The Impact Of Social Media Technology On The Context Of Curation Journalism Essay

He adds that interpretive researchers use qualitative research methodologies to investigate, interpret and describe social realities (ontology). Another scholar, Mutch, (2005), recons that the research findings in qualitative methodology are usually reported descriptively using words. Interesting to annotate, is the assertion that qualitative researchers who include positivists regard respondents to as research participants rather than sheer objects in the

‘Employing a qualitative methodology, underpinned by a constructivist world view, has provided the means to generate rich, deep and contextualised understandings of the research issue, and an appreciation of the socially constructed and experienced realities of the participants.’ (Highfield 2012)

The method of qualitative research become key method in the human and social science and also in the education and health science. The definition of qualitative research is a research using methods such as participant observation or case studies which result in a narrative, descriptive account of a setting or practice. Sociologists using these methods typically reject positivism and adopt a form of interpretive sociology (Parkinson & Drislane,2011). It involves the research using data that do not indicate ordinal values. Furthermore, qualitative research includes the different kinds of data collection, techniques of analysis and diversity of theoretical frameworks (Guest; Namey & Mitchell, 2013). According to Creswell(2013) ‘’the final written report or presentation includes the voices of participants, the reflexivity of the researcher, a complex description and interpretation of the problem, and its contribution to the literature or a call for change.

Using the theoretical framework and previous studies mentioned above the researcher tried to answer the research question

Epistemological criticism argues that all approaches are unlikely to produce consistent evidence because of the inherent property. It will generate a new viewpoint. However, through abundant reading, triangulation will enlarge width and depth in qualitative research and provide an analysis with security- a overall perspective. Participants can improve the validity of research. Bloor (1978) argues that sociologists can establish a correspondence with participants, in which participants can identify, give assent and judgement to sociologists.

When peole look at the two types of researchers, people will see that the qualitative methods look for various ways to test and ensure the quality of their findings.Many researchers dismissed qualitative research as being imprecise and composed of dissimilar methods; however, when rsearcher look at this factor. The goal of the whole setup is to look and study the experience of the phenomenon and not to generalize. Therefore, the basis of this ethnographic research is the social concept description, and this also develops the theoretical backdrop.

Consequently, qualitative research approach emerges from the philosophical belief that truth is socially constructed and subjective to individual experiences associated with critical theory, constructivism, interpretatism, and naturalistic paradigms (Feilzer, 2010; Ponterotto, 2010; Ryan, Coughlan, & Cronin, 2007; Scotland, 2012; Venkatesh, Brown, & Bala, 2013; Vishnevsky & Beanlands, 2004). Paradigms are the philosophical underpinning that guides qualitative research methodology as result evaluating scientific merit slightly differs from the quantitative methodology. As a result, the scientific merit of qualitative lies in the credibility (trustworthiness), dependability (consistency), transferability (applicability), and comfirmability (verification/neutrality) of the data to answer the research question (Ellis & Levy, 2009; Horsburgh, 2002; Ponterotto, 2010; Ryan, Coughlan, & Cronin, 2007; Vishnevsky & Beanlands, 2004).

The approach of this study will take the epistemological position and a qualitative research design. Humphries (2008) asserts that qualitative research focusses on the subjective and recognises that the researcher will affect the data that is produced and therefore the outcome of the research. Denzin & Lincoln (2005:3) state that “Qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them”. Quantitative research on the other hand, claims to be objective, removing the researcher’s views and values from the study. While traditionally quantitative data has been deemed to produce more reliable or valid data, it does not suffice to capture the complexities of the human experience as it assumes a positivist epistemology.

Qualitative research is conducted in a natural setting and attempts to understand a human problem by developing a holistic narrative and reporting detailed views of informants about the culture of a problem. It forms a report with pictures and words. One of the most important distinctions that sets qualitative research apart from more traditional types of research is that qualitative research is holistic in that researchers study phenomena in their entirety rather than narrowing the focus to specific defined variables” (p. 93). Similarly, Cresswell (1984) indicated that qualitative research “is defined as an inquiry process of understanding a social or human problem, based on building a holistic picture, formed with words, reporting detailed views of informants, and conducted in a natural setting” (p. 2). Cresswell’s definition clearly delineates the major characteristics of qualitative research. Pg. 50 (Smith & Davis, 2010).

In the handbook of qualitative research Denzin and Lincoln (2005) describe qualitative research as involving “… an interpretive naturalistic approach to the world. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.” (p. 3)

Social constructionism was deemed an appropriate epistemology to use, as it views knowledge as being constructed as opposed to created (Andrews, 2012). That is, a person’s reality is shaped through their experiences and interactions with other people. Social constructionism rejects the notion that reality is objective and external to the mind and that knowledge is based on observed objects and events, and implies that both the object and the subject work together in creating meaning (Guba & Lincoln, 1998). Social constructionism used as an interpretive methodology is suited for this research given its exploratory focus in the ways that phenomena are socially constructed. It provides an emphasis on the multiple perspectives that are gained from individuals that have experienced the lived

Other authors have taken a different approach when defining qualitative research with Bannister, Burman, Parker, Taylor and Tindall (1994) asserting that qualitative research is an interpretive study in which the researcher is essential in regards to the conclusions drawn. Epistemology provides the basis for qualitative research, and in effect can be considered as the nature of knowledge itself (Willig, 2013). By establishing what knowledge is available to us as researchers, we are then able to choose an appropriate method, to answer specific questions. Once data is collected, it can then be interpreted with reference to the methodological principles the researcher takes

This research has been conducted due to the fact that some researchers have claimed that “journalism is dying” whilst others have argued that “journalism is not dying but is simply evolving” (Blatchford: 2014). This has been a much contested debate triggered by the decline of news circulation from traditional news sources i.e. newspapers, television and radio together with the technological advances of the internet and social media (Cub Reporters: 2010). This has raised many questions and firstly, this dissertation will assess whether the rise of social media has led to the decline of news circulation from traditional news sources. Secondly, this paper will look at what the advantages and disadvantages of using social media as a news distributor are for professional journalists and the general public. Lastly, this study aims to investigate

Providing important theoretical background of the topic under investigation is the aim of this literature review. Various professionals’ knowledge displayed and produced by individuals and authorities related to the subject under study would be looked in this chapter. This chapter discussed ideas already exists in books, journals or websites those through the topic under study.

Interpretive research focuses on how meanings are constructed and maintained by individuals and groups within different social and historical contexts. As Rubin and Rubin (2012) suggest, qualitative interviewers examine the complexity of the real world by exploring multiple