Week 8: Reflections On Research Methods Thus Far

Welcome back to my blog.

This week I shifted my focus away from doing more research on ocean cleanups and getting involved, and instead have been reflecting on the various ways I’ve been researching the past two months. I’ve also been thinking of how each of these methods provides a unique perspective on my topic. I was talking to my faculty advisor about this approach and he introduced me to the term Multimodality, which means using different media and methods to learn about the same subject or convey information. After our conversation I began reflecting on all the ways I’ve been collecting research on my topic. Some of these ways include reading articles, watching documentaries and videos, and learning information while on-stie at the aquarium. Specifically, I’ve read articles in scientific journals, from government websites, non-profit organization websites, and on news sites. I’ve watched documentaries and informative videos that focus on specific topics such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and sea animals. I’ve viewed art from different websites as well as various photographs. Finally at the aquarium I learn during the morning workshops on various conservation topics, through conversations with my advisors, and learning new information from visitors.

Having reflected on these various methods, I’ve learned that they each have their own way of portraying the importance of the topic. I’ve realized that some methods give off a more emotional effect on the intended audience such as videos and art. This is due to the fact that they provide a visual representation that hits harder to one’s emotions, causing a visceral reaction, leading to the viewers potentially thinking of getting involved in the matter being portrayed. At the same time, the benefit to reading articles is that they often provide a more in depth and analytical explanation of the topic. In the end, I’ve found that each method lacks one thing that the other has, but by using a multimodal method you’re able to gain a better sense of the larger picture that the authors, editors, scientists, artists and educators are trying to deliver.

Next week will be focusing back around my project.