Women and the Abuse they receive on social media
1 – Presentation of Topic and Research Problem
Provide an introductory paragraph that clearly presents your topic. Think of this as a broad overview of what you are proposing to study. From the reader’s perspective think of this paragraph as answering the general questions ‘Who and What are you writing about?’
Write a second paragraph that presents the research problem that you are proposing to investigate. Here you need to clearly identify the “problem” that justifies the need for your study. In general, research problems are challenges, concerns, issues or controversies that set the stage for your study. You need to motivate your readers to care about what you writing about. From the reader’s perspective think of this paragraph as answering the question ‘Why are you proposing this study?’.
Choosing an initial topic of interest
You are all asked to work on the same general research topic – an assessment of the value of social media use in communication. For example, when considering the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, have various forms of social media provided positive or negative value in a time of crisis? You don’t need to work with COVID-19 specifically this is just one relevant example to set the stage. You can explore whatever topic you want as long as it works within the general theme of value (either positive or negative) and social media usage. Within this general area you need to narrow the topic and conduct bibliographic research about scholarship related to your topic, and begin to develop specific research questions.
Try to develop a topic that interests you related to contemporary debates about the ways that social media are used in relation to creating value. Some of the issues are related to the type of content and others to the contexts. Maybe you encountered an interesting issue while making your media diary. If not, there are many recent debates and controversies about media use that could inspire you in your choice of topic.
For example, debates about ways “fake news stories” circulate on social media and their impact have raised questions about whether social media sites should monitor the content of material circulating. This would be considered a way to explore the potential negative value of social media.
People have voiced concerns about the issue of “sexting” (sending sexually explicit photos or texts in electronic communications). Do men and women have different attitudes towards sexting? Is it reasonable to say that sexting provide ‘value’ to users or to society?
Another debate in BC is related to posting images of people committing crimes (for example, during the riot in Vancouver in 2011). Some people claim that it is their duty as citizens to identify criminals. Others raise questions about whether posting pictures violates people’s right to privacy. What attitudes do people have towards posting photos of people committing crimes on the Internet? Do they feel differently about posting images of strangers committing crimes than they do about posting images of friends involved in illegal acts?
If you are interested in recent political events and social movements, you might want to investigate the use of social networking sites by individuals and groups for mobilizing others. Protesters in Syria, Tunisia and Egypt have made heavy use of them to mobilize demonstrators. Employers may search social media sites when considering whom to hire.
You might be interested in studying debates about how media professionals use social media. For example, human rights workers have denounced the use of pictures of starving children in media coverage of famine victims.
There are many more avenues to explore in studying attitudes and practices related to generating value through social media use. You might develop other topics related to marketing, surveillance and health. Try to think about issues that interest you when you undertake these assignments and focus on a particular issue you would like to study.
