“Welcome Home to Facebook": Social Networking as a Tool for Maintaining Social Capital - A Small-Scale Exploratory Qualitative Study of International and Out-of-State Post-Graduate Student Experiences Using Facebook

Introduction, Research Question and Hypothesis:
Computer-supported social networks (CSSNs) have been studied less than other computer-related phenomena (Garton, 1998, p. 1). To help address this gap, the main research question for this study is the role that the CSSN site Facebook plays for post-graduate students in terms of maintaining social capital and how this potentially differs between international students and those who study out-of-state within their own country. For the purposes of this study, those who are classified as out-of-state students are ones who are American citizens who normally live outside New York state. Maintained social capital “speaks to the ability to maintain valuable connections as one progresses through life changes” (Ellison, 2007, 1148).


Description of Study:
I initially conceived this as a quantitative study but, at least for the purposes of the class requirements, I would prefer it to be qualitative. As you will see, this project is an expansion of Ellison et. al.'s "The benefits of Facebook 'friends': Social capital and college students' use of online social network sites" but this would include the international student experience.

The proposed sample of two people is incredibly small, but I would like to compare only one international and one out-of-state student. After investigating the breadth of possible interview questions I could ask, I think I could arrange to do at least one, but probably a couple, of highly extended interviews (e.g. an hour or more) with each respondent. Ideally I would complete this incredibly small qualitative study for your class and later expand it to include other interviews, a more widely disseminated questionnaire, etc. Given my time constraints, I think I could do the "best" study by following the interview route. And by best I mean the "thickest" possible qualitative research given my time and resource constraints (e.g. after an agreement with the subjects, I would like to be able to negotiate return interviews if possible, etc.). My belief is that if I get the kinks out of the interview process this time while still getting "good data" (for a novice researcher), I could use this information and experience to scale up next time. This is assuming, of course, that the study will be good enough for there to be a next time... Unfortunately I have not previously conducted any qualitative interviews as a basis for a study. I think in terms of my longer term development as a doctoral student, it would be good for me to begin to understand the many difficulties associated with the qualitative process.


Literature Review – Tentative Articles:
The choice of articles has not been finalized but the Ellison article is obviously focal to this study. Garton provides more of a macro level context to rationalize CSSN research.

Ellison, N.B., Steinfeld, C., Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends:” Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143-1168.

Garton, L., Haythornthwaite, C., & Wellman, B. (1998). In S. Jones (Ed.), Doing Internet research: Critical issues and methods for examining the Net (75-105). London: Sage.


References:
Ellison, N.B., Steinfeld, C., Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends:” Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143-1168.

Garton, L., Haythornthwaite, C., & Wellman, B. (1998). In S. Jones (Ed.), Doing Internet research: Critical issues and methods for examining the Net (75-105). London: Sage.