I think I missed the boat…
I seem to be still living somewhere circa 1995. While I love the internet and use it now more than I watch TV, I still can’t come to grips with blogging. It is like having a diary or journal, but online…where everyone can read it.
But who does read it? No one really…except for my two lecturers, and possibly nosey people in my class. Oh and today I got a comment from a stranger, which was rather exciting!
I’m afraid when it comes to diaries I’m an old fashioned kid who likes to write in a book, not on the internet. What is it that makes so many people create a website, then write random things in it for other people’s benefit?
It’s funny I’m saying this as I am firstly writing a blog, and secondly thinking about how many professional blogs I read. I’m also thinking about what we learnt probably in first year, that blogs are a good way of neworking and creating an online personality for yourself for potential employers. Now this is ultimately shutting down my whole argument about how I don’t understand blogs. HHmmm…
My Love Hate Relationship with Ebay
I love to hate Ebay. I also love to love Ebay.
Let me explain. I am a shoppaholic (oh how cliche!) But no seriously I must spend any money that enters my bank account within a designated period or I feel like I am wasting away. That’s when Ebay comes into it. The thrill of the bidding! The test of your courage!
OK so it’s not really that exciting, but when you get a piece of clothing, or some other random object you really didn’t need, it is quite exciting. So basically what I’m trying to say is that the idea of Ebay suits me to a tea!
BUT! The design of the Ebay website drives me insane! It is so difficult to navigate, especially when you are in the ‘My Ebay’ section, it is always going to different screens, then you have to hit ‘back’ and you lose your product that you wanted to bid on. The worst part about the Ebay website is the home page, it is crazy! So busy that there are things just everywhere. But you know…I think they do it on purpose. It is the objective of Ebay to create a sense of panic and excitement when you reach the home page so you immediately start bidding on unnecessary items and feel like you have to BUY BUY BUY!!! How sneaky of them….but it works a treat!
Good Web Design
Transient spaces is very similar to a subject I did last year, Desktop Publishing. Although we are going into a lot more detail, all we really did in that class was make a website.
Basically, to me, good web design is simple, keep it clear and keep it simple. I think thats why Google has had so much success; you don’t need to understand the internet to use it. There is only one space to do anything, so its logical to write your topic in the one line. There aren’t crazy adds popping in your face or numerous different search bars, just the one clear simple path to take. We take ourselves for granted for being so computer literate that we forget that many internet users are either elderly, disabled, or just simply do not understand how to use it.
What I hate about websites is not being able to find the home page again, and so you type in the basic web address and it still takes you somewhere you don’t want to be! Take for example hotmail. I was using a shared computer recently and the person who used it before me was French, so she was in www.hotmail.fr. no matter what I did when I tried to use the computer it would always stay in French! even when I typed in www.hotmail.com
Surely there is a more simple way
Now I need to talk about eBay.
I love to hate Ebay. I also love to love Ebay.
Let me explain. I am a shoppaholic (oh how cliche!) But no seriously I must spend any money that enters my bank account within a designated period or I feel like I am wasting away. That’s when Ebay comes into it. The thrill of the bidding! The test of your courage!
OK so it’s not really that exciting, but when you get a piece of clothing, or some other random object you really didn’t need, it is quite exciting. So basically what I’m trying to say is that the idea of Ebay suits me to a tea!
BUT! The design of the Ebay website drives me insane! It is so difficult to navigate, especially when you are in the ‘My Ebay’ section, it is always going to different screens, then you have to hit ‘back’ and you lose your product that you wanted to bid on. The worst part about the Ebay website is the home page, it is crazy! So busy that there are things just everywhere. But you know…I think they do it on purpose. It is the objective of Ebay to create a sense of panic and excitement when you reach the home page so you immediately start bidding on unnecessary items and feel like you have to BUY BUY BUY!!! How sneaky of them….but it works a treat!
What is Quantitative Research?
Quantitative research is an investigation that aims to quantify attitudes or behaviours or measure variables. Unlike qualitative research, quantitative research uses measurable data to form facts and patterns. Many argue that both types of research go hand in hand and a thorough investigation of a particular topic will cover both methods of research.
Quantitative research is typically conducted through surveys, telephone interviews, web surveys and intercepts. Questions are highly structured and tend to be closed as opposed to open to allow for measurable data rather than long responses. Quantitative research is performed on a far larger scale compared with qualitative research (in terms of the sample size) and helps to provide accurate statistical data from which conclusions can be drawn.
Quantitative research generates numerical data or data that can be converted into numbers, for example clinical trials or the National Census, which counts people and households. Another example whereby quantitative research has been used to establish a relationship is between smoking tobacco and developing lung cancer. Researchers have been able to identify numerical patterns through statistical methods between the two to make justified hypotheses.
Unlike qualitative research, whereby data often contains the participant’s personal beliefs, concerns and ideas in long responses, quantitative research gains numerical statistics, which can be greatly relied on in giving reliable data. Qualitative research is sometimes not as reliable as opinions are not numerical and do not have the substance. For example:
- Quantitative: 97% of participants were happy with the outcome
- Qualitative: Many participants believed that the success of the event was due to the good media coverage.
According to Wikipedia, approaches to quantitative research were first modeled on quantitative approaches in the physical sciences by Gustav Fechner in his work on psychophysics, which built on the work of Ernst Heinrich Weber.
CLAIM:
“Quantitative research is used to support claims made by qualitative research”
· McBride and Schostak claim that: Quantitative research is not enough on its own as we need to ask, why? When placed alongside qualitative evidence, quantitative evidence is both clear and powerful. Unfortunately it sometimes appears so powerful that it overpowers the opinions of the people involved and this is a danger we have to watch. In addition there are still many researchers, especially the less experienced ones, who are not prepared to ‘go the extra mile’ and add the extra understanding to the figures they have collected.
· Smith argues that researchers sometimes favour one method over the other and their research tends to obfuscate more than it clarifies. Researchers can jump on a band wagon then forget about making their research durable.
· Trochim argues that there has probably been more energy expended on debating the differences between and relative advantages of qualitative and quantitative methods than almost any other methodological topic in social research. The “qualitative-quantitative debate” as it is sometimes called is one of those hot-button issues that almost invariably will trigger an intense debate in the hotel bar at any social research convention.
· Trochim also argues that fundamentally, qualitative and quantitative research produce similar results for the following reasons: All qualitative data can be coded quantitatively, All quantitative data is based on qualitative judgment
REFERENCES:
· McBride, R and Schostak, J (1995) Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research. Enquiry Learning Unit. Accessed 18 March 2008, Available at:
http://www.enquirylearning.net/ELU/Issues/Research/Res1Cont.html
· Smith, J (1983) Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research: An Attempt to Clarify the Issue. American Educational Researcher, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Mar., 1983), pp. 6-13. Accessed 18 March 2008, Available at: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-189X(198303)12%3A3%3C6%3AQVQRAA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-L
· Trochim, W. M.K. (2006) The Qualitative – Quantitative Debate. Social Research Methods. Accessed 20 March 2008. Available at: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualdeb.php LINKS WITH THESIS
While it will be essential to use some form of quantitative research in my thesis, it will not be the focus of my research and will only be used to support claims made by my qualitative research. Areas where it may be used include: · Discussing the volume of people who use media such as radio or internet during a bushfire
· When analyzing data from my online survey I will discuss measurable responses
· I may do some kind of content analysis of newspaper articles focusing on bushfires. In this situation I will be using quantitative research to investigate patterns of language and topics in the newspapers.
The main methodologies I intend to use during my research include focus groups, interviews and surveys. While surveys usually include closed questions, which help to form quantitative responses, interviews and focus groups stem from the qualitative family. This means very open ended questions, discussions and responses that require discussion rather than a production of a table or graph.
Who cares about bushfires?
When choosing a researc topic it is crucial to think about why you are researching it and basically, who will care. There usually is someone out there who cares, no matter what the topic, but you need to identify that audience as well as aking sure the topic you have chosen is viable, answerable and achievable.
I never really chose to study bushfires. It is a topic I was given by the people who are funding my research. This was the gist of the conversation that formed my research topic: we need an honours student or similar to study the relationship between emergency services like CFA and DSE and the media during bushfires. Now it is up to me to take this general idea and create it into a thesis.
So who does care about bushfires? Well, one would presume the people who chose the topic, the Bushfire CRC (cooperative research centre). The CRC fund numerous projects each year to study bushfires, not simply surrounfing the media but all kinds of topics. That is the first audience that I will be writing for.
Now that’s the first reason I am writing on this topic. There are personal reasons, of course, that I agreed to take part. I grew up in a town called Upper Beaconsfield, most people have heard of it but few have been there. UB is 60km from Melbourne and is on the urban fringe. With a population of under 5000 people UB to me is a rural village in one of the most beautiful settings possible. While it is not a hot spot for bushfires, the town is marred by the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires and reminders still exist of that year. Every year during the bushfire season the town is on alert, and a lot of preparation takes place to ‘fire proof’ everyone’s houses. With that in mind, as well as with my passion for the media, I have taken on this research wholeheartedly, knowing it is something I am passionate about, and have a personal sense of what it is to be in a bushfire region.
The subject is huge, although not too much has been written about it so far so it is an exciting time to do some primary research into how the media is percieved not only by emergency services but by the communities the media serves during bushfires. I am excited to do a case study on one particular town to understand how they see the media and what can be done to develop relationships.
This research is not only viable but will take the entire year to gain a deep understanding of all the issues. So lets get into it, shall we?
Goals of Honours
Honours reminds me of being in Year 12 all over again. There is this sort of anxiousness and seriousness buzzing around. This year is a crucial stepping stone in my career; it is where I make or break what I will be doing in the future, where I sink or swim.
While I study away doing my thesis I will also be working at Channel 31 as a news reporter…if time allows. For the last six months I have practised over and over the art of news reading with Channel 31 in the hopes of becoming a reporter and one day anchor of a commercial station. My number one goal by doing this honours year is to gain enough experience to be able to get some kind of job in television, whether it be as a reporter in regional Victoria or interstate. This is my first goal for both my studies and my life.
My second goal of the year is to write a thesis, which not only displays creativity, understanding and depth, but which gains me first class honours. Being on a scholarship certainly brings the pressure up a few notches to fulfill this goal, but I believe it is well within reach.
My third goal of the year is to have my thesis published. This goes hand in hand with my second goal and I believe this too is achievable. As the project I am undertaking is part of a wider study I think there will be a lot of support to enable me to achieve this goal.
All three of my goals are realistic and achievable. I work hard enough and I manage my time. That is all that matters.
What is Research?
In a nutshell, research is the development of original thought through the analysis and investigation of people, places, texts, communities, or any other form that may hold information.
Research can be exploring previously held theories and cultures to determine changes or arguments surrounding them, or it can be original investigation to develop knowledge of a certain topic.
Research allows us to continually understand changing societies. The outcomes of research add to the world body of knowledge and can change the course of business, economies or even just a single person.
Research can mean nothing to one person and everything to another.
Honours So Far…
After just one week of being an Honours student, life seems to have become a whole lot harder. We’re already being fed words like thesis and research and long hours, knowing that the year ahead is going to involve more reading and writing than we probably did in our entire undergrad degree.
I’m not sure why I am suddenly so worried about the amount of work we will be doing; I had actually known that’s what Honours involves, it has just become such as reality in such a short space. I knew this would be hard work, but I also know that at the end of week 14 in second semester, I will be able to hand in an actual academic paper that may just be worthy of publication. This to me makes this year worth all the hard work.
I believe that everything in life comes down to two things, organisational skills and time management skills. These are two things no one could argue I’m not good at, which is why I am confident that I can achieve all my goals this year and come out knowing I have achieved something immensely worthwhile.
I love the fact that we have a studio to ourselves, even if there aren’t enough computers for even half the class, it makes me relax to know we have access to extra computers and a space to think and breathe.
So yes, Honours is what I expected it to be, but it doesn’t mean I’m not scared about it.
Bushfires: The media and the message
Every year throughout the bushfire season in Victoria, difficulties arise surrounding the dissemination of information to the public. The interaction between the media and emergency services such as the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) has long been a source of tension regarding the way in which information is released and the type of information published. Regulations should be developed to enhance the relationships between certain media and emergency services. If this were accomplished, the media would have a simpler and more realistic task at hand in covering bushfires and emergency services could effectively provide specific information to affected communities and other target publics.
