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The work-reflection-learning cycle - Department of Computer and ...

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Evaluation<br />

7.3 Evaluation <strong>of</strong> the research process<br />

This PhD <strong>work</strong> is situated on the boundary between several research fields, each with its<br />

literature, approaches <strong>and</strong> research topics. In the case <strong>of</strong> SE education, TEL <strong>and</strong> CSCW,<br />

there is significant overlap <strong>of</strong> research topics related to collaborative <strong>learning</strong>. Studies<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>work</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>learning</strong> in SE student projects are a source <strong>of</strong> relevant research material<br />

for conferences such as ICSE, EC-TEL <strong>and</strong> COOP. <strong>The</strong> fact that the research papers <strong>of</strong><br />

this thesis have been published within the different communities indicates a fairly wide<br />

scope <strong>of</strong> the PhD <strong>work</strong>. While an aim to focus on publication within one <strong>of</strong> the research<br />

communities might have resulted in a more extensive contribution within that field,<br />

broader participation opens up for a larger set <strong>of</strong> perspectives on the research topics at<br />

h<strong>and</strong>. For instance, the SE education research community favours an engineering- <strong>and</strong><br />

practitioner-oriented (albeit theoretically grounded) stance to SE student projects,<br />

whereas the CSCW <strong>and</strong> TEL/CSCL fields generally require a stronger theoretical<br />

contextualization. Being a computer scientist <strong>and</strong> a social scientist, I appreciate the<br />

opportunity to approach my research in both ways.<br />

<strong>The</strong> research <strong>of</strong> this thesis has been presented as a combination <strong>of</strong> interpretive <strong>and</strong><br />

design research. This section will address how the studies actually correspond to these<br />

research approaches <strong>and</strong>, as part <strong>of</strong> the discussion, shed light on some methodological<br />

challenges.<br />

7.3.1 On the <strong>work</strong> in the thesis as interpretive research<br />

As outlined in Chapter 4, the case studies <strong>of</strong> the thesis can largely be seen as<br />

interpretive. <strong>The</strong> longitudinal studies are the ones that most clearly fit the<br />

characterization. Klein <strong>and</strong> Myers describe IS research as interpretive “if it is assumed<br />

that our knowledge <strong>of</strong> reality is gained only through social constructions such as<br />

language, consciousness, shared meanings, documents, tools, <strong>and</strong> other artifacts.” It<br />

“does not predefine dependent <strong>and</strong> independent variables, but focuses on the complexity<br />

<strong>of</strong> human sense making as the situation emerges []; it attempts to underst<strong>and</strong><br />

phenomena through the meanings that people assign to them” (Klein <strong>and</strong> Myers 1999,<br />

p.69). This approach to research is in line with a basic constructionist perspective on<br />

<strong>work</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>learning</strong>. <strong>The</strong> connection to the IS field does not make interpretive research<br />

invalid for CSCW <strong>and</strong> CSCL, both <strong>of</strong> which are research fields with a focus on people‟s<br />

sense making through their use <strong>of</strong> tools <strong>and</strong> artifacts.<br />

According to Walsham, results from interpretive case studies can be generalized in the<br />

following ways: by developing concepts, by generating theory, by drawing specific<br />

implications, <strong>and</strong> by providing rich insights (Walsham 1995). In the thesis, the<br />

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