Qualitative desertion review and analysis about the impact of music videos on girls - Essay Example

? TOPIC: QUALITATIVE DESERTION REVIEW AND ANALYSIS LECTURER: QUALITATIVE DESERTION REVIEW AND ANALYSIS Epistemologically, the researcher shows great sense of knowledge on the subject of the impact of music videos on girls. This was done by creating a theory of knowledge that was based and structured around the use of several works of existing literature and also through an attempt to undertake independent thorough investigations on the subject matter without a cause for pre judgmental conclusions. The theory of knowledge that was constructed by the researcher was one that was focused on the need for adequate media literacy that is aimed at letting younger girls know and appreciate what the impact of music videos could be to them and how they can best position themselves against the troubles that this may bring in their decision making (Amaeshi, Adi, Ogbechie & Amao, 2006). In the quest to creating the said theory of knowledge, there was an attempt by the researcher to situate herself as independently from the outcome of the results of the study as possible. This was done through a number of ways. A typical example of this was to select respondents from a very wide population base, covering a large age group from 11 to 18. This way, much of the outcome of the study was independently left with the individual respondents rather than influencing what the contribution of each member of the group was going to be for the study. Most of the variables for data collection such as the use of media diaries also presented a highly objective perspective of the research problem from the viewpoint of the respondents rather than the researcher. The theoretical perspective that informed the research was the impact of media-literacy on the reception of media information. This is because the researcher rightly notes that “Theoretically, media-literate people are less susceptible to media information because they realize the messages are authored and designed to impact them on some level” (p. 4). This theoretical perspective set the stage for the research because it created a paradigm for data collection that was focused on the enhanced education of at-risk girls on the best media literacy programs they needed and how these media-literacy could shape their reaction towards music video clips that they viewed on a daily basis (Beauchamp, 2003). The researcher presents questions based on the literature review. This means that a more inductive approach rather than a deductive approach was taken towards the study. What this means is that in terms of the research questions, the researcher did not create or develop a hypothesis out of which a theory was generated through literature review. Rather, the researcher took a theory through literature review and critically synthesized it to develop a hypothesis based on the research questions (Alvesson, 2002). In effect, the questions were presented in a way that way used provide the researcher the opportunity of modifying existing theory in literature. A major advantage with the methods of the study was that the researcher made use of a snowball sampling method, which generally permitted that a group of available respondents be critically scrutinized for their appropriateness in providing the researcher with the nature of variables that were needed to be tested in the study. This is because the researcher was particularly focusing on at-risk girls and so did not have to use a sampling technique that would bring in respondents who fell outside this domain. What is more, a triangular data collection approach was devised by the researcher in ensuring that data collection was approached from as many preambles as possible so that the testing of results could be internally valid. A research protocol was presented to give the reader an idea of how the researcher’s process was carried out. Through the research protocol, it was established that a triangulation method of data-gathering was devised to make the researcher look into variables such as the cultural categories, significant symbols and shared meanings that at-risk adolescent girls constructed about music videos that they watched. In the execution of the triangulation method, an in-depth interview, observation and focused discussion were all used as part of the researcher’s process of data gathering. Rightly so, this gave the researcher and all round understanding of the entire facet of the respondents’ lifestyle pertaining to the use of music videos. The conclusions of the study are not presented in isolation from the implications of the study, making it easier for the researcher to carefully deduce what the impact of the results of the study had been for the variables under which data were collected (Dunning, 2004). A key strength of the study’s conclusion was the way and manner in which the researcher presented conclusions under various themes to ensure that there was easier understanding of the results of the study in relation to various aspects areas from which data were collected. Some of the themes used by the researcher were media literacy, semiotics, theoretical, and symbolic interactionism. The story of the study was presented in a way that makes it very easy and simple to understand. This is because on a very constant basis, the researcher uses themes and subjects to evenly break down ideas in the study. This way, the story of the study becomes well organized and easy to follow. It would however be stressed that for the sake of space, there were some of these terminologies and key words that were not thoroughly broken down for lay readers to understand. This was a weakness with the way story was presented, making it difficult for meanings to be drawn in some cases with the study. The researcher rightly identified that dealing with at-risk adolescent girls was a difficult situation and thus the need to observe maximum ethical adherence (McIntosh, 2003). This is because the as the researcher notes, “at-risk population are heavily protected by state and national privacy laws, organizational bylaws, and staff concerns about exposing these children to additional harm” (p. 108). In line with this, all necessary ethical processes were followed such as the use of several months in seeking official permission from the appropriate quarters for the study. In some cases, permission was not granted and in such instance the researcher did not force her way out with collecting data from such organizations. The researcher rightly admitted that collecting qualitative data of this nature could be extremely challenging on the validity of the study because they did not make use of empirical and statistical approaches which are objective and easily interpreted universally (Blunt, Jones & Richard, 1993). To this end, a series of actions were taken to ensure the validity and reliability of the study. For instance a pilot study was conducted to test how best the data collection approach aided in collecting the identified data in the research problem (Dunning, 2004). Again, there was the evaluation of multiple forms of evidence in the data collection approach, making it possible for the efficacy of the various data collection tools to be tested. In terms of content, there were several lessons that were learnt from the study. Specifically, the idea that anything that presents an audio-visual appearance to people could have an impact on their social life; no matter how short such multi-media may be like a music video was rightly justified. What is more, there was a potent justification of the fact that at-risk adolescents are more at prone to further harm and thus the need to protect them from any social phenomena that could affect their decision making negatively. As much as possible, there should be maximum guidance for such at-risk people to control their perception of social issues that are presented through music videos and other social platforms. Based on the outcome of the critique that has just been carried out, there are a number of ways that my own future studies will be influenced. In the first place, the use of thematic organizations of research work will be adopted. This is because such approach to presenting stories in research works makes them easier to understand. In order to ensure validity also, it will be recommended for the use of more than one data collection approach to make use of a multi-system of data collection such as triangulation method. The weakness with difficulty in technical understanding of the study will be avoided by making sure that there is a thorough explanation of all terms used in the study. References Alvesson, M. (2002). Understanding Organizational Culture. New York: Sage Publications. Amaeshi, K, Adi, B, Ogbechie, C & Amao, O. (2006). Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria: Western Mimicry or Indigenous Influences?”. No. 39-2006, ICCSR Research Paper Series, The University of Nottingham, pp. 4,17, 25. Beauchamp, T. (2003) Case studies in Business, Society and Ethics. 5th ed”. London: Pearson, Prentice Hall. Blunt, P, Jones, M & Richard , D. (1993). “Managing organizations in Africa”. Toronto: Walter de Gruyter Dunning, J ed. (2004). Making globalization good, the moral challenges of global capitalism., Oxford: Oxford University Press. McIntosh, M. (2003) “Raising a ladder to the moon, the complexities of Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility”. Palgrave McMillan. Read More