when I see arguments about different points of view, I
> don't view them as dichotomous, but rather as connected.  Central to this
> whole argument is that, by definition, evaluation is also spectral and
> dimensional:  It can be done for different reasons, in various ways, and
> serve multiple purposes.
> 
> 
> 	
> 
> 
> 
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