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So it's the start of a new semester, and we have all been struggling to get our heads in gear after the month of rebelling that preceded it! Unfortunately for our rather optimistic mentors, our first ask was rather a tall order, and we all appear to be in trouble for dissapointing. Well, I have nothing to say about that other than it was quite obvious that that would be the result. =)

In any case, now that week one is over I have finally been able to stop floating above the clouds and get my ass in gear, so to speak. So i'm going to start with the brief.

The first project asks you to gather “data” to work with and to observe the structures inherent in that material. In this case data might be any recordable set of information. While the data might be from existing sources as with Aaron Koblin’s Flight Patterns, we encourage you to record information from your own observation. Then by identifying key relationships between your information and that collected by fellow students you are asked to formulate a dynamic model that explores concepts arising from the structures revealed by this process.

Phase 1 – INDIVIDUAL MODELS COLLECTION
Monday July 21 – Wednesday 23

• Individually collect data through observation – birds flying over-head, bus frequency, people’s shoe size…anything that does not already exist in digital form. While there may be a temptation to collected quantitative data derived from number, duration, size, frequency… consider alternative qualitative methods as well as subjective/visual/ perceptual approaches. (The data collection may be ongoing through the week but the source and systems of collection must be decided on by Wednesday 23rd July. Otherwise you won’t have anything to work with!
  

MODELING
Wednesday 23 – Friday 25 July

• Make a “model” that interperates the data you have collected. You can use any media/technology/software that you consider appropriate. Think about what the relationship is between the model and the information gathered? Is the model representing the data or the relationships between the data? How does the model affect the source of the data?

CRITIQUE –

• Present this completed model along with the data recordings at 10 am Friday 25

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Break down
To fully understand this brief I think I am going to have to look hard into the definitions of data and structure, particularly the kinds that I will be following up to produce my final result.
Qualitative vs quantative data, this seems like a good enough place to start.

Some methods provide data which are quantitative and some methods data which are qualitative. Quantitative methods are those which focus on numbers and frequencies rather than on meaning and experience. Quantitative methods (e.g. experiments, questionnaires and psychometric tests) provide information which is easy to analyse statistically and fairly reliable. Quantitative methods are associated with the scientific and experimental approach and are criticised for not providing an in depth description.

Qualitative methods are ways of collecting data which are concerned with describing meaning, rather than with drawing statistical inferences. What qualitative methods (e.g. case studies and interviews) lose on reliability they gain in terms of validity. They provide a more in depth and rich description.

Quantitative methods have come under considerable criticism. In modern research, most psychologists tend to adopt a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, which allow statistically reliable information obtained from numerical measurement to be backed up by and enriched by information about the research participants' explanations.

http://www.holah.karoo.net/quantitativequalitative.htm

At the time I decided to record a quantative data set which could be analysed in a number of ways. This data set was a list of names recorded over a 24 hour period. Each day I listed the names of people I talked to, and the situations I talked to them in. I hoped that by doing this I would derive a set that I could then go through and find a method (or methods) of structuring and visualising that data.

This idea led onto others after a discussion with Charles, and eventually led me to an idea that I would like to explore. This idea is the concept that although technology is opening up whole new methods of communicating with people you don't know, humanity in general has not got to the point where they can do this face to face. I wanted to explore the connotations that this might have, by creating a video wherein a technology had been implemented whereby people could reveal information about themselves on a real world basis. I think that this could be an interesting video, but there are limitations, and also coming up with a final idea this early on could be detrimental to the thought process in the long run.

Another idea I had today based on different kinds of data is a new method of organising music collections, But although this would be an interesting experiment I would have a hard time finding a method that has not been thought up by various very ingenious websites in the last year or two.

As it is I will continue thinking up ideas to expand upon in Phase 2. The next post on this project will contain my model for visualising the name data set. The one after that will contain a more detailed thought process and idea generation for the social experiment project.