Provocation focuses on using and developing new research methods to more rapidly advance the field and take advantage of rapid technological development. The new methods and theories being proposed are not supported by the current academic system, which values knowledge for its own sake, pre-planned research, discipline-driven and fiscal disconnect over relevance, iterative experimentation, interdisciplinary collaboration, community engagement, and fiscal sustainability. There is a need to create new processes that reinforce academics to develop new methods and theories through open-source and real-time peer review.

1. Methods Provocation
Provocation focuses on using/developing new
research methods to more rapidly advance the
field and exploit the rapid pace of technological
development
Vicente Traver
Eric Hekler

2. 500,000th App
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of a study Grant
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Pilot Data Funding for review
Flickr – Metrix X

3. Flickr – Mathieu Struck
Translation

4. The new methods and theories
we are proposing are not reinforced
in the current academic system.
Current values? New Values?
• Knowledge for knowledge • Relevance and social value
sake
• Pre-planned research • Iterative experimentation
• Discipline-driven • Interdisciplinary teams and
community engagement
• Fiscal disconnect • Fiscal sustainability
• Post-hoc Peer-Reviewed • Open Source Github-like Wiki
Publications with real-time peer review
Flickr – Mathieu Struck

6. How might we create new processes for reinforcing
the actions of academics to foster the rapid
development of new methods and theories?
Flickr – Mathieu Struck

7. What questions other
than “does it work”
should we ask?
What are our tools
NOT good at?
Flickr – Clyde Bentley

13. What are the most important
new tools for us to become
proficient at using to answer
our new questions?
Flickr – Cowboy Ben Alman

14. How can we convince our
peers that these tools are
more appropriate than the
tried and true tools?

15. Provocative Questions
How might we create new methods for
reinforcing the actions of academics to
foster the rapid development of new
Using/developing methods and theories?
new research
methods to more
rapidly advance
the field Which new tools are best for
which questions and how do we
enable our peers to recognize the
value of alternative methods?