Experimental Research Methods After Critique

Abstract

In a temporal and spatial configuration dominated by the hyper-fast transmission of visual information by way of new technologies, methodologies must compete to hold our and the public’s attention. The traditional role of critique continues to be important, but acknowledging new and faster approaches that bypass critique, and which have in fact been in practice already is necessary. This article explores three new ways of thinking about methods: the use of “the example” and its distinction from the case study, the importance of affirmative methods as a counter to “critical” methods, and the fruitfulness of engaging the indeterminacies that come with making connections in research. It argues that these approaches are in keeping with an “ethico-politics” suitable for societies characterized by technological intensification.