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

Evaluation
In the longitudinal studies I have aimed for a balance between the initial use of theory
and an open attitude (“What‟s the story here”), seeking to build an understanding of
participants‟ interpretations of the phenomena at hand as well as my own interpretation.
I have made no “commitment to indifference” (Randall et al. 2007) but have tried to be
aware of my own preconceptions and ways of thinking: those originating in my
professional background (e.g. as course staff, as an engineer in computer science, and as
a social scientist who worked with activity theory in her Master thesis) and those that
are more situational/personal (e.g. developing a particular liking for a team member or
being tired during an observation session).
Klein and Myers (1999) present a set of seven principles of interpretive field studies
that can be used to guide the design and evaluation of such studies. In what follows, I
use examples from the longitudinal studies (Team A and Team F) to illustrate the
relevance of the principles as well as how I have followed them.
The fundamental principle of the hermeneutic circle says that the parts and the whole
should be seen in light of each other. In the longitudinal research, the writing,
elaboration and re-examination of field notes helped me move back and forth between
details (e.g. a particular utterance in a meeting or an instance of collaboration tool use)
and the whole picture (e.g. the project process). Another example is that throughout the
PhD research I have aimed to understand the use of specific collaboration tools in the
context of the project teams‟ concerted use of tools.
With respect to the principle of contextualization, one challenge in this PhD work has
been the question of whether the activity in the teams should be considered mainly as
learning or as work – or as both. One answer is provided by the choice to focus on work
as the core of project-based learning, which means the focus of empirical studies can be
more related to work whereas the connection to learning is theoretically underpinned.
Another answer is that the focus on work or learning depends on the intended audience
for the presentation of the research. The research of the thesis has been contextualized
in slightly different ways to provide relevant contributions to various communities (see
Figure 3). Another issue related to contextualization is that data collection and analysis
is contextualized not only by the chosen theory but also by the underlying interests of
the researcher. The latter in particular is not always opaque in the presentation of the
research. For instance, my interest in process trajectories and retrospective reflection
reflects a general research interest in work processes, which then become the context for
understanding other aspects of the SE student projects. Knowledge about the product
being developed has to me mainly been instrumental in making sense of the project
process, even though I believe the completion of the product to be a key motivational
factor for the project participants. Finally, a core topic in the thesis research is how the
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