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Blog #5

I have learned a lot about conducting sound research studies in this class. I think the biggest thing that I learned was how to write an effective research proposal. We never really have to do those because we're always just writing up the results and conclusions in biology, but I actually appreciated learning the back end of it. I think it gave me a better idea on how to really think through the entire project and really understand the implications of it - how is this going to better society or contribute to something? The world of technical communication was an eye opener too. I had never really thought about research in these particular areas, so it was really interesting to read about everyone else's projects too! I really enjoyed the new experience, and I think it has opened my mind to other possibilities of what is out there in the research world. The processes I have learned have taught me to really focus on the details in the technical writing - they can make or break a...

Blog #4

 Most of the feedback I got was centered around the actually survey part of the research proposal. I need to really refine my questions and what specific data I am looking to categorize. I know I would most like the survey to be online; not online does it provide easier reach and more convenience to the respondents, but I would prefer people who are familiar with the internet to be responding to my survey anyway. Another aspect of my research proposal that has been highlighted for review is my target audience and respondents. I would prefer people who are familiar with both Pinterest and online shopping, but that might not provide me with enough data for collection and analyzation. I could always include a question that asks about the frequency of using either, which would create another interesting data pool to analyze and pattern into my conclusions. Lastly, I think my method of survey questions will play an important part...I am leaning towards a rating system, like on a scale o...

Blog Post #3

 As of right now, I have a few circulating ideas on what to base my research proposal on...(quick reminder that my Lit. Review was on the effects of social media communication on consumerism) 1. Something to do with the environment? When I was doing my literature review, there was a lot of missing information about green initiatives or how social media can impact 'buying green'...I really only found one or two articles, both of which were very generalized. I would love to focus in on a certain area - maybe saving the oceans or bees, to see what the implications of social media communication can do for environmental consumerism.  2. A specialized review or study of one particular social media platform - preferably Pinterest - and it's affects on consumerism. Pinterest is a unique social media platform because it's almost entirely based on pictures - it's a shopping site and social media meshed into one. A lot of the information I found while writing my literature rev...

Blog #2

My topic I have chosen to research is effects in social media on purchase patterns, with an emphasis on peer communication (friends, following, social media influencers, etc.). Through my research in this area, I'm becoming increasingly fascinated with how consumerism works. The social media impact is equivalent to a wildfire - spreading its impact on online consumerism so fast and far with little ideas or resources to stop it. At this point in business, it's either hop on the train or get left behind in my opinion. Most research I have found pertains to indirectly reinforcing product (basically how many times a product is shown), but recent trends (over the last few years) have seen a direct effect of peer communication and the 'desire to fit in.' As an avid user of social media, my mind obviously goes to social media influencers first. I think it would be interesting to explore the psychology of 'fitting in' and why social media in general creates a platform t...

Blog Post #1

One research topic I am particularly interested in is the use of jargon associated with a certain area of study in relation to communicating results or findings to others outside that specific field; in other words, how well can we communicate research that potentially affects multiple fields when each individual field has their own associated language? What are the current efforts in "evening out" or standardizing jargon across fields so that communication and understanding is faster and more efficient in our ever evolving world?  I've also considered the postmodern methodology of research. This focus is interesting to me because it fights for the minority, those that are not considered the status quo. I am a firm believer that perspective matters, so disproving or proving certain prejudices within the modern world can aid in adding perspective. I want to incorporate quantitative measuring with postmodern research, however, because a majority of postmodern work is focuse...

Test Blog

 Testing blog no. 1