Shepherds Purse: Methodology

The first section of this article is concerned with how I came to research the topic, and how I went about it. In addition to talking about this specific project, I'm going to talk about some general approaches that can be taken when researching medieval material culture in general, but will be especially applicable to topics being researched primarily via artistic depictions. Of course, there isn't a single correct method of doing this sort of research, and the best approach will depend not only on the type of artifact, but on the researcher's background knowledge and the available resources. Some of the approaches I took were strongly shaped by two resources I had easily available: the University of California library system, and the World Wide Web. At the time when this topic first impinged on my interest (back in 1981), I had neither of these available, and if I had attempted to pursue the topic at that time, I would have done it rather differently, and probably not as well.

A General Methodology for Researching Medieval Artifacts in Art

Here is a general outline of how I approached this project (with some additions that may apply better to other types of artifacts). In following pages, I'll discuss in detail how this approach played out in the current case.

I. Initial Stimulus

spot interesting observation
compare with current knowledge
decide to explore further

II. Expanding the Search

A. Input
- browse through general survey works
- announce interest and ask for suggestions
- track down original stimulus and look for commentary and references on it
B. Recording
- start systematic record of data
- bibliographic citation
- page or figure no., any relevant text (always take more than you think you'll need)
- catalog/manuscript numbers and location information (helps keep track of same item in different sources)
- start analytic record of data
- try to identify useful distinguishing features
- minimal time/culture context
C. Processing
- record new instances
- start looking for repeats or patterns

III. Focusing the Search and Exploring the Limits

A. Identified patterns
- begin looking extensively or exhaustively at contexts with known pattern of examples
- identify more general types of contexts and begin looking at them
- consider both physical/cultural contexts and thematic contexts
- begin noting examples where the context predicts examples but none are found
B. Extrapolated patterns
- vary a single factor in the established contexts and explore
- look for the "edges" of the phenomenon, both in space and time
- look for "holes" in the phenomenon

IV. Questioning the Results

A. What you have
- play with the analytic record of your data and begin descriptive analysis
- look for general background discussions on aspects of your topic that may help interpret the material
- continue looking for existing discussions of your phenomenon
- this is time to check that you have complete data on all your instances; you may need to re-find things and re-gather info
B. What you don't have
- what patterns are there to the edges and holes?
- what other phenomena in the context might affect the recording or survival of the topic?
- what other phenomena in the context might affect the existence of the topic?
- what solid information about your topic do you have?
- what information are you confident of inferring?
- what information do you feel you are lacking for a useful analysis?
- what sorts of finds might supply the latter?
- what is your likelihood of finding them?
C. What you might get

are there people or institutions you might correspond with about your questions?
have you identified particular artifacts that might be worth examining in person?

D. Formulating Hypotheses
- what is your best understanding of what is going on with this artifact?
- what are the logical reasons and objections to this interpretation?
- given this hypothesis, what might you expect to have found that you didn't? or expect to not find that you did?
- what is the larger cultural context of this artifact?
- when does it arise, and why? can you trace its spread?
- how does it change over time, and can you relate this to other historic developments?

V. Experimentation

A. Direct reproduction
- do you have enough information to make exact replicas of your topic?
B. Indirect reproduction
- what influences might the likely precursors or materials have on the result?
- what materials and processes produce an effect that "looks like the pictures"?
- what materials and processes produce an effect that plausibly functions like the expected goal?
- do any of your steps involve teleological thinking? (i.e., doing something illogical in order to get the desired result)
- what other contemporary artifacts or practices might reasonably be expected to parallel your topic?
C. Healthy skepticism
- what other reasonable explanations might there be for the various features of your data?
- what ulterior motives might there have been in the representations in your data?
- to what extent does your data reflect unprocessed raw "recording" and to what extent does it reflect existing stylistic traditions?
- what modern beliefs, knowledge, or agendas have you brought to your study that you may be projecting onto your data?
D. Cross-fertilization
- given your data, but not your analysis, what ideas do other people come up with?

VI. Presentation

who is your target audience?
what use will they make of your information?
do you have multiple audiences for different aspects?
what types of presentations or descriptions will work best for your audience and purpose?
what type of distribution system will work best?

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