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How to pronounce methodological analysis in English?

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[Music]
welcome to the archaeology studio
today's episode considers theory
method and technique in archaeology
by the end of this episode you will be
able to define these terms identify what
makes them different from one another
and discuss how they interrelate you
should be able to refer to relevant
examples in archaeology
much of this presentation will involve
the philosophy of science in general but
i will present the information in terms
of
archaeology to begin
i would like to offer a few brief
introductory definitions
you can think of theory as an
intellectual explanation of why
something exists
an explanation could apply to the
formation of geological layers to the
forms and styles of artifacts or to
anything else
a theory could be proposed as a
hypothesis that may or may not actually
be testable
for example at this site in tinian
an arrangement of cobbles once
designated an activity area here more
than 3 000 years ago
but what would you hypothesize was the
specific reason for it
what evidence would you need to find in
order to prove or disprove your
hypothesis
method is essentially a bridge between
theory and technique it is a way of
linking a theoretical concept or
hypothesis with its supporting data
as a procedure method involves both
analysis and interpretation of data
you need to be aware of the
possibilities of theories methods and
techniques before you can develop a
methodology most fitting for your goals
at this site in tumon of guam i made
choices about the technical excavation
procedures in order to supply sufficient
material data toward addressing my
questions about the use of this ancient
beach surface here about 2 000 years ago
technique refers to the practical
procedures for obtaining new primary
data or for making original observations
about data
an archaeological excavation could
involve technical procedures of how to
document stratigraphic contexts how to
recover artifacts and other materials
from those measured contexts and how to
ensure maximum capture of materials such
as through fine mesh sieving
now with those introductory definitions
i would like to offer more details about
the logical thought process in
archaeological research
beginning with technique continuing
through method and then building a case
for the role of theory
archaeologists employ their techniques
in order to obtain artifacts and other
objects from the past as well as to
record their physical attributes and
other data
these techniques supply the raw data
sets that potentially could undergo
methodological analysis
and interpretation
if the initial question is about knowing
the presence or absence of a buried
archeological layer in a specific spot
then a small test pit would suffice
the technical excavation procedures can
be the same in any size of excavation
small or large but the specific choices
of tools sitting mesh size recording
forms field labels and other
practicalities will depend on what
research question is being asked
if the research question involves
learning more about the artifacts that
defined a particular time period then an
excavation can be designed for
maximizing the collections
these excavations tend to proceed at a
large scale such as shown here in
eastern taiwan
if the research question involves
learning about the formation of
geological layers across an entire
landscape then coring or augering tools
can be efficient in recovering profiles
of sedimentary columns in numerous
representative locations if the coring
or augering profiles happen to encounter
a buried archaeological layer then you
can contextualize it in the geological
sequence and potentially organize a
targeted excavation project
as you have seen in these examples
techniques always are applied as parts
of larger methodologies
we can draw on our toolkit of techniques
in order to supply the kinds of data
that we need in any situation
techniques apply in the field for
obtaining primary data and they apply in
both the field and the laboratory for
generating new data sets through new
observations
technical procedures in the laboratory
often begin with standard recording of
material categories counts weights and
measurements these data sets could be
analyzed or interpreted in various ways
depending on the results further
observations and data gathering
procedures could be pursued
as you have seen here your choice of
method depends on how you will use a
particular data set toward testing
proving or disproving a theoretical
explanation
toward this goal methods can involve
both analysis and interpretation of data
regarding an excavation at unaibaput in
saipan i tabulated the numbers of
pottery fragments and the weights of
shellfish remains for each stratigraphic
layer and then i presented those results
in a simple graph
next i calculated the density of those
materials per liter of excavation in
each layer in this way i could see more
clearly about the intensity of past
cultural activities represented in each
layer
in order to achieve this result however
i first had needed to be aware of
recording the liters of excavation
during the technical operation of the
excavation
furthermore i recorded my observations
of each separate form or style of
pottery as a way to trace the change
through time in the pottery traditions
in this case spanning more than 3 500
years
as you have seen here raw data sets are
unchangeable facts but they can be
analyzed interpreted and represented
through variable methods
now that you have seen how your
techniques and methods can be guided by
your theoretical questions i would like
to consider more about the role of
theory throughout the research process
in one point of view theory operates in
high
medium and low orders
a high order of theory refers to the
abstract intellectual ideas of
hypotheses and explanations
a middle order of theory refers to the
influence of theory on a method or on a
methodological approach
a low order of theory refers to the
basic principles and laws of science
that allow us to perform our routine
technical tasks
one example of a low order of theory is
the law of superposition borrowed from
geology
the law of superposition tells us that
geological layers are superimposed one
over the other we find older layers
buried deeper beneath the ground and we
find the more recent layers closer to
the present ground surface
this theoretical principle allows
archaeologists to perform excavation
techniques that treat each stratigraphic
layer separately and representing a
different unit of time
in another example we can use the low
order theories about the physical
properties of stone materials and about
the mechanics of making stone tools
this knowledge allows us to infer how a
set of stone flakes originally had been
produced
a middle order of theory sometimes is
called middle range theory it has a long
tradition in the philosophy of science
in general and in archaeology
specifically
you can begin to think about middle
range theory by looking at the principle
of uniformitarianism
telling us that geological laws and
principles have always been the same
unchanging and uniform throughout time
working from this premise middle range
research then asks if uniform laws or
principles could exist in other fields
outside geology such as in social or
behavioral studies
many examples of middle range research
in archaeology have involved the
subfield of ethno-archaeology
seeking parallels between original
cultural behavioral contexts and the
material traces that survive in
archaeological sites
by observing the way people behave in
specific contexts such as in feasting
events we potentially can identify the
material signatures of feasting events
in general in this way we can evaluate
whether or not any particular
archaeological site was a place of a
feasting event in the past
another example could entail observing
what happens throughout the life cycle
of a yam growing field what were the
characteristics during different seasons
of clearing planting harvesting or
fallow periods between crop growths how
can this information help in identifying
an archaeological remnant of a yam field
similar to ethno-archaeology the
subfield of experimental archaeology
aims to find the general laws or
principles that were responsible for
creating known material archaeological
results
experiments with stone tools can clarify
the individual actions the amount of
labor and the organization of the
working people that created different
forms and patterns of flaking debris
scatters and other aspects of the stone
artifacts that we find in archaeological
sites
other experiments could be performed
over long periods of time and accounting
for variable conditions such as
considering how differences in soil
properties annual weather cycles and
other factors affected the growth and
the usable yields of assorted plant
foods
the resulting knowledge can improve our
interpretation of how much food was
produced per unit of land or for each
household or community or village
represented in the archaeological record
we furthermore can coordinate this
information with other lines of evidence
such as about past climate and weather
events during the time when a site was
occupied in this way we can build more
comprehensive understanding and
explanations of the past
concerning a high order of theory you
can consider how theoretical ideas are
formulated what kind of logical
reasoning was involved
in some definitions a theory should be
universally applicable as a consistent
scientific law
these generalizing theories represent
nomathetic reasoning seeking universal
explanation such as in evolutionary
theory or in the theory of relativity
another form of reasoning can be
described as ideographic referring to a
particular case such as in a
site-specific context that is not
necessarily applicable worldwide in
other sites
in regular practice theory involves both
the nomathetic generalizing approach and
the ideographic site-specific approach
we need to be aware of the generalizing
theories in order to apply them and test
them in specific cases
meanwhile we need to be aware of what
makes each situation unique in order to
refine what we think we know of the
generalizing principles
as you probably can imagine the logical
thought process linking theory method
and technique works in a feedback flow
the more we know about our world through
our primary data and observations the
better we can explain it
meanwhile the better we can explain our
world the more focused we can be in
obtaining new primary data and in
developing other methodologies most
relevant for our theories
new methods and techniques allow us to
gather different data sets that we did
not know previously as well as to change
our theoretical ideas
archaeology like many disciplines
accommodates diverse theoretical
approaches and schools of thought i will
not review all of those approaches right
now in this episode but you should be
aware that archaeologists use different
explanations of why the world exists and
operates in the way that it does
these varying viewpoints allow us to
study different aspects of the
archaeological record
in concluding this episode now you can
define theory method and technique in
archaeology you can identify their
individual functions and you can discuss
how they interrelate in the logical
thought process of research
you should be able to refer to specific
relevant examples in archaeology and
apply your knowledge in other situations
i hope that you enjoyed this episode and
that you will explore more with the
archaeology studio
you

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methodological analysis::noun | Spocien Dictionary

methodological analysis

noun

the branch of philosophy that analyzes the principles and procedures of inquiry in a particular discipline

Type	Words
Synonyms	methodology
Type of	epistemology

How to pronounce methodological analysis in English?

methodological analysis::noun | Spocien Dictionary

abandonment

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