Mobilizing the Multiple Dimensions of Data
A Research Tool
Research Project :: Project
Outline :: January 22, 2003
xeno· gen·ic (znjnk)
xenogenic
n. pl. xeno· gen·ics (-s)
1 An organism
a. comprised of elements typically foreign to its species.
xenogenic
b. whose origin, development, or survival is synthetic;
produced, generated, or
determined by
xenogenic
i. intervention into existing processes of chemicals, genes,
cells, tissues, or organs.
ii. introduction of foreign processes or materials, mechanical
or biomechanical.
xenogenic
c. whose genome has been altered by
xenogenic
i. interspecies gene transfer.
xenogenic
ii intraspecies gene selection.
xenogenic
iii. catastrophic or introduced mutagenesis.
xenogenic
iv. mechanical or biotechnological implantation.
xenogenic
d. whose offspring differ in habit and structure from itself
but whose original form
may reappear after one or more generations. xenogenic
adj. xeno· gen·ic
xenogenic
2 Of, or relating to the study of xenogenic organisms: xenogenic
research.
xenogenic
3 Strange; foreign; or different, with reference to origin.
xenogenic
4 That method of reproduction in which the successive generations
differ from each
other.
xenogenic
n. xeno· gen·ics (znjnks)
xenogenic
5 The systematic study of xenogenic organisms and their environments
as nested
and co-influencing spheres, in the paradigm of ‘bio-socio-politico- economical
ecology.’
xenogenic
[New Latin, from Greek, from
xenos
, stranger. See
ghos-ti
- in Indo- European
Roots. From Greek
genetikos
, genitive; from Latin from Greek
ge`nesis
, origin;
from the root of
gi`gnesqai
to beget, be born; akin to Latin
genus
birth, race.
See Gender.]
xenogenic
As an academic, I live
on the edge of where boredom meets
discovery. To some, this intersection is as distinct as a razors’ edge.
Many students graduate unable to distinguish between the two.
In my experience, the undergraduate
is trained neither for self-
directed study, nor for the development and harvesting of her own
ideas. Rather, she is expected to flourish under the tutelage of well-
read and knowledgeable guides, and to critically assess the work of
others. Consequently, when it finally happens, those first moments
of self-direction are both chaotic and creative, disastrous and
inspiring. True interests begin to surface and commingle. Interesting
relationships and implications begin to fan out well beyond the
scope of reason or feasibility. Between the horrifying aspect of one’s
own ignorance awash in a sea of data, the kind-hearted supervisor,
or maybe the deadlines, something generally happens to bring it all
back into focus, and the paper is written, or the project finished.
Though undergraduate training
does not provide a collated how-to
handbook for long-term research and idea management, it does
provide many useful research tips and experiences. Classes in
research methodologies, directed readings, and research- driven
seminar courses have launched my research interests out-of-bounds
(beyond communication) towards metaphors in human-computer
interaction, social implications and applications of technology, and
to the political economy of science policy.
These interests have converged
in my quest to build the
specifications for an evolutionary research tool. I envision the tool
drawing upon varied technological, methodological, and
metaphorical sources. To establish the cutting edge and best
practice in these fields, I will conduct a survey of each. First, a brief
technology scan will establish trends in data mining, natural-
language processing, complex data visualization, and the evolution
of GUI metaphor. Then, by determining the pros and cons of existing
technologies, programs, and metaphors, I will provide a better
functional baseline for my tool. Finally, I hope a quick scan of
research methodologies will ensure compatibility with a wide range
of research methods and styles in the applied and social sciences.
My approach to the research process will closely follow that of
Sandra L. Kirby and Kate McKenna in Experience, Research, Social
Change: Methods from the Margins.
The tool will assist the
researcher at each step in the research
process. It will be a medium for free-form note taking and idea-
logging. It will be data-entry hub and a central repository for digital
plain text. It will allow a researcher to code and annotate her texts
along any dimension she finds relevant to her work. It will provide
her with a number of analytical tools. It will adduce her interests
from her use patterns, allowing her to recall, repeat, and modify her
tasks or queries. She will be able to define the relationships
between her codes and quickly search to code her texts. She will be
able to interact seamlessly with any of her data—ideas, texts,
codes, annotations, and their relationships— through an interface
that highlights the multi-dimensional layers of text. She will be able
to visualize the relationships within a given text or set of texts, and
refine her focus between global and local views. She will be better
able to mobilize her data, exporting bibliographies, outlines,
concept maps, and illustrations of her research.
The primary research question
of this project regards how the tool
will best accomplish the above. This project is in no way contingent
upon the production of the application in question. Though an
external volunteer project may in fact develop a proof-of-concept, I
cannot anticipate coinciding timelines. Nevertheless, a successful
proof-of-concept may warrant further development or a market-
feasibility-survey, as interesting extensions of this project,
The tool is intended for
the academic researcher who wants to build,
manage, and mobilize a personal data set from their ongoing
research efforts. It is generally intended to extract economies of
scale in information management for those who would be otherwise
unable. In short, it is for anyone who wants to live and thrive on the
edge.
Bibliography
Kirby, Sandra L. and Kate
McKenna. (1989). Experience, Research,
Social Change: Methods from the Margins. Toronto: Garamond.
Fry, Benjamin Jotham. (May
2000). Organic Information Design.
Master’s Thesis. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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