Final Project
DUE MAY 13, 2013
Class on May 13 will consist of Extra Credit presentations and a final wrap-up.
Description
The final project is a 2000-2500 word (about 8-10 pages, double spaced) research paper, built around taking the theoretical concepts about Internet control brought forward in the course, generating a hypothesis around that idea, and then examining real-world Internet activity to answer that question. The student should develop a framework that endeavors to answer the research question by observation of Internet activity, and then report the results of applying that framework. The most successful projects develop a narrow research question tied to the behavior of a specific online community or small set of communities, and then develop a framework consisting of observation within that community or comparison to another similarly-situated community, drawing upon some of the material reviewed in the second class of the semester.
In lieu of submitting a paper, you may present your finding using a different medium, such as a podcast, video, or web page. If you do submit a paper, your paper should be 2000-2500 words, presented in a legible manner. (Most students submit 8-10 pages, double spaced, using a serif font, e.g. Times New Roman, Cambria, Palatino, etc.) If you submit through another medium, we shall expect a depth and level of analysis equivalent to that of an 8-10 page paper. If you are interested in pursuing something other than a paper, please mention this in your prospectus, due February 25th.
The final project should be integrative - bringing together materials and issues from class and expanding upon them. Ideally, students will identify the topic for Assignment 2 and leverage their time working on the other assignments towards the final project. It will be detrimental to change mid-stream, due to the limited time of the course.
You may work in groups as long as you let us know by March 11th.
Format
Your paper should be legibly presented and be no more than 2500 words. What works best for us is a paper 8-10 pages long, double spaced, using a serif font (Times New Roman, Cambria, Palatino, etc.). Please upload your paper as a .doc, a .odt, or a .pdf.
You may use any commonly accepted style to cite your sources (Chicago, MLA, Bluebook, etc.), but please be consistent.
Submissions
Please include your final project here, including name(s) and title: Final Projects
Submit the final project on or before May 13th.
Research questions
In broadest terms, the general theme of the class is control. We look at who controls access to the web, who controls what content goes on the web, what tools they use (e.g. laws, contracts or other written rules, norms, code, other incentives), what sorts of things they seek to regulate and why, and how their decisions have both their intended effect and unintended consequences.
The goal of the project is to take this general theme and apply it to a particular online circumstance. The project should consist principally of original documentation of Internet activity, analyzed through the paradigms discussed in the class and in light of the topical discussion had in the class. This begins by selecting a particular research question or small set of questions to explore. It is impossible to do a meaningful analysis of any question across the whole Internet in 8-10 pages, so you should select a particular research frame for your question. This could be an online community or set of communities, a particular website, or participants in a particular online game. Your research may focus on a single Internet project or compare two communities, or sub-units within a given community.
One of the hardest parts of this assignment is picking a community of the right size. You'll want a community small enough that you can engage in meaningful analysis across the community, but not so small that there is not enough activity on the website to draw conclusions about how the community is controlled, and to what ends. The purpose of the prospectus, outline, and drafting process is to help students narrow the size and scope of their project to specific community, and a specific aspect about that community.
The next step will be to gather evidence that will help to answer your research question. This should be primarily direct observation made by you exploring the community online. (Avoid direct engagement with members of the community, as your influence on their behavior will inherently change what you are trying to observe.) The observation should be methodical to avoid any arbitrariness or selection bias.
Finally, you will compile this into a final report that summarizes your research topic, methods and conclusions. We hope that you will be able to weave in one or more of the theories and constructs that have been introduced in the class.
If you find yourself struggling with this, you're not alone; finding appropriate research questions is often the most complex and time consuming process in research and will normally take many iterations. Feel free to contact the class staff if you have questions or need help narrowing a topic.
Steps
- Decide upon a research question set of research questions.
- Define a research frame (website, federation of websites, group, community, etc)
- Gather evidence
- Compile into report that summarizes your topic, methods, and conclusions
Frequently Asked Questions
These are questions from past years, and we'll add to them as the final project approaches this year.
Q1: What sorts of research papers tend to do well in this class?
A1: We leave the class research prompt deliberately open so that people can take this in many different directions, but the best papers we see focus prefer depth over breadth of topic, looking at one particular issue in one particular community, engaging in a good deal of direct observation of behavior in that community. Past topics have included a study of code-based mechanisms to assure information quality in a particular online review website, law and norms around ownership of art in an occasionally-collaborative online artistic community, a comparison of cultures around two different severs hosting the same multiplayer online game with radically different levels of griefing behavior, and a mapping of moderation norms and code in an especially productive open discussion community. All of these included direct observation of a community, analyzed through class readings, focused on the question of what was trying to be controlled and how the website did it.
Q2: Do you recommend user surveys as a way of conducting the paper?
A2: No. There are a mix of reasons for this, but we prefer you to observe the communities passively. If there is a specific reason why you don't think you can capture a community without a survey, let us know and we can discuss further.
Q3: If I have exhibits, should I include them in the paper? Do I have to include exhibits in my word limit?
A3: If you think visuals or other reference material (screenshots, transcripts, etc.) will help present the information clearly you may certainly include them, but we'd prefer it if you attached them as an appendix in the back. The exhibits do not count toward your word limit.
Q4: How much do I have to describe the scholarship I'm using in my analysis?
A4: If it is material from the class reading, you can assume that the reader has seen that material. If you are introducing new concepts, spend a few sentences explaining them, but keep the majority of the paper focused on your observations and analysis.
Q5: How strict is the 2500 word limit?
A5: We are holding that as very strict (with the exception of appendices, noted above). We will only be grading based on the first 2500 words of your analysis; anything after that will not be used in calculating your grade. If you're worried about things to cut, remember: we care much more about observation-informed analysis than exposition and background material.