Tag: Literature review

INF506 Module 1- OLJ task 1: Social Media and Society – Journal Article Analysis

OLJ task 1: Social Media and Society – Journal Article Analysis

Access this journal, Social Media and Society, and read one article from the current issue that appeals to your interests. In a blog post, provide a brief description and an analysis of the article of your choice. Do you agree with the authors? If not – why not? (350-400 words).

Word count: 382

Description and Analysis: Using social media networks to engage men in conversations on masculinity and suicide: Content analysis of Man Up Facebook campaign data.

This article used content analysis on social media responses to determine the impact of Facebook’s ‘Man Up’ campaign, encouraging men to speak up about their emotional health and wellbeing. The research was carried out as the program was being released as a three-part television series and onto social media. The authors collected posts and comments of people’s reactions to investigate the responses being voiced. The authors of this paper helped design the program and were attempting to determine whether social media can be used as part of health campaigns to open dialogue and awareness about complex social and mental health issues and potentially change attitudes.

Schlichthorst, King, Phelps and Pirkis (2019) predicted that ‘A population-based multi-level health promotion intervention that takes advantage of a variety of communication channels… is expected to be most effective’. Their use of social media as a second, but equally important platform in their campaign allowed space for conversations to start up following the television release. They recognised that, after such a potentially uncomfortable, relevant and often taboo subject being aired, the public required a safe space in which to share their opinions, stories and feelings. Luckily, most of social media responded positively to both the campaign and the responses of others to it. I think this was a clever way of reaching an increasingly tech-savvy audience and supporting their original release material. Additionally, by establishing this campaign in social media domains, they have allowed viewers to access and respond to the information presented at their own time and pace.

The authors examined ‘masculine norms’ and stereotypes common to most Western areas, resolving that, perhaps, we should be more open minded and broaden our narrow definition of ‘masculinity’. By addressing these ‘norms’ directly, they asked viewers to question their own, often ingrained beliefs and broaden their own expectations. They started conversations about ‘masculinity’ and what it is to be ‘a man’ in todays world.

Schlichthorst et. al. (2019) also discussed the benefits of information and health sharing on social media, explaining that visible conversations happening resulted in expanded ‘conversation circles’ and more information getting out there. Notably, they recognised that social media has the potential for harm as well as good but shared positive facts, reiterating that social media has also helped combat feelings of suicide and stigma.

References

Schlichthorst , M., King, K., Phelps, A. & Pirkis, J. (2019) Using social media networks to engage men in conversations on masculinity and suicide: Content analysis of Man Up Facebook campaign data. Social media & society, Sage Journals. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119880019

 

EER500 Week 10

Finally had time to sit down and pick through some EER500 readings in prep for the last assignment.

I think this assignment is too big for my brain. Lucky there is this handy blog here to hold my musings as they progress.

Chapter 9: structured interviewing

My intention in Assessment 3- Research Proposal is to utilise some form of interview process, although I am currently torn between structured or semi-structured interviews and am considering doing a variation of both in my proposed project. I think is important to use this tool as it is the most commonly used method of data collection in social research for a reason.

After reading this chapter, I can say that there is a place for both forms of interview and find myself leaning towards a mixed methodology approach as I would like to marry together both qualitative and quantitative data in my investigation regarding ‘the perceived impact of students with emotional behaviour disorder and trauma backgrounds on the self-efficacy and workload of New South Wales mainstream primary school teachers‘.

By choosing this topic (pending approval from the almighty!) I will be looking at two areas of percieved impact of EBD and trauma students on:

1)the self-efficacy levels of their teachers

2) and the workload adopted by their teachers as a result of supporting these students

This will then link back around to the impact on teacher self-efficacy.

I am thinking, by utilising, initially, a structured interview, with the inclusion of questions involving the Likert scale (do you think your EBD and/or trauma student has impacted your self-efficacy and workload: Strongly agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, Strongly Disagree), I will be able to take a broad look at the mind-set and feelings of teachers supporting these students. From there, utilising semi-structured interviews with open ended questions might provide more detail on specific outstanding data from the initial survey.

One of my concerns is that the nature of this topic might embarrass some staff members or lead to unintentional social desirability bias- few people want to admit if or when they are struggling with something and this is a topic that can potentially be affected by social pressure to be ‘just fine’. In some ways, establishing a face-to-face interview may entice staff to be open with the interviewer and establish rapport, however, as Bryman (2012) warns, it may also lead to interviewer attributes impacting respondents’ replies. As a result it could be worthwhile utilising telephone or computer technology to assist in research.

 

Chapter 10: Self-completion Questionnaires

In an effort to the remove potential bias related to face-to-face and voice-contact interviews, I would consider using self-completion questionnaires to survey teachers of EBD and trauma students as participants are sometimes more likely to give honest feedback, particularly when said questionnaires are anonymous. A slight problem is that these questionnaires need to be simple, short and to the point without room for variance in answers. That said, they could still be useful in the initial stages of research.

I am considering the use of self-completing questionnaires to determine the context of each teacher eg How many st in your school/class? Age/Year/Gender, How many EBD/trauma students in your school/class? Ethnic backgrounds consisting of; Aboriginal, Anglo-saxon etc etc.
Additionally, I would consider investigating how much formal training staff have been given to support EBD/trauma students using bracket ranges to help understand the additional time spent training for these students (adding to workload) and the comparison between trained and untrained teachers and their perceived self-efficacy.

I liked the concept of diaries as recording tools and, although I admit, as a teacher, I would have to really focus to use them, I could see the tool being useful in tracking effects on things such as confidence, optimism and believing in your own ability to achieve. I would use this to track the teachers perceived self-efficacy through the day and maybe even offer space for reflection at the end. I am unsure whether I would specifically ID the presence of EBD or trauma children or ask staff to briefly tick-box who was in the room at the time of recording eg whole class, small group of students, EBD/trauma student/s, other staff etc.

References

Bryman, A. (2016). Social Research Methods (4th Edition).
Available from https://www.researchgate.net

 

With that overloading my brain, I will take a break and find myself some food!

Good luck fellow students, last assessment for this course- we are nearly there!

😉

 

EER500 Week 1, Chapter 1 & 2 Review

EER500

Week 1 Readings: Chapter 1 & 2, Social research methods. Bryman A. (2016)

Diving back into the readings for university was a lot more full on than I remember from my Undergraduate degree. My plan moving forward is to take it slow, pick and choose my targets and use this blog and my notes as a reflective workspace.

I have decided to pick 2 or 3 Review Questions from the prescribed texts to answer at the end of each chapter to confirm my understanding of concepts and to practice my APA referencing skills prior to any assessments due.

 

Chapter 1

This chapter was a juicy introduction to social research, painted in broad strokes; what is it? why is it done? how?

My main take away notes are:

  • social research is messy with many obstacles and does not operate in a vaccum; be patient!
  • being aware of previous research conducted in the area of your research project/paper is imperative. It will save you time and build upon your knowledge to give you a better chance at avoiding obstacles, mis-speaking and theorising more specifically.
  • there are a variety of different research methods- it would be wise to broaden your understandings of them to potentially discover a previously unchecked cache of information.
  • changing your research questions partway through is ok, so long as you are creating valuable, meaningful questions that helps direct your research.

1. Why is a literature review important when conducting research?

The concept of a literature review, while new to me, stood out as common sense when conducting a research project. Bryman(2016) explains that conducting a literature review prevents you from being ‘accused of not doing your homework and therefore naiively going over old ground’. Basically, taking the time to read key papers and authors* will save you time going over something already explained to death and potentially provide a new starting point from which you can engage in the subject. This will allow you to build on a concept rather than revise it. It also provides the opportunity to broaden your knowledge of the subject, determine any opposing theories or arguments and examine any clashing evidence critically. Including all of these things in a research project would provide a substanatial basis for your working theories and concepts.

*Granted, it is important to engage critically with previous publications and determine how relevant they are to your specific area of research- what methods have the author/s employed? are they discussing the exact same concept or have you only been able to find papers vaguely related? are they supporting your concepts or arguing against them? (good to know so you might argue against their case in your later writing using research to compare and contrast the two persepctives) is their case supported by evidence or purely opinion? what evidence from their work could be used to support your work (relevance)?

2. If research does not always go according to plan, why should we bother with methodological principles at all?

Bryman(2016) uses the example of research conducted on construction projects and what can waylay their successful completion. He says that, although numerous potential problems were uncovered, it was never once considered that ‘the principles of construction and construction management should eb abandoned’. He explains that, should this happen, project managers would not know where to go next. Similarly, throwing out the time tested methodological principles of research would leave researchers at a loss as to where to start. By utilising methodological practices as a skeleton plan, retaining flexibility, rather than rigidity, researchers have been able to adapt to the unpredictability of their findings as discussed in the Student Experience (Bryman, 2016, p. 11) where Hannah Creane explained that, through research and reflection, she altered her original research questions to become more precise and sophisticated. By maintaining flexibility, Hannah was able to zero-in more specifically on her area of interest and direct her questioning to better gather data while still following the general methodological practices laid out in the textbook.

In short, methodological principles give us a starting scaffold to work from.

 

Chapter 2

1. Outline, using examples of your own, the difference between grand and middle-range theory.

Middle-range theory example: I related most to these as they are specific questions or areas of investigation and usually relate to the real world. Eg In this generation, how many times will the average person change careers based on trends of previous generations? (Any guesses?!)

Grand theory* example: I find it difficult to name a specific grand theory of my own as it is a new concept to me- I knew these ‘big ideas’ had names, I’ve just never seen them before. The best I can do is say that grand theories are more generalised and certainly abstract in comparison to middle-range theories. They are based more in structured theorietical research (though that is not the rule) and seperate from the physical, social world.

*Not entirely sure why but I love the name ‘grand theory’, make sit seem a little more important and epic.

 2. What are some of the main influences on social research?

Bryman (2016) explains in Figure 2.3 (p. 39) that there are 5 main influences on social research.

1) Theory: Is it a middle-range or grand theory? Is your data supporting your concepts and theory? Consume previous research on the topic to prevent redesigning the wheel.

2) Values: the bias/mindset/core values/connections/sympathies of the researcher or the research method. Bryman (2016) says that all research methods are formed with some kind of social and/or political influence, it is inescapable. My thougths are, considering humans are emotional beings with established values and impressions, it would be difficult to establish a method without bias, however hard someone has tried.

3)Practical considerations: Deehan (2019) explains that time and money are two things that run inevitably short. Planning for practical, affordable research (both in time and cost) is important so that projects aren’t left half done.

4) Epistomology: ‘the question of what is (or what should be) regarded as acceptable knoweldge in a discipline’ Bryman (2019).
Basically, what is or isn’t proven and supported knowledge.

5) Ontology: ‘the nature of social entities’ Deehan (2019). The study of whether social entities exist independently of our understanding of them or they are created by them, constantly adapting. Do social structures happen without our input or are we creating social structures by functioning?

 

Reference List

Bryman, A. (2016). Social Research Methods (4th Edition).
Available from https://www.researchgate.net

Deehan, J. (2019 07 17). EER500 (201960) – Week 1 Lecture.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmyCLyRnCqQ