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Research Skills Methodologies
Research Skills Methodologies
As said above research is all about redefining the existing definitions but sometimes it could also
define an entirely new phenomenon. This is the point where research is known for the search of
knowledge. When a research defines or redefines a problem, a hypothesis is formed which leads
to collecting the data on that hypothesis, evaluating that data, converting that data into
information and a conclusion is provided. At the end of the research these conclusions are tested
to validate the hypothesis.
Though using the secondary data is very useful and quite right, most people do not include
secondary data in their research proposal but if used it could support the very arguments and help
in analysis.
Problems in Research
Conducting a research itself is a very tedious work and more complex than it seems. A researcher
has to face many issues while conducting a research and the most challenging is finding the
correct information. There might be many sources available for the research but to validate them
for authenticity is a big issue. Other than this data dependency is also a critical problem when
there are many interrelated variables. During a research following the pre-planned strategies
could also become an issue due to the frequently changing environment surrounding the research
(Wilson, Fornasier & White, 2010, pp. 174).
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Another issue a researcher faces during a research is The question of Bias, which is caused by
the self-created assumptions. In this case researcher might not be able to do the justice.
Sometimes peer review helps in this kind of problem.
Tapscott and Williams (2006) has described social media essential in the current times and said,
The world of marketing has been changed by the emergence of Social Media and the kind of
transparency it provides, makes the marketing strategy trusty for the end user. The way social
media has been communicating directly with users and getting the feedback is really a new thing.
Charlene and Bernoff (2008) went a little more ahead in the research on social media and
presented more than 23 real world scenarios where social media has proved to be extremely good
for the growth of business. But along with this, they also researched the effects of social media
on individuals and families. Bernoff (2008, pp. 78) mentioned in research that people are being
addictive to these social networking sites and might be losing the control of their family life
because of this.
Young (1999, pp. 46) recognized the negative effects of social media in the early days and said,
It is not necessary that people become addicted of social networking sites as a whole, but they
might be addictive to different kind of activities on social media. He divided these activities in
the following five categories:
1. Addiction to the games on social networking sites.
2. Addiction to data and other information found on these sites and internet browsing.
3. Addiction to the porn content available on social networking sites.
4. Addiction to the products and services offered and marketing
5. Addiction to the online and offline relationships.
The given Case Study, Social Media or Social Menace is based upon the extensive use of
social networking sites by users. The case study is all about the probable negative effects of the
social media which might be true if proper attention is not paid towards this issue. The case study
demands a proper research on the issue of Social Media or Menace which could be validated
through the following questions:
1. How many people are present on the social media?
2. How much time they are spending on social networking sites?
3. What are the activities people are performing on these sites?
4. Frequency of logging in to social networking sites?
5. Are people are spending more than enough time sitting on their computers due to these
social networking sites?
6. Are people forgetting their other responsibilities because of the social media?
7. Peoples thoughts are just confined to what they see on social media?
8. What is the percentage of different age groups on social media?
9. Which social networking sites people are browsing?
10. Do people participate on various surveys on social media?
11. Marketing on social media is helping companies in selling their products?
12. The data on the social networking sites is true or not?
13. Do people validate the information found on social media through other sources or just
trust them blindly?
All these questions justify the need of research on the use of social media and produce a research
question, The social media is really a boon to the Internet users or it is Social Menace?
All the above asked questions need to be scaled and the most widely used scaling system, Likert
Scaling suits this research questionnaire properly (Boyd, 2009, pp. 87). According to the Likert
scaling, research questions are rated on the basis of the response from the audience. The five
level Likert item consists of the below 5 responses from the audience:
Strongly disagree to the research question
Disagree to the research question
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree to the research question
Strongly agree to the question
This five level scale validates the research question and helps the researcher in reaching a
conclusion.
When Likert Scale is applied to the research questions on social media, most of the general users
who spent normal time were of the opinion that social media has become an essential part of
their life but also denied the negative effects. On the other hand, people who had been spending
lots of time on social networking sites accepted that they could not stay away from social media
even if they wanted. These people said that somehow they had become addicted to the social
media. They agreed to most of the negative effects and helped in concluding that social media
needs a check.
During the random sampling of the data, people gave an amazing answer to the question,
Frequency of logging in to the social networking sites. Most of the people strongly agreed that
they log in to these social networking sites at least once in a day. The answer to this question
alone provides an important insight about how much social media has become essential to
peoples social life.
Harm
Privacy
Deception
The consent of the people under research is always mandatory. The views of the people for a
research could not be used without their approval and they have the authority to know the type of
research and legalities of the research. Another issue related to consent is that people could not
be forced to participate in a research. Only if they are willing to participate in the research, they
could be used for any questionnaire. Next is the issue of harm to the subjects by the research.
Harm could be of any kind; it could be the stress, it could be psychological, it could be
embarrassment or it could be the public humiliation. Sometimes the data of the people involved
in the research is kept secret and data is used anonymously (Kuss & Griffiths, 2011, pp. 3541).
This way subjects are removed from the harms way and it also protects their right of privacy.
The deception factor is associated with the misinterpretation of the data provided by the subjects.
Sometimes researchers could represent the data as they want instead of the actual meaning of the
data. This kind of deception is very dangerous and the researcher could be punished for that by
the ethical committee.
It is necessary to define the ethical issues before conducting any research. During the research
on social media, most of the people do not want to go on the record. Therefore, it becomes hard
for the researcher to prove that the questionnaire done by them is authentic. To avoid this, the
best idea is to use other types of research methods also along with questionnaire
helped them in finding their old friends. One of the odd answers from the people was that it has
helped them in gaining the confidence. These people said that due to the social media they are
able to connect to the society and when people appreciate their comments or photos, it gives
them confidence. A small segment of the subjects accepted that they exaggerate their personality
over social media as there are many people in their network who do not know them personally
and thus they are able to manipulate these people.
Conclusion
The case study given has raised a question over the use of social media and presented social
media as a threat for society. Though there are many facts presented in this paper about how
people are using the social media effectively for good work, still there is a requirement to control
the use of social sites. Social media might be able to help people in communicating with their
friends, maintaining long distance relationships, building social network, making a public
appearance or providing business through online marketing, but spending too much time on
social media has become the reason of main concern. A survey of 1500 people showed that
people who are spending more time on social networking sites building a social network are
spending very less time in their real life social events. These people might be getting recognition
over Internet but in real life, they are cutting off their relationships with community (Fawcett &
Baguley, 2011, pp. 191). This kind of pattern is a major threat for the society. Most of the people
who participated in this survey were found insecure in their real life and they were just trying to
find a way out of this insecurity. But during this process, they somehow lost their path and forgot
about their real life. These are the people with low self-esteem who are being addicted to the
social media. According to another study, students who are spending more time on social media
are also getting the low grades. Though some of the students claimed that they use social media
as a source of finding the useful information for their study, but then how come they ended up in
lower grades? A small segment of the students accepted that they use social networking sites for
the purpose of flirting and fulfilling their sexual desires. These students were mainly male
students, while female students denied of any of these kinds of activities. These types of people
mostly find the sexually appealing profiles on the social networking sites and try to make friends
with them. Although most of these profiles are fake and made by the people who uses these
profiles to exploit the sexual desires of others.
According to the experts, the addiction of social networking sites is found mainly in young
people, but older people are also involved. These experts claimed that addiction to social media
is almost same as the addiction to the substances and both of the addictions have almost same
symptoms. One symptom of social media addiction is that the person addicted to social media
restricts himself from social appearance. This kind of people spends their most of the time using
their computers are barely appears in public. There are also some people who are so much
addicted to social media that they are seeking professional help and the professionals who are
helping them are even using the drugs which are used in any other kind of addiction (Kaplan &
Haenlein, 2010, pp. 61). The first aim of these professional is the controlled use of internet. Once
the first step is done, they move onto the next step which is basically getting the people back in
main community. There was a case found in the surveys of a 25 years old girl who was so much
involved in using the social networking site Facebook that she had to lose her job because of this.
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She was not able to perform her office work because she was busy in using the Facebook. Finally
she had to see a psychiatrist for therapy and even in her first meeting with therapist; she accessed
Facebook on her cell phone. Hence, there is no doubt that social media is becoming the social
menace and despite all the benefits, it needs to be controlled.
References
Fawcett, A., & Baguley, J. (2011). Social media menace?. In Practice, 33(4), 190-191.
Demers, D. (1999). Global media: menace or messiah?. Cresskill, New Jersey: Hampton Press.
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and
opportunities of Social Media. Business horizons, 53(1), 59-68.
Hilgartner, S., & Bosk, C. L. (1988). The rise and fall of social problems: A public arenas
model. American journal of Sociology, 53-78.
Howitt, D. (1982). The mass media and social problems. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Ybarra, M. L., & Mitchell, K. J. (2008). How risky are social networking sites? A comparison of
places online where youth sexual solicitation and harassment occurs. Pediatrics, 121(2), e350e357.
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