University of Arkansas
The Challenge of Anonymous and Ephemeral Social Media: Reflective Research Methodologies & Student-User Composing Practices
Abstract
dc:description.abstract<p>This project seeks to provide a framework for navigating anonymous and ephemeral research spaces to theorize student-user composing practices on these social media platforms. This project reflects on and builds from the difficulties that arose during a previous project for which I collected data from a space that was both ephemeral and anonymous. That experience led me to the questions of use and research methods that I consider in this project, wherein I rely on critical reflective research practices to provide an effective methodology for examining the type of data in question. In this work, I consider how past and current conversations in composition studies, technical and professional communication, and popular media have shaped perceptions of anonymous and ephemeral spaces. Then, using the specific examples of Snapchat, Yik Yak, and Whisper, I discuss an IRB-approved, mixed methods study designed for this project. Through a large-scale survey and a small batch of qualitative interviews, I examine the ways that students are using these applications and the extent to which the characteristics of anonymity and ephemerality influence how they navigate these spaces. Finally, I offer implications of this project for instructions of composition and technical and professional communication, content creators and communication designers, and online researchers. </p>
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)
- Level thesis:degree_level
- Dissertation
- Year dc:date.available
- 2018
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- West, Sara Elyse
- Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
-
- Pope, Adam R.
- Contributors dc:contributor
-
- Slattery, Patrick J.
- Jolliffe, David A.
Subjects
dc:subject × 6Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Repository record dc:identifier
- https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2676
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:scholarworks.uark.edu:etd-4230