Social Psychology Lab Report. The Main Themes for University Students in Their Usage and Experience of Social Networking Sites

by student1591 (student)

The Main Themes for University Students in Their Usage and Experience of Social Networking Sites

Social Psychology

Lab Report

ABSTRACT

This particular study consisted of three transcripts of fifteen focus group discussions being analysed with the aim of establishing the main influencing actors in the use of social networking sites (see appendix for interview schedule). These focus groups were carried out by a moderator trained in group dynamics and interview skills. The aim of each focus group was to explore the experiences and opinions of students in the use of social networking sites, why they are used and the advantages and disadvantages of their use. Through analysing the transcripts of the focus group discussions three main themes were found, these were; Advantages of using social networking, disadvantages of using social networking and information disclosure. This study could have benefited from the use of one interviewer to take the 15 focus group discussions and a more equal ratio of male participants to female participants.

INTRODUCTION

The aim of the study was to outline the core reasons why students may use social networking sites and their past experiences in using them. Furthermore we wished to discover the affect of the increasing use of these sites on communication and the advantages and disadvantages that this has brought about for the individual. As social psychologists, it is of interest to us to analyse what the main factors are that influence the individual into using these sites. It has become an important aspect of psychology as social psychologists are interested in what causes people to form bonds with other individuals as this is a phenomenon which every human undertakes. The fact that we were investigating the various reasons that students associate with their use of social networking sites as well as their past experiences of them, our results and conclusions will be of use to various use to social psychologists. Only a decade ago focus groups were practically unknown to social scientists. Now their use in academic settings as well as outside is vast and ever-growing. David Morgan (1991) provided a guide to focus groups on how conduct and analyse and considers the additional possibilities. His method has become highly regarded as a qualitative research method in psychology and is also of use to qualitative researchers in every academic discipline as well as those in non academic disciplines. Morgan takes an inclusive approach to research which broadly defines focus groups as a research technique that gathers data through group interaction on a particular topic of interest to the researcher. Focus groups can be used as both a self-contained method and in combination with surveys and other research methods such as individual, in-depth interviews. Comparisons between focus groups, surveys and individual interviews can help to outline the advantages and disadvantages to the use of group interviews when concentrating on the role that the group has to play in producing interaction and furthermore the role of the moderator in the way that they guide the interaction of participants. The use of focus groups as a method can be most useful when careful attention is taken to ensure a high level of research design with regards to the project at hand and the actual group discussion.

However this method of research is not without flaws it has weakness due to the impact of the group on its participants. There are concerns about the range of topics that can be researched effectively in groups as group interaction requires mutual self-disclosure; it is indisputable that some topics will be unacceptable for discussion among a number of categories of research participants. Currently, however, assertions about this weakness of the use of focus groups are based more with regards to intuition than data as there are no empirical investigations regarding the range of topics or participants that can or cannot be studied with group discussions. One particular flaw of the use of focus groups is that focus groups can be considered inappropriate for the research of “sensitive topics” and that their use is therefore limited to more general topics that individuals will feel comfortable discussing in a group setting.

METHOD

Design

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METHOD

Design

The qualitative method of focus group interviews were selected for the study. This method was thought to be best for the research topic at hand as it allowed the participants to fully develop on their personal experiences and opinions on social networking were. The focus groups were conducted by interviewers who were trained in group dynamics and interview skills. Each of the fifteen focus groups lasted for approximately one hour (see appendices for Interview Schedule). In order to prepare for the interviews with the focus groups the researchers had to make an interview guide in order to outline the basic framework of the study to ensure that the topics of interest were covered. They did this by developing a few questions and probes to start the conversation which the participant would then generally steer for example,

“what aspects of social networking are most important to you?” ( Transcript 1 , P9 ,Line 19) and

“what are the drawbacks to social networking?” ( Transcript 1, P6 ,Line 15 )

These probes would help ensure that the interviewer did not lead the participants into answering in a particular way but instead started a topic which the students then developed themselves.

Participants

The participants that took part in the focus group discussions were students in their second year of studying Social Psychology at University of Ulster, Coleraine. In the 140 research participants that were involved 19 were males and 121 were females.

Procedure

Through the research of Morgan (1991) it was agreed that each focus group consisting of 8-11 participants would be the optimum number for our study. Each of the focus group discussions took place in a quiet and private room on the University of Ulster, Coleraine campus. When all the students were present they were reminded of the aims and objectives of the study and were asked if they were willing to participate, in this way the researcher gained conformed consent. When it was acknowledged that everyone was happy to continue with the study the recording device was started in order to enable the use of transcripts and the discussions began. When the researcher felt that all topics had been covered the discussion was ended and the participants were debriefed.

Data Analysis

Our choice of method for the study was the use of focus groups. We felt this method was best as it has many of the advantages

The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis techniques (Miles and Huberman, 1999). The interviews were recorded on tape and then transferred over onto transcripts in order for them to be analysed more conveniently i.e. Data reduction, data display and Interpretation was used. Researchers participating in the study independently read and ‘coded’ the transcripts as they saw appropriate.

Ethical Issues

In this study there were many ethical concerns that the researchers had to take into account. They needed to ensure that there were no issues of coercion and although attendance at the focus group was vital it was important that the participants did not feel pressurised into partaking in the discussion. This was achieved in the way that participants had to partake in the study as they had to be present but they did not have to contribute to the discussion if they did not want to. Prior to the focus group discussion the interviewer also had a list of probes in order to ensure that the topic was covered sufficiently. It was important to take into account the possibility of interviewer bias and to ensure that the probes used by the moderator were not leading. Whilst the probes enabled the moderator to steer the conversation it was important that participants did not feel pressured into giving the interviewer the answers that they felt they wanted to hear. We further tried to ensure that participants felt comfortable in being able to express their opinions and personal experience in their use of social networking sites in limiting the number of each focus group to 8-11 participants (Morgan, 1991). In order to gain informed consent participants were fully informed about the study at their lecture and were reminded of the aims and objectives of the study before the interview began. To ensure the participants confidentiality all information on the study was stored in a password protected computer and a file cabinet, the study was also conducted in a private room. Personal identifiers were changed or removed from the data such as towns and city names were changed as well as the participants being labelled as “participant one”, “participant two” etc and so the interviews abided by the principle of anonymity. Furthermore the participants were not to speak about the focus group discussion to participants of other groups and were reminded that they were not to identify their focus groups, themselves or other participants upon receiving the transcripts.

RESULTS

Through analysing the 3 transcripts of the Focus Group discussions it was evident that students could see many benefits to social networking. The three main subthemes of this theme were that social networking was cost effective, an easy means of communication and a social norm in modern society.

Factors Encouraging Social Networking

Cost effectiveness stood out as an important factor in the use of social networking for the students, many of them saying that it is free and saves money as opposed to texting or calling someone and running up a bill.

“I would use Skype. It’s good for people you don’t see very often, if they live in different countries and it’s free rather than texting them and using money.” ( Transcript 1 , P6, Lines 28-30 )

The saving for the students in using social networking sites came across as being particularly more important when communicating with people who they could not meet face-to-face as they lived in different countries and calling or texting them would be significantly higher in cost. Many of students talked about having Internet access on their phones meaning that they could make use of wireless hotspots for example in the University or in some cafés.

Communication was another factor that influenced the students’ use of social Networking, many having android phones or easy access to the internet and wi-fi connections on their mobile phones meant it can often be quicker for them to contact someone through instant messaging to someone who is on the same social networking site as them.

“Everyone has android phones and stuff and they can go onto facebook on their phone to keep in contact with everybody. It is a lot easier for people to access it anywhere now.” ( Transcript 1, P2 ,Lines 22-25)

A further way that social networking makes communication easier for the students is that they can easier contact people who use the same sites as them without having many personal details, for example if a student needed to contact another student in their class about an assignment they can simply search for their name on Facebook and recognise them through their profile or display picture. They can then contact them through an email even without being ‘friends’ with the person on popular sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Social Networking can also benefit students educationally as it has made it easier for them to contact a lecturer in a case were for example, they may be confused about a due date for an essay or a particular topic. It also enables the lecturer to better inform them on changes in schedules or updates on topics.

“One of our modules.....has a twitter account. The lecturer updates us sometimes about lecture times, room changes and things like that; he also uses it to give us websites and stuff for different projects.” ( Transcript 1 , P4 ,Lines 3-7 )

Through the use of social networking students can also simply access their student account via the University of Ulster Portal site and email the lecturer directly with little hassle. Additionally, Social Networking sites are regarded as a great means of communication in the long distance relationships that many of the students have experienced for example family who live abroad. Furthermore when they encountered problems with staying in contact due to their transition from secondary education to further education in university as close friends attended other universities in different countries to themselves.

“My best friend just left two weeks ago to go to placement in XX from Uni here and I would be lost without Skype to not be able to actually see her for the whole year that she will be away.” ( Transcript 2, P8 ,Lines 10-12 )

Several students expressed the usefulness of social networking sites such as Skype to combat these communication barriers and felt that they were very helpful in keeping communication where without these means they would not have been able to achieve the same level of contact.

Lastly many of the students mentioned that the use of social networking sites was a social norm and that without partaking in having a profile or using these sites as a means of communication they would feel left out or that they were missing out on being informed and kept up to date with regards to events or recent news and opinions of it.

“I think it’s the social norm as well, like everybody has facebook, very few people don’t. You kind of feel left out of the loop if you don’t have it” ( Transcript 2 , P2 ,Lines 2-4)

Disadvantages of Social Networking

One of the main subthemes that can be seen through the transcripts of the focus group discussions is the lack of privacy that social networking sites can bring. They expressed concern over the amount of personal information that could be readily available to people they do not know or trust

“All your personal information is on it, your age, where you study and where you work.” ( Transcript 1 , P9 ,Lines 3-4 )

The students suggested that another disadvantage to the use of Social Networking sites is the cyber bulling that is often associated with them.

“There is so much bullying going on and there are so many rumours started on facebook, that usually end up hurting people” ( Transcript 1, P8 ,Lines 11-13 )

There have been numerous reports on the news recently that the participants recognised and could relate to, a few even give examples of experiences they had themselves or of people who they knew that had experienced this problem.

Information Disclosure

“I think it’s dangerous that you have all your details on it like your email address, your date of birth they can find out your mother’s maiden name and people can hack into emails and things.” ( Transcript 2, P5 ,Lines 32-34 )

Many of the students expressed worries and concerns over the access that people can gain to personal information if close attention is not paid to the privacy settings that you have to select when setting up your account.

“There are so many fake profiles.” ( Transcript 1 , P7 ,Line 27 )

A further problem that the students outlined when using social networking was that it was so easy for an individual to take on a false persona and use someone else’s identity as their own and that it was easy to do as all that was needed was a name and a few photo graphs readily available to the individual from their online profiles. A few of the students acknowledged that they had experienced situations where people they knew had had their identity stolen and false profiles made stealing their identity.

A further problem with information disclosure was addressed in the focus groups was that the privacy settings on the social networking sites had to be carefully considered as personal information was made public so easily

“Your email and phone number can be public if you don’t select don’t show to friends.” ( Transcript 1 , P9 ,Lines 13-14 )

The use of focus group discussions were useful for the study of students experiences and opinions of the advantages and disadvantages to using Social Networking sites had many advantages for our research as it allowed participants to full develop their experiences and was useful in that the recordings could easily be transferred into transcripts allowing the researchers to fully analyse the findings of the study and develop a table of the main themes and subthemes of what the discussion revealed were important to the students who participated.

DISCUSSION

Choosing to use a qualitative method of research worked well for this particular study. The use of focus group discussions benefitted the research as it allowed the participants to fully develop their own personal experiences and opinions of the pros and cons to the use of social networking sites. Through the use of this method the researchers were able to transfer the recordings of the discussion and transfer them into transcripts which allowed them to see clearly and note any trends that occurred, enabling the development of a table of themes and subthemes of important factors influencing the use of social networking sites.

The results gained from the focus group discussions such as the table of important factors that influence social networking give a detailed and insightful account of the opinions of the participants that were involved in the study. The use of a qualitative method has allowed us to see the different roles that social networking sites play as well as the different types of uses such as instant messaging and Skype. It has therefore been useful in demonstrating the importance that social networking has in the lives of students and its convenience in enabling them to maintain contact with individuals who are of importance in their lives. It is furthermore beneficial to them as a means of communication in that it allows them to stay in contact in a way that is cost effective for them and is easily accessible. However the use of this qualitative method of focus group discussions is not without flaw and there are some changes that could be made in order to make the research more reliable if it was to be repeated. The use of a number of different interviewers’ means that there could have had an negative effect on the study as some of the interviewers may have had more experience or a higher level of skill in leading focus group discussions, they therefore may have been more prepared with a better list of probes and questions for starting topics that needed to be covered. For the study this could mean that some of the participants were enabled to better express their personal opinions without feeling that they were giving the interviewers the answers they thought that they wanted and with more experience some interviewers may have been better equipped with a higher level of skill to better put the participants at ease. Furthermore the use of different interviewer probes for example some may have been worded in a better way than other researchers probes leading them to have a more successful focus group decision. If the study was to be repeated it could be advantageous to the study to use only one interviewer. This way each focus group has a fair and equal platform on which to express their personal opinions.