The approach to my research consisted of collecting qualitative and quantitative data through a questionnaire on SurveyMonkey and sharing it on my Facebook platform. I felt that a questionnaire would be beneficial to my chosen research topic as I needed respondents that used Facebook as a primary social media site. I also wanted varied responses, and as I believe I have a range of friends with different views and reasons as to why they use or don’t use the site anymore.
Using questionnaires has its strengths; the ability to reach a larger audience compared to a one to one interview. Questionnaires are also very time efficient, especially when shared on social media so individuals can complete the survey while the researcher is doing other things. Weaknesses of this approach could consist of not going into great depth as the site ‘SurveyMonkey’ only allows up to ten questions to deem the use of the surveys free. I would have liked to include more qualitative questions but didn’t want to put the participant off, for example: the questionnaire taking too long, too personal or require too much thought. The survey is also anonymous, so I don’t know who the respondents are. I should have included questions like ‘what is your gender?’ to have a broader understanding of how males and females view the benefits of Facebook. However, not including a ‘specify gender’ question has made the questionnaire mora accessible for transgender and non- binary people.
Another method I used was autoethnography in which the process ‘allows researchers to draw on their own experiences to understand a particular phenomenon or culture (Mendez 2013).’ I felt that this research method would be useful as my relationship with Facebook sparked my research project. ‘It is about being critical about personal experiences in the development of the research being undertaken, or about experiences of the topic being investigated (Mendez 2013).’ However, there has been some critique to this method, questioning how reliable it could be, and calling the researcher ‘self-indulgent, narcissistic, introspective and individualised (Atkinson, 1997; Coffey, 1999 in Mendez 2013).’
As I am a mature student, I wanted to see how relationships with Facebook had changed from when people first set up their profile to the current day. Functions like ‘writing on your friends wall, poking someone and instant messaging have all progressed. ‘Emerging adulthood is a transitory period between adolescence and adulthood occurring from the age of 18 to the mid–twenties. At this age, people are experiencing freedom by living on their own for the first time and not yet having a family of their own or a career (Bumgarner 2007).’
Pilot Studies
I trialled my questionnaires with four randomly selected work colleagues, getting them to fill out and feed back my questionnaires. In my first questionnaire, I felt that I didn’t have enough qualitative questions. I then changed the wording of some questions, so respondents could go into more detail.
Internet- based research: 1
The methodological benefits of social media: “studying up” in Brazil in the Facebook age.
Rolf Straubhaar looked at two topics which were met with difficulties: social media as a participation tool in research, and the marketing existence that non-profit organisations have as a data source. Straubhaar found (from another researcher Leandro) that there was a 70% response rate if organisations were contacted through their social media sites, compared to 15% response rate if contacted by the email address provided on the non-profit’s website.
Straubhaar wanted to find out if social media sites could bypass gatekeepers (like admin staff) and if he could arrange meetings with old connections in the organisations. Past researchers (mentioned in the article) found that the Brazilian ruling class were very tight-knit and exclusive. ‘A researcher’s social network and personal positionality (Gaztambide-Fernandez & Howard 2012; Milner 2007 cited in Straubhaar 2015) can play a prominent role in facilitating access to elite social settings.’ The research highlights Facebook’s potential as ‘a recruitment tool for face-to-face qualitative interviews (Straubhaar 2015).’
Internet -based research: 2
Does personal social media usage affect efficiency and well-being?
Brooks set out to research the effects that social media has on ‘task performance’ and the ‘individuals technostress and happiness levels.’ When interrupted by social media, it can take ‘up to 25 min to return to the original cognitive state (Czerwinski, Cutrell & Horvitz 2000, cited in Brooks 2015).’
Distraction- Conflict Theory ‘provides a theoretical lens for understanding the effect that distractions and interruptions can have on performance (Baron, 1986; Groff, Baron & Moore, 1983; Sanders & Baron, 1975; cited in Brooks 2015).’
The method of the study was getting participants to watch a video about ‘The Web Is Dead,’ taking a quiz and a post task survey. The results concluded that ‘greater amounts of social media usage are associated with lower task performance (Brooks 2015)’ and ‘greater amounts of social media usage are associated with higher levels of technostress (Brooks 2015).’ The research concluded that ‘social media can be detrimental to both halves of an individual’s life: the professional and the personal (Brooks 2015).’
Iz bits 