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ICT90003 Applied Research Methods

How Research is Done

A research is an orderly exploration into and study of tackles and foundations in order to inaugurate facts which help in coming up with certain conclusions. Cyberbullying is described as using know-hows of information and statement to cause deliberate, hostile and recurrent conduct by a group or an individual, with the aim to cause trouble or of harm other people. Cyberbullying is concerned with bothering, threatening or harassing someone through the use of the electronic media and tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail among others (BETTS 2016, p. 89). This research features threatening which among other cyberbullying practices includes the writer sounding like he or she is emotionally disturbed and may end up harming someone else or committing suicide. In order to come up with a good research about how cyber bullying is conducted and the effects, it has on the victims certain basic steps are necessary. Several steps are followed which include identifying a problem to which is to be solved and in this case the cyber bullying. A topic needs to be thoroughly researched and identifying the gaps that have not been filled by the previous researchers. This gives the way into designing experiments, performing them, gathering information and then submitting them for publication.

In most countries, cyber bullying is treated as serious offense as it causes a victim to feel overly self-conscious and scanty and in some cases, the chances of committing suicide become very high and it targets mostly the teenagers.   The Pew Internet conducted a cyberbullying study in 2010 which found out that two out of five youths have experienced online harassment. It also found out that some forms of cyber bullying included publicizing one’s information through the use of text messages, e-mails and pictures and also sexual harassment (Ferris 2016, 90).  This necessitated a research to be carried out on the cyber bullying and how it can be sorted out to save the victims and the internet users at large. For the studies of cyber bullying to be effective there is a need to identify the main elements in cyberbullying in order to obtain a uniform progress in the studies. Various methodologies were used which included online surveys, logical search, and analysis of secondary data. The methods were designed to capitalize on the experiences of the relevant groups and maximise the victims reach and engagement. One of the methods used to obtain information includes the survey methodology which involves the sampling of individuals from a given population and the data collection techniques. A sample of 700 youths from the Japan was used to participate in an online survey by responding to some questionnaires. According to Boyd (2014, p. 54). a focus group of 12 years to 20 years old youngsters was used to carry out the research about their use of communication technology and experiences on cyber bullying since most of them have access to the internet. The respondents were invited to participate in the survey using emails which were password-protected to enhance privacy. Some of them were enlisted or contacted directly and the interviews conducted would take about 15 minutes in length and were carried out in a duration of about three weeks running from 5 March to 24 March 2015.  Some demographic parameters including the region, gender, race, age, internet use and education were used to represent a nationally online sample. The report showed that more boys than girls were involved in cyberbullying. It also indicated that the cyber bullies normally believe that they are unidentified hence strange to the victim which gives them the confidence to utter more hurtful things than they would have done if they were to meet face to face with the victim.

One advantage of the survey through the interview is that it was possible to offer freedom of asking and having follow-up questions so as to have a basis of exploring the answers provided by the respondents. However, the results obtained from this sample were prone to some errors hence were subject to a sampling fringe of error of + or – 2.98 percentage points based on a 96 percent level of confidence. The method could also not produce a 100 percent accurate results since not all the invited youths responded to the survey and it was an expensive exercise in terms of time-consuming and the costs involved in reproducing the survey questionnaires.

A logical search was also carried out for cyberbullying measurement policies which were published between 1990 and 2016. This kind of methodology ensures that the search cuts off various unrelated documents or information which has no use in the research process. Firstly, some key terms were excavated from a literature review which included terms such as violent, bully, victim, aggress and harasses. These search terms were used together simultaneously in order to narrow down the results of the research process. For instance, the terms victimization and bullying were used simultaneously in salvaging the relevant publication required for evidence. These terms were used to perform a search of several electronic databases including MedLine, ERIC, PsychInfo and the Behavioural Sciences. The information of the relevant articles was then screened for annexation entitlement. When there was enough evidence that a certain publication was suitable for consideration, it would then be retrieved, the full publication was reread and the measure was gotten by contacting the copyright owners in case it was not available within the publication. A data extraction form was developed to obtain all the information required to complete the review which included 40 questions with various information. The form had three publication items which included the year of publication and the type of publication whether a report or a journal.  The legitimacy and the consistency of each type of measure were recorded for psychometric data. The data captured was specific to every measurement strategy such as the author-reported bullying mechanism present in the measure. The reporter for each strategy was also noted, the time frame assessed, the type of the response options and whether the measurement strategy had the term “bullying” and how the measure scored. The members of the study team coded the same publication for coding the publications. This followed a thorough analysis in order to attain a high level of agreement across the coding form questions and the coders. The coders also met so as to discuss and solve any discrepancies. If there were any differences noted by various coding team members, the other team members would be consulted to help coming up with proper recommendations (Gasser 2010, 78). The method was quite accurate as it was less prone to errors since computer expertise and the time spent online were certainly related to both offending and cyber bullying victimization. However, it had some limitations such as the differences in the definition of bullying and the measures taken to curb such. The race and gender did not suggestively differentiate the offending and respondent victimization.

A research by Bauman, (2010, p. 21)indicated that most of the cyber bullying victims do not report the cases to the relevant authorities as they tend to think that the case will just be ignored or pass through many procedures such that one will eventually give up. Some cyberbullying victims normally experience low self-esteem and stress. Other victims of cyberbullying include the high school students who ignore reporting the case in fear that they may lose friends or they may be seen as being too mouthy. Other fear that the privilege of having to use the internet will be withdrawn if they report to the teachers or parents. This has given room for the crime to grow roots rapidly despite being a new type of internet crime which has cropped up in the recent years.

Based on the findings, the cyber bullying victims identify and cope with it in different ways which may make them be affected in one way or the other. While some victims may report the matter to the relevant authorities, others choose to seek help from their peers and sort it out personally which may not always be a good option.  Thus, it is vital to focus on linking cyber bullying with the psychosocial backgrounds of the victims together with other circumstantial variables which impact the victims. Therefore, a further research is necessary to ensure the success and effectiveness of the various managing approaches and also to come up with proper means to curb the crime.

References

• BAUMAN, S. (2010). Cyberbullying: what counselors need to know. Alexandria, VA, American Counseling Association.
• BETTS, L. R. (2016). Cyberbullying: Approaches, Consequences and Interventions. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=4719821.
• BOYD, D. (2014). It’s complicated: the social lives of networked teens.
• EMERSON, R. M., FRETZ, R. I., & SHAW, L. L. (2011). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=3563012.
• FERRIS, K. (2016). REAL WORLD: an introduction to sociology. [S.l.], W W NORTON.
• GASSER, U. (2010). Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. Perseus Books LLC. http://www.myilibrary.com?id=264345Bottom of Form
• GIANT, N. (2013). E-safety for the i-generation: combating the misuse and abuse of technology  in schools. London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
• INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION. (2016). Violence and  society: breakthroughs in research and practice. Hershey, Information Science Reference.http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1410023.
• NAIR, P. K. R., & NAIR, V. D. (2014). Scientific writing and communication in agriculture and  natural resources. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1636495.
• NOOR AL-DEEN, H. S., & HENDRICKS, J. A. (2012). Social media: usage and impact. Lanham, Md, Lexington Books.
• RIVARA, F., & LE MENESTREL, S. (2016). Preventing bullying through science, policy, and practice.
• WALKER, S. (2012). Effective social work with children, young people and families: putting systems theory into practice. London, SAGE.