Research Methodology

I am re-posting after realising everything has to be in the third person and not the first :s

In order to be able to provide a valid conclusion to the initial question, it is integral that research is undertaken. The research required needs to be structured in order to look at the argument from a variety of different angles to perceive all the affecting matters relevant to my question. Therefore, the research to be undertake should come under the following points of interest:

• Definition of “community”
• How mobile phones are eroding the concept of a community
• Social Networking/mobile phones are replacing a physical community with a virtual one                                     
• How young people are re-shaping our preconception of a community
• How readily available mobile phones/mobile internet are to us

Obtaining research related to the above topics should enable me to gain a reasonable understanding, thus qualifying of a conclusion to be drawn of relative validity.

Ideally, It would be better for the research to come from both primary and secondary sources. Enabling for a better conclusion if a comparison between personal research and that of others could be performed. However, due to time constraints, conducting my own research involving participation of others would not be viable. A lack of time will also mean that triangulation is not possible, as this method requires the employment of three types of research. Not using such a method will compromise the conclusion as there is no other data to cross – verify with personal research.

To aid in counteracting this issue, research should be obtained for a broad array of different mediums. Such mediums including: books, e-books, newspaper articles, internet, catalogues, dictionaries and market reports. The findings obtained from these sources should include both qualitative and quantitative data. A blend of the two will enable both personal opinions, and those of others to be backed up with figures and statistics

Once the research has been collected, its intended use is it to produce an unbiased opinion when discussing whether mobile phones have caused the demise of the community. The research obtained should enable the perception of both sides of the argument and from this a conclusion can be drawn.

Design Methodology

My Literature Review

I have decided to do my literature review on the Impact of Mobile phones on society and from that I have chosen my title to be: Mobile Phones: The demise of Communities. Basically, when researching, I broke the subject up into several categories mainly to help me start thinking about the structure of my report and where I want to go with it.
• Definition of “community”
• How mobile phones are eroding the concept of a community
• Social Networking/mobile phones are replacing a physical community with a virtual one
• How young people are re-shaping our preconception of a community
• How readily available mobile phones/mobile internet are to us

I used for my research a book, several websites, a newspaper, Dictionary, Catalogue and Keynotes Market Report.

The only think that worries me about this (at the moment anyway) is that I go off on a tangent and get carried away with talking about social networks or something, so I am going to keep an eye out for that!! So anyway, here goes.....



“community is nowadays another name for paradise lost—but one to which we dearly hope to return...” - Bauman 2001. Arguably the growing rate at which we all use mobile phones has reshaped our conception of communication. With the introduction of mobile telecommunication, we have been introduced to many new methods of interacting with others. Quigly 2004 states that “Young people are utilising mobile phone technology to establish and maintain peer-based social networks at a time when theorists are debating technology’s role in the apparent loss of community.” Renowned psychologist Zygmunt believes that the community revolves around a physical place. As enforced by Quigly 2004 “Bauman claims that it is due to the absence of such experience that commentators today often report the “demise” of the community” However in our modern day society, our lives become increasingly fragmented. Individuals no longer stay in one place and are required to socialise with people who don’t have the common interest of location but rather hobbies, interests and work. With mobile phone technology becoming ever more advanced, we have recently seen the wide availability of mobile internet, camera phones and GPRS navigation systems. Facebook 2009 (http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics#/about.php) statistics state that there are over 65 million active users accessing the social networking site via a mobile phone. In addition to this statistic, these 65 million individuals are 50 per cent more active on Facebook that non-mobile users. With society developing a gradually dependencey on mobile phones it is inevitable that our preconception of a community will be forced to change. A recent survey taken in 2009 found that(http://www.usabilitynews.com/news/article5920.asp)dound “Almost a third of respondents (31 per cent) confirmed they would feel ‘completely lost’ and ‘isolated’ if they mislaid their mobile phone,”. Taking this into consideration, the demise of the society may well be better phrased as the changing of society.

I hope this is how a literature review is meant to be done :s

Vark Questionnaire Analysis

For part of our Learning and Skills for HE and Work course, we had to fill out a questionnaire entitled the Vark Questionnaire. Fleming's VARK model is designed to inform the individual which one of the following categories best suits their learning style:
V - Visual
A - Aural
R - Reading
K - Kinesthetic

My results from the questionnaire are as follows:
V - 4
A - 1
R - 4
K - 5

My results indicate that primarily a kinaesthetic learning, however luckily for me i also got reasonably high marks in both visual and reading methods of learning. However, the test clearly indicated that aural learning is not for me!

The results suggested by the questionnaire have come as no surprise to me. I certainly feel Kinesthetic describes my learning style the best. I am a firm believer that to truly understand something and confirm your knowledge, you need to be able to actually perform the task. I can read something over and over again or watch a how to video, but I consider the true way to ensure that you have actually learnt something is doing it. I really do feel that a hands on approach is the best way to learn, mainly because i feel i do learn from my mistakes and sometimes a trial and error approach is the best way to face a task. I consider that learning what doesn’t work can be a great way of understanding what does as well as the reasons behind both ways.

The fact that i seem to be a good all rounder also comes as no surprise. Yes, I love to perform tasks in a practical manner but i also can become bored or frustrated with one learning style quite easily. They say that "Variety is the spice of life" and I think that when it comes to looking at myself and my preferred learning styles, i do enjoy using a variety techniques to stop myself becoming half
-hearted about the task in hand.

The above is definitely true, but only to a certain extent as the questionnaire clearly indicated that an aural approach is not for me. I mainly think this because i like to feel engaged in what i am doing, and I find it easy to lose focus. I do enjoy my lectures currently as i am learning about something that really interests me, however I do find that towards the end the lecturer is not getting my full attention and I find myself drifting in and out of what is being said.

My ability to learn aurally is definitely something I need to work on. One idea i had was to try and visualise what is being said to me and make it a more engaging activity. However, i do think that no matter what i do i will always be weakest in this area. However I will definitely work on this and being at university is the ideal opportunity as i attend many lectures a week.

SWOT Analysis - Being in University

Strengths

• Gaining a degree will make me more employable
• Oppurtunity to get a higher paying job with prospects 
• Gain skills which are integral to the marketplace
• Good organisational skills   

Weaknesses

• Presentation in front of large groups of people 

Opportunities 

• Further my knowledge in the computing field
  
• Gaining new friends
• Work on improving communication skills

Threats

• Increase in tuition fees
  

 

Learning Timeline

This is my learning timeline illustrating the events in my life which I can say have contributed to my key skills significantly.

During my time at secondary school I participated in a national speaking competition, winning out of my school and participating in our regions semi-final was a big achievement for me as I used to be very shy. I think here was a defining moment to becoming more of a confident person.

Also during my secondary school education I obtained a qualification in NFTE, the requirements for which was to set up a business in a group. I think this opportunity taught me the importance of trying to think "outside the box" and a good exercise again in co-coordinating tasks and communication between group members.

I particularly enjoyed 6th Form College, I found this experience a chance to study the subjects I enjoyed and learn about them in more depth, including ICT and business. With a higher focus on independent learning and bigger tasks I feel I learnt the importance of time management and planning.

During 6th form I also took part in the academic mentoring scheme. The emphasis of the mentoring program was to assist the new year 7s in the importance of planning and managing their time. I found this a really enjoyable and rewarding experience as it was fun to try and make the information I was relaying interesting and exciting for younger students.

The final point on my timeline is of course university! I think I will really enjoy spending three years at ARU and it will be an excellent opportunity to further my skills and help me decide what I want to do with my life in relationship to my career and future.