Dear Nicholas, I think I can help you some way along but not all the way.... I have a background from Cultural Studies, which often relies on eclectic use of theory and concepts in order to respond to complex issues around culture (embodied, relational, social, linguistic, symbolic - you name it). You may find some clues in classic Cultural Studies terms, such as bricolage. You will find plentiful resources on bricolage methodology/methods/approaches, which will help you justify what you are trying to do. However, I would also urge you to consider establishing a sound coherence between your research question/aim AND you theory AND you methods. That part where you talk about using quantitative data appears a little mysterious and I can't say much about it, coming from a qualitative point of view. But, I think you are struggling with a methodological issue, which can usually be clarified by thinking hard on how you can link together theory, question, methods. Your question "Is it possible to learn a wholly critical approach like how to apply theories to a problem when you have no grounding in it?" needs some clarification. Where do you lack grounding? In theories, or in the (research) problem or in the critical approach? If you have a supervisor, now is the time to have a good discussion about the way to go on... Best of luck!

Dear Birgitta,

Thank you very much for your very helpful and considerate reply.

I am familiar with the Bricolage concept, which is good. I have had a discussion this afternoon which has encouraged me to think whether or not the theories I am applying are useful in answering the research questions I have posed. Yes, my supervisor and I have a meeting. Finally, to clarify I meant I lack grounding in how to apply psychoanalysis as a method to a problem. One of the first conversations I had was using psychoanalysis to interrogate the liminal space between the viewer and the television screen.

Again, thank you for your reply.

Best wishes,

Nick

The issues you are thinking about are very important, so thank you for sharing the process here on RG (it helps everyone to think about them!). The "method" of psychoanalysis is hermeneutics (in-depth interpretation to decipher the underlying unconscious meaning of a dream, a symptom, a text, a film). It sounds to me that you are interesting in exploring what is also a theoretical space (between viewer and screen), because this space is difficult to map empirically perhaps. I guess you are already familiar with Laura Mulvey and Christian Metz and related psychoanalytic approaches to film...? Anyway, sounds really fascinating!

You are welcome and yes, Mulvey and Metz are very familiar to me. I guess for me, it's knowing what the application of psychoanalysis looks like, applied to a problem in the context of a critical essay as this may be my next step because I have no idea (without training) how to do this. That being said my supervisor does and has done it, but in a much different fashion to what I am proposing.

Ok. In terms of what applied psychoanalysis/psychoanalytic theory (?) looks like - this is where reading comes in. Dig up anything you can find on your topic/related topic and see how other people do it. You learn how to write these things in large part by reading other people's work. This may be basic but true.

Are you interested in economic theories too?

In economics there are tow different approches to the theoretical explanation of income distribution. On the one hand, there is the Classical/Marxian approach that maintains that income distribution is a social phenomenon: it depends on class struggle. On the other hand, there is the Neo-classical/Marginalist approach, according to which the distribution of income is a maket phenomenon: it depends on supply and demand. Each of these theories is grounded on a different theoretical conception of the productions process.

The debate between the two schools was very limited and concentrated on a few technical points. At the moment it is in fact non-existent because of the hegemony of the Marginalist approach.

Are you interested in this stuff?