1 – 2 ), 55 – 62 W r i t i n g

The structure of the research proposal

-Introduction, which should include a general description of the area you wish to research and the social relevance of studying it (part of the formative research plan but developed here to max. 500 words).

-1 to 2 key research questions which you may break down into narrower objectives or dimensions that you intend to explore (part of the formative research plan but developed here to max. 500 words).

-Key concepts and theories on which the project builds (new section introduced in the final proposal to emphasize the sociological lens of the research, max 500 words).

-Proposed methodology, including an explanation of why that method is compatible with the research questions (developed to max. 3000 words). This is the core of the proposal and it should also cover a description of and critical reflections on: 

othe unit of analysis (e.g. tweets, Reddit comments, live sessions in a video game, Instagram pictures, Linkedin profiles, Youtube channels, instances of users interacting with an app etc. )

othe sampling strategy (how are the specific cases selected?) 

othe data collection tools (software you would use, potential mixes between online and face-to-face research etc.) 

othe approach to data analysis (how would you make sense of the data? Which categories of analysis would you be particularly interested in? what aspects of the data do you expect would be particularly helpful in answering your research questions?) 

othe ethical considerations of conducting this project.

 Hi there, this research proposal would be better supported by a specific case. I also have a reading list available to you here that will help with references, and please use Harvard. Thank you.Loseke, D. (2017). Chapters 1-2. In Methodological thinking: Basic principles of social research design (pp. 1-34). SAGE Publications. Loseke, D. (2017). Chapter 3: Research Questions. In Methodological thinking: Basic principles of social research design (pp. 35-52). SAGE Publications.May, Tim, et al. 1996. Chapter 2 in An Introduction to the Philosophy of Social Research (pp. 13-46). Taylor & Francis Group. Alvesson, M. & Sandberg, J. (2013). The context of constructing and formulating research questions. In Constructing research questions: Doing interesting research (pp. 10-23). SAGE Publications Ltd. Hooley, T., Marriott, J., & Wellens, J. (2012). Chapter 4: Online Surveys. In What is Online Research?: Using the Internet for Social Science Research (The ‘What is?’ Research Methods Series). London: Bloomsbury Academic (pp. 39-52)Lo Iacono V, Symonds P, Brown DHK. Skype as a Tool for Qualitative Research Interviews. Sociological Research Online. 2016; 21(2):103-117. doi:10.5153/sro.3952Deakin H, Wakefield K. Skype interviewing: reflections of two PhD researchers. Qualitative Research. 2014;14(5):603-616. doi:10.1177/1468794113488126Hooley, T., Marriott, J., & Wellens, J. (2012). Chapter 3: Dealing with Ethical Issues in Online Research. In What is Online Research?: Using the Internet for Social Science Research (The ‘What is?’ Research Methods Series). London: Bloomsbury Academic (pp. 25-38)Törnberg P, Törnberg A. The limits of computation: A philosophical critique of contemporary Big Data research. Big Data & Society. July 2018. doi:10.1177/2053951718811843Marres, N., Weltevrede E. (2013) Scraping the social?, Journal of Cultural Economy, 6:3, 313-335, DOI: 10.1080/17530350.2013.772070 Metcalf, Crawford (2016) Where are human subjects in Big Data research? The emerging ethics divide. Big Data & Society 3(1): 1–14. Boyd, D., Crawford, K., (2012), ‘Critical questions for big data: provocations for a cultural, technological, and scholarly phenomenon’, Information, Communication & Society, 15 (5): 662–679. Rose, G. 2016. Chapter 4: ‘The Good Eye’: Looking at Pictures Using Compositional Interpretation. In Visual Methodologies. An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials (4th ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd. Kress, G. 2006. Chapter 4: Representation and Interaction: Designing the Position of the Viewer. In Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design (2nd ed.). Routledge (pp. 114-154)Larissa Hjorth, Heather Horst, Anne Galloway, And Genevieve Bell. 2017. Chapter 2 in The Routledge Companion to Digital Ethnography. Routledge Winter, R., & Lavis, A. (2020). Looking, But Not Listening? Theorizing the Practice and Ethics of Online Ethnography. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 15(1–2), 55–62.Tiidenberg, K. (2018). Ethics in digital research. In Flick, U. The sage handbook of qualitative data collection (pp. 466-479).Markham, A. N. (2012) ‘Fabrication as ethical practice: Qualitative inquiry in ambiguous internet contexts’, Information, Communication and Society, 15(3): 334–53.Gerrard Y. What’s in a (pseudo)name? Ethical conundrums for the principles of anonymisation in social media research. Qualitative Research. June 2020. Hallinan, B., Brubaker, J. R., & Fiesler, C. (2020). Unexpected expectations: Public reaction to the Facebook emotional contagion study. New Media & Society, 22(6), 1076–1094.Markus Lundström & Tomas Poletti Lundström (2021) Podcast ethnography, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 24:3, 289-299, DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2020.1778221 Tkacz N, Henrique da Mata Martins M, Porto de Albuquerque J, Horita F, Dolif Neto G. Data diaries: A situated approach to the study of data. Big Data & Society. January 2021. Marcella-Hood M. Instagram versus reality: the design and use of self-curated photo elicitation in a study exploring the construction of Scottish identity amongst personal style influencers on Instagram. Qualitative Research. June 2020. Perriam, Jessamy, Andreas Birkbak & Andy Freeman (2020) Digital methods in a post-API environment, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 23:3, 277-290, DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2019.1682840