Monthly Archives: June 2016

Considering Actor-Network Theory

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I am using Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as the lens through which to analyse my findings. ANT can be highly confusing. Reading ANT texts can be extremely obscure and contradictory. ANT can be thought of as a theory, a methodology or  a philosophical / sociological / ontological perspective.

One of the most often asked questions about ANT is how is ANT applied in practice? Actor-Network Theory has several definitions and each definition seems to have its adherents. ANT is highly adaptable to different disciplines, after starting as a method developed for Science Studies, to allow the researcher to investigate how science is done and how scientific innovatons develop but has since been used as a method and theory in subjects as diverse as, information technology studies, archaeology, marine archaeology, paeolentology, architecture, medicine.

Continuing with the interviews

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I have been working on completing the research interviews. My supervisor is concerned that I do not carry on interviewing too many people due to the time that it will take to do the analaysis. The problem is the more people I interview the more interesting the project becomes and the more I want to carry on with the interviews.

In some respects this issue is at the core of the research process, how much data is enough. With the interviews I am getting to the point where saturation has been reached.

In order to provide as comprehensive overview as possible I am planning to carry out a couple of observations of meetings and some observations of staff using the SID system. I have also managed to gather a large number of documents that describe the SID development process, implementation and a series of emails regarding the use of the system by staff.