i. Participants
Main research participants in this study were undergraduate students from University of Mississauga. According to a previous research, university students are a huge consumer of reality television, thus an appropriate sample to study(Cherry & Aubrey, 2008). There were 5 participants interviewed in this study. Participants ranged in age from 20-23, with 3 females and 2 males. They are all full time students currently enrolled in UofT. All participants are fluent in English and familiar with North American television programs. ii. Method
The research method I chose for this study is qualitative semi-structured interview. Qualitative approaches are often used for exploratory and descriptive studies (Neuman, 2007), which suit the objective of this research. Semi-structured interviews compared to rigid structured interview, allows for a more focused, detailed and two-way communication. Detailed data is very helpful for the inductive nature of this study where data is gathered and examined prior to developing a theory(Seidel, 1998). Compared to focus group, it presented a challenge in terms of data recoding and organization, one-on-one interviews are easier to manage.
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An invitation was sent to University of Toronto Mississauga undergraduates and invited those who consider themselves to be familiar with North American television programs. The participants then scheduled a meeting time. The interviews took place in UTM library study room where only the participant and interviewer were present. All participants were given and required to sign a consent form prior to the interview. Also prior to interview, a few demographics questions were asked like age and ethnicity. The length of the interviews ranged from 30 minutes to 45 minutes. All questions discussed during the interview were audio recorded under the consent of the participants for further
Television has been popular in not only America, but around the world since this screened invention replaced the radio in the majority of households. Today, the television continues to serve as a source where adults can obtain news and entertainment and the youth can find entertainment; education; and build a broader and further developed schema. While it can be a great source for the aforementioned, there are instances where television shows, such as reality T.V., can give viewers inaccurate perceptions of the real world. The idea of inaccuracy of reality in television shows is expressed in Daniela J. Lamas’ recent Op-Ed “What’s Missing in Dr. Oz’s TV Exam Room” published in the New York Times. Through Lamas’ accounts of her personal experience
This article represents a focus group type of qualitative research. According to Qualitative Research Consultants Association (2015), in focus group qualitative research, a group of individuals who share a need, life circumstance, or habit relevant to the research issue(s) at hand are led in a discussion by a modulator. The focus group discussions often include between two to ten respondents, and are often held face to face. They can also be conducted remotely through videoconferencing, teleconferencing, or
Four main aspects Focus groups will be discussed. First, a personal experienced researched focus group conducted in a lecture. Following that, the
Following a critical overview of the literature, this chapter outlines the research methodology. It will provide a justification for a qualitative methodological approach and specification of methods employed. Highlighting the appropriateness of interviews and focus groups in relation to the methodology and overall research. It will also provide recognition of their relative strengths and limitations.
Once a focus group session is completed, a survey should follow. Essentially, survey research consists of ‘a cross-sectional design in relation to which data are collected predominantly by questionnaire… which are then examined to detect patterns of association’ (Bryman, 2012, pp.60). For this research study, only primary data will be used and the survey created will consist of a postal questionnaire rather than an online survey. Postal questionnaires often yield a higher response rate as it will allow participants to remain anonymous; in addition, the questionnaires can be easily left in an individual’s mailbox, compared to email or web surveys that force researchers to collect and obtain e-mail addresses. In order for a postal questionnaire to be successful, it is important to have the questionnaire be accompanied by a letter explaining the purpose of the survey, assure anonymity, and provide a stamp to make it easier and more enticing for an individual to participate (Fox, Hunn and Mathers, 2009). The following categories will make up the postal questionnaire:
Focus groups are a prominent method of enquiry, regularly used within the field of social science and in particular, qualitative research. The focus group practice involves a number of participants having an open discussion on a specific topic, set by a researcher. The researcher acts as a moderator to aid discussion by using probes to collect desirable data. This process is recorded and transcripts are used to interpret and analyse given information.
Even though the participants felt like it was bad to watch reality shows they watched them for self-purpose. They watched it for many different purposes the most common were; great escape, it offered an opportunity to sample other lifestyles, and an opportunity to contemplate what they would do in a similar situation. Not only that but another very different situation that I had not thought of, which was that reality television shows don't require viewers full attention “unlike scripted television dramas where they fall behind if they miss an episode” (221). This is great for college students and there chaotic schedules. The results indicated that even though there is a bad social stigma in watching reality shows the college students still watched them for self-purpose.
Qualitative research is common among healthcare researchers nowadays by the numbers of published papers in health literature. Instruments used for qualitative data collection include interviews, observations, and analysis of documents. Interviews are the most common techniques in health care to gather research information. Focus group interviews are the appropriate tool to be used of being more time efficient as more people can be interviewed for the same amount of time. They also provide a richer source of data. On the other hand, focus group interviews tend to document the ‘public’ rather than the ‘private’ views of the individuals (Grbich
Focus groups have been renowned for its inherently complex data analysis. It requires an experienced researcher to identify the themes that have emerged throughout the discussions, to ensure no bias tailoring has been made to support theoretical assumptions.
Data collection. Data was collected using five focus groups and completing a short demographic form. “The technique of using group interviews is recommended as the ‘sole basis’ for data collection when undertaking a phenomenological study” (Meadus & Twomey, 2011). By using the group setting, the researchers were able to make the male students feel comfortable and confident. It gave opportunity for them to share their thoughts without any fear (Meadus & Twomey, 2011). This technique is appropriate because it is best suited to acquire human life experiences (Davies & Logan, 2012). The roles of the researchers were defined as being mediator, observer and recorder. The roles did switch between groups but had consistent roles at all times (Meadus & Twomey, 2011). Data saturation is not described in this article.
The television industry is growing, with so many genres to explore, and varying age groups producers can target, there is always a show to watch. In western cultures the hours spent watching television has drastically increased with the television market opens up the potential of more variety. This escalation of television attraction has affected the way young people interact with each other. Television has transformed the concepts of identity and commonalities among peers. To understand whether this transformation is a good or bad, a study was done looking at the effects watching one show has on a group of people. The study included five people, three females, and two males, all of whom are currently watching The Vampire Dairies (TVD) based on the novels by L. J. Smith, starring Ian Somerhalder, Paul Welsey, and Nina Dobrev. Two females who had been watching it in the past but have sense ceased were also included in this study, in order to get the fuller picture. The accounts all shared how the experience of watching television among young adults at the Canadian Mennonite University has had a positive impact on their friendships.
Today, people enjoy watching reality television; they typically get home after work and relax by watching these unpredictable, and often humorous, moments of reality television. From listening to the horrific singing on American Idol, to seeing who was voted off the island in Survivor, people enjoy some stress relieving humor after a long day of work. As stated in a study conducted by Zizi Papacharissi and Andrew L. Mendelson, “A survey administered to reality TV viewers revealed that the most salient motives for watching reality TV were habitual pass time and reality entertainment.” We can now acknowledge that the primary reason for watching reality television is for entertainment rather than for acquiring knowledge. Although, is it not possible to adopt some of the qualities of life portrayed by the “characters” of these shows by watching them regularly? For example, if shows like MTV’s The Real World are watched almost daily, then eventually the things seen on these shows may become normal to its viewers. Some of the activities that can be seen on The Real World include having one night stands, getting drunk, and getting high using illegal drugs. The types of scenes often depicted in these reality shows are etched in the mind of the viewer, and, although they are based on real moments in the lives of the people on the show, this type of behavior should be unacceptable to
Reality television (RTV) programs are one of the most famous types of television shows, especially among teens. Statistics show that between the ages of twelve and seventeen in America, three out of their four favourite programs are reality television programs, but people have a very vague idea of what reality television is, or when to classify a certain show as a reality program. According to Alice Hall in her paper “Viewer’s Perception of Reality Programs,” reality program does not have a standard definition because of its variety and diversity, but she gathered data based on group interviews, asked them why they like RTV and what characteristics constitutes a reality program. Basically, she proposed that the reason why it is famous is because of what is is. She then concluded that RTV is a television program that shows an unscripted presentation of real people’s experience that shows novelty and unpredictability to its audience (Hall). Hall also states that there are no definite sub-genres of reality television but
A focus group or interviews could have been used to approach the research question, both endeavouring to understand themes of the participant’s perspectives of the CE and interpreting the meaning of the phenomena (Brinkmann and Kvale, 2015). To reach data saturation of the study six or more interviews would be needed. To triangulate the data both interviews and focus groups would be used, however the time restraints of the study do not allow this. Participants can find it intimidating to be interviewed one on one, affecting their responses and therefore the validity and reliability of the study (Golafshani,
Reality television is now one of the most consumed television genres broadcasted to the general public. Reality television has become more about mindless watching and creating the most unrealistic environment possible, rather than creating a show for an important purpose. Today, shows like Beauty and the Geek, Big Brother, and every other reality show fit into this mold, but when viewed critically lessons appear. In the case of TV today, reality shows depict an altered reality because of the unrealistic situations this genre presents.