The first 4 weeks have been a wild ride for me, this is because I decided to change my chosen media niche 2 times already (talk about indecisive, I know). In saying that I have narrowed down my ideas into a formulated plan of attack for my digital artefact. ‘It ‘s A Lot pod’ was developed by Abbie Chatfield to include laughs, advice, education and relatable life experiences. The classic “education but make it fun” mantra. This field site spans beyond the podcast and covers a range of social media, participants, and influencers that I will integrate in my investigation.
My research will be focused on learning about the essential relationships and interactions that the podcast attracts and the effective promotional techniques used to establish such an engagement between the public, and myself as a member of the online community. To guide me through this investigation I will be referring to Lazarsfeld and Katz’s 1955 Influencer theory coupled with a paradigmatic framework of feminism. My digital artefact will consist of an instagram page and tik tok channel which I will post on weekly to help create a large interaction then understand the media niche in more depth. Using autoethnography I will be able to understand my public persona that I create within this media niche. Below is my schedule that I believe will allow me to collect and fulfill my investigation.
The ethical boundaries I will abide by include anonymity, confidentiality and integrity. The safety and privacy of my individuals and communities will be kept throughout my observations. Interpreting and understanding of content will be critical.
Below is a video with more details about my plan.
References
- Schrag, B., 2009. Piercing the Veil: Ethical Issues in Ethnographic Research. [online] Springer Link. Available at: <https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11948-008-9105-2> [Accessed 19 August 2021].
- Ellis, C., Adams, T. and Bochner, A., 2011. Autoethnography: An Overview. [online] Qualitative-research.net. Available at: <https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1589> [Accessed 18 August 2021].
- Dawson, C., 2007. How to Carry Out Participant Observation. [online] Available at: <https://moodle.uowplatform.edu.au/pluginfile.php/2937169/mod_resource/content/1/How%20to%20Carry%20Out%20Participant%20Observation%20Practical%20Research%20Methods%20A%20User-Friendly%20Guide%20to%20Mastering%20Research%20Techniques%20and%20Projects%20by%20Catherine%20Dawson%20%28z-lib.org%29.pdf> [Accessed 19 August 2021].
- winter, R. and Lavis, A., 2019. Looking, But Not Listening? Theorizing the Practice and Ethics of Online Ethnography. Everyday Experience and Ethics of Social Media Research Practice.
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Ivy, you sound very passionate about the media niche of podcasts that revolved around modern feminism. The use of subject readings and lectures were used prominently throughout the blog post and pitch video relating to ethics, observation, paradigmatic framework, and more. Although your pitch was consistent, the written blog post included a lot of the same information that was in your pitch video. You could have added slightly more information about your research process and observation techniques. Overall, your presentation and attitude throughout were very engaging. There were a few grammar errors throughout the post but the overall structure was well established. I would have loved to have heard more about your research process such as how you will analyse data and feedback, your process of content creation, and what kind of content will be created. I suggest you immerse yourself in communities within certain podcasts (Facebook groups, Patreon, etc.), ask questions within them, and suggest topics for hosts, see what they say. It would be interesting to investigate how podcasts present themselves on social media vs the podcast and their personas. Undertake some background research into feminism and how it’s been represented throughout different media outlets. Here are some feminist podcasts I think would be worthy to have a listen to for your research process – https://open.spotify.com/show/7IcasEqPHihZ1fj8l4oz8c?si=bprbXhDZRsKLzgZF0Qzpqg&dl_branch=1 , https://open.spotify.com/show/3TupxwKgi0V7iFi248fjAm?si=XWAiM7BETMmuKYKLBDDiAQ&dl_branch=1 , https://open.spotify.com/show/7dPYxszTS36t2he9P9Jmcj?si=38S-nKMzQdWDTSF3Ukr1Sw&dl_branch=1 .
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Well done Ivy! Picking the right DA to go for can be so difficult, especially when there are just so many things to consider. I’m glad that you have finalised on something (but it’s ok if you’re still juggling), and it seems like you’re very interested in it.
Your pitch was very well presented, clearly explained and now I have a good idea on what you’re about to do. The video is very well designed and planned out. You have included an explanation of the podcast, some ethical considerations, a promising research plan and demonstrated a lot of research findings specified to your DA. They have ticked a lot of boxes for me.
However, in terms of professionalism, I need to point out that there’s one or two spelling errors throughout the video, such as “Iphofen, 20200” (I know that 0 was meant to be bracket rip). Also the video seemed to be cut off when it hit two minutes.
Overall I enjoyed watching and reading through your pitch. All the best on your DA!
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Thankyou so much for the feedback! I didn’t even realise the errors in the pitch! (Definitely due to me being sick of re-watching/listening to my voice lol) but I appreciate your feed back a lot. Also, best of luck with your DA!
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Hey Ivy,
I think your Blog post and Pitch were done well, blog was easy to read and follow and the Pitch was nice and visually engaging. It is a bit of a shame that your pitch cut off their. i think your topic is niche enough to sustain you.
I really like the way you have made your schedule, i think it is effective, clear to read and fun.
I also am going to look at my chosen field site through feminism. I think it would be interesting to investigate the language used (textual analysis) on your podcast “It’s a lot” which (i assume) is made for a female target audience compared to a podcast targeted at men, or completely neutral.
Also might want to put a hyperlink to the actual podcast in some of your blog posts, especially if you are discussing a specific episode (is that what individual ones are called?).
All the best, Good luck!!!
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Hi Ivy, well done on your pitch! You did really well in establishing your media niche and the paradigmatic framework you will be analysing your data and content through. The field site is also done very well in terms of furthering and breaking down each branch, being able to be detailed. The pitch video on my end, cut off abruptly (not sure if this is a technical issue) but would love to see more context on the podcast as well as try to indulge in communities that are dedicated to the podcast as well to help put with your research.
Wishing you all the best!
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