Dangerous Indulgences

I am in Leeds attending a workshop on research methods, which is actually more about research methodology. To the uninitiated, methods are research techniques, whereas methodology are the philosophical beliefs underpinning those techniques. I am interested in methodology for the sake of itself, not just for how it help me with my PhD research. Most of the other people have come to the workshop seeking answers to some very specific methodical problems, rather then methodological problems. Some of them launch into long monologues about their research problems, forgetting that most of us are working in very different research areas and have no interest in each other's area. That is annoying but probably more practical. When I told one of the presenters that I was interested in methodology for the sake of methodology, he told me to be careful. As it turned out, some of the presenters, back in their day, had abandoned their original PhD ideas to focus on methodology. But, that was a different age with different, less stringent and restrictive demands on research and output. Flirtations with methodological issues are a dangerous indulgence because the chances of a breakthrough are almost impossible. Some problems in the philosophy of science are intractable and the most one can hope for is a better understanding of their intractability. Also, a pure focus on methodology would make my brain freeze eventually. At the end of the day, I want my research to say something about the real world, and not just be research on how one researches the real world.  But, that is not to say that methodological discussions are not a lively distraction.