You will need to select the virtual sites that will be used to collect data, collect and organized the data, and then write a research report that summarizes the data collection process.
First, you should decide what specific virtual site(s) or social media site(s) will be used to analyze the group/topic (my topic is indie music enthusiast facebook group) this could be a specific public facebook, reddit, twitter, or other public social group page. If you have already chosen a specific page in your previous assignments they you are good. Just keep using that one. If not, then you will need to select the one or two you would like to use. I suggest only choosing one to narrow down your data collection time. However, if you think the page does not have many posts or you would like to look at more than one then you may choose from 1-3 pages as long as they all represent the same online social group (for example, three pages of Cubs fans).
Second, you will need to determine what specific posts and reply posts will be included. This is sampling and requires you to make informed selections of data in order to best answer your research question. There are three ways for you to sample your data: select the type of data to be included, determine the time period that will be included, and finally choose a sampling method.
Types of Data: Will you include reply posts? If so, how many (all, first 10, first 20, etc.) How about memes or videos?
Time Period: You will not likely be able to collect every post from a site. So you should try to narrow it down using time. Consider the number of posts made on the site in an average week when making your choice. Then decide the date range you will collect your posts. Will new posts on the site be monitored during the data collection period? If so, what will the cut off date be?
Sampling Method: Once you have narrowed down the type of data and time period, then you can create a sampling method to make a decision about what posts are included or not. The aim of sampling method is to avoid having to analyze every post but instead to analyze enough to get a sense of what is going on. Also, you want to randomize the select to avoid your personal bias. It is up to you to determine the sampling method. Options could include every other post until you have 30, the first 30 posts, every post made on Friday until you have 30 posts taken in date order, etc,
These are your choices that you must decide. Just remember that each selection will change the data you get and likely influence the results of your research. Also, when you are done you need to have at least 30+ posts with some replies.
Third, you need to collect the actual data. You should collect the posts using screenshots to collect images of the posts with replies. Depending on your device this may take 1-3 screenshots per online post. I suggest saving them as jpg or png files and give the screenshots titles that will help you organize them. For example, use the posts date, number in your sampling, and part number in the title (such as 2.18.23 Post 1, part 2). When you are done you should have a folder image files of 30+ posts. NO NEED TO ANALYZE OR READ THESE YET. WE WILL DO THAT IN THE NEXT ASSIGNMENT.
Once the data has been collected and organized you will then write a report that includes the following:
Description of how the data was collected. This should include a summary of what sites where used, the type of data collected, who collected it, how it was sampled, and how it was organized.
Description of what data was collected. This should include a summary of what information was documented, including an overview of the quantity. For example, this should include the number of posts, number of reply posts, and number of people represented in the data collected.
Description of the strengths of the data collected. This should include a summary opinion of the value of the data collected. How well do you think it represents the group? Do you think it will be able to answer your research questions? Why or why not?
Description of the limitations/weaknesses of the data collected. This should include a summary of what the data does not represent very well about the group being studied. For example, what type of interactions or information is missing or what details are left unknown? (For example, there are no videos in the data).
Summary of how your group believes the data collected will help you understand the people being studied and how it will help answer the class projects’ research questions.
Screenshot of the folder with all the post screenshot files. This is just to help show that you have the data collected.
When writing your report, be sure to
Include an introduction and conclusion that summarizes your arguments.
Feel free to write from the collective “we”. (“We are going to study…” or “We found that that…”)
Avoid using bullet points or including the questions in the essay. Instead just write the paper as a cohesive essay that addresses the component parts above
Utilize headings to organize the paper.
Be sure to cite all sources. You should include a reference page and in-text citations using the American Sociological Association (ASA) format to properly cite all sources. See the following links for additional information for ASA formatting:
