University Management and Communication - Research Methods Portfolio

This report presents a student's portfolio on research methods within the context of management and communication, fulfilling a university assignment. Part A focuses on three practical tasks: an app walkthrough analysis of Spotify, an evaluation of research ethics concerning data collection from Facebook, and the design of a question schedule for a client. Part B comprises a reflective essay, discussing the application of these research methods, linking them to the course learnings, and considering their relevance to future professional applications. The report showcases the student's ability to apply research methodologies, analyze data, and formulate insights in a management and communication context. The student reflects on the learning process, demonstrating an understanding of the research methods' practical implications and theoretical underpinnings, providing a comprehensive overview of research methodologies.

Running head: MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION
Management and communication
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Contents
Part A...............................................................................................................................................2
Practical task: The App walkthrough method.............................................................................2
Practical Task: Evaluating research ethics..................................................................................3
Practical task: Designing a question schedule.............................................................................5
Part B...............................................................................................................................................7
References......................................................................................................................................14

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Part A
Practical task: The App walkthrough method
Spotify is the app that will be used to analyse in this study. The Spotify app is music
streaming application that supports both the android and iOS Users. The vision of the app
highlights that the with the Spotify usage it is easy to find music that will match every moment.
The app supports multiple devices like tablet, computer and phone as well. The app has millions
of songs and it can suit a listener’s relaxing, partying, or working out scenarios and the tracks
will always be at the listener's finger tips. One can browse through the music collection of the
radio station, celebrities, artists and friends. Operating model- Spotify generates revenues from
two sources like the premium tier that uses the app with a paid subscription; and a free tier
section which is supported by advertising. It is important to mention that Spotify has 35 million
songs and all of these songs are stored on the online servers. Instead of reducing the speed of the
servers, the internet bandwidth, and the internal computers are used to stream the millions of
users by using a P2P network. It is important to highlight that the advertisements for the
freemium users ensures an advertising model that also ensures that the marketers are able to tell
story to the right kind of user. For example, sportswear brand can target its audiences so that they
can hit the gym and have a playlist exclusively for workout. The app is used by two different
types of users, one is free users and the other is the paid user. The paid users are provided with
all the premium features and the freemium users are interrupted with ads when the songs are
played. The app targets the users with a tagline that it has songs for each type of mood. The users
can set up account by 2 different ways. Whether they can set up an account on Spotify or they
can use Facebook to log in to the Spotify. Registration and entry- During the registration process
the app asks about the email, age and the gender which is common for a normal registration

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process (Jacobson et al. 2016). Everyday use- The app provides it users with limited number of
option for the freemium users while the premium users can enjoy a lot of features like
innumerable skips, downloading songs for offline listening. App suspension, closure and
leaving- When a user uninstalls the app, or logs out of the app then the records of playlists
created by the users are still present on the online servers and are also saved on Facebook.
Therefore, a user can seamlessly use the app even after doing a reinstall. After using the app I
have found that that Spotify provides an entirely different kind of user experience and it is. The
techniques of the research method are entirely a new concept as it takes into account of an
individual’s user experience.
Practical Task: Evaluating research ethics
The practical task is to provide analyse the ethical considerations of data collection from
the online social media platform. Facebook is the online social media [platform that explicitly
includes all sorts of users and that belong from a wide range of ages. Facebook is an online
social media that integrates millions of people. People from different parts of the world come
together stay connected through this social media. The five major activities that a user does over
the Facebook are status update, sharing images and video, posting comments, sharing of others
posts, direct messaging. The data that can be collected from of these nativities of features will
vary from one from time to time, However, it is important to note that what are type of images
that gets shared and reposted the most. The type of videos that are shared and liked the most;
what kinds of comments does a user post on videos and images that are either posted and shared
by other users. How many times a user uses the messaging when sending a friend request to
another person. It is important to mention that data collection from the social media is something
which I was previously not aware of. Therefore, there is need to analyse this act through the 4

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different ethical principles. The four main ethical principles include avoiding the usage of
deception, respecting privacy of the participants, ensuring informed consent from the participants
and avoiding harm to the participants. The principle has highlighted about the participants; these
participants are actually the users of the social media from whom data are collected. This means
that the data must not be collected in a way so as to harm the individuals. The intention must not
be to harm or in any way harm the participants by unethical means of data collection. The second
principle highlights that the it must be ensured that the informed consent are taken from the
participants so there are no issue regarding the unethical usage of data. Proper consent will
facilitate the proper and ethical means of data collection after taking permission from the users.
The third principle is to respect the privacy of the participants. Therefore, such data will never be
collected that will breach the
privacy of the users. The fourth principle is to avoid the usage of deception and it means that the
users must not be duped in order to collect data from them. The ethical means must be followed.
Feature Identify data collection practice Ethical considerations raised
1. Facebook are
status update
Type of status updates Deception
2. sharing images
and video
what are type of images that gets
shared and reposted the most
Deception

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3. posting
comments
The type of videos that are shared and
liked the most
Deception
4. sharing of
others posts
what kinds of comments does a user
post on videos and images that are
either posted and shared by other
users
Deception
5. direct
messaging
How many times a user uses the
messaging when sending a friend
request to another person
Privacy
The ethical consideration that needs to be considered while using social media as a data source
are consideration of not using private data, not to use any of the social media data of any without
his or her consent. Not to collect data from the social media by duping the users.
Practical task: Designing a question schedule
The main aim is to gain a vital insight into the problem that are presented by the client
The purpose of the interview are the ways that can be employed to increase the visibility of the
Sacred Heart Mission Op Shop Fitzroy with the local communities. The issues here is to analyse
the project need of a client and it includes the key areas that will be seen as a response,
recommendation or a service for which it will be developed for. The five major questions that
will be asked here are: How famous is the Fitzroy Sacred Heart Mission Op Shop in the
community? How much the community knows about the Fitzroy Sacred Heart Mission Op

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Shop? what are services, goods and products provided by Fitzroy Sacred Heart Mission Op
Shop? what are the different types of the magazines and news media that are most preferred by
the people of the community where the Fitzroy Sacred Heart Mission Op Shop are located? Is the
Fitzroy Sacred Heart Mission Op Shop capable enough to open another shop in another location?
To explain the questions, it is important to mention that the questions are mainly based on the
how Fitzroy Sacred Heart Mission Op Shop can improve their visibility. The first question is
asked because visibility will increase tenfold if the people in the community knows about Fitzroy
Sacred Heart Mission Op Shop. Fitzroy Sacred Heart Mission Op Shop can conduct a survey
about the percentage of the people that know about the company what are the locations where
this company operates. The third question emphasises on the different types of the services and
products that they sell and render. If products and services are manufactured according to the
neds of the community people, then it can have plenty of customer to sell their products. the
fourth question is the different location where the shops are located. If the locations are known
then it can be said that, such shops also having similar kinds of issue. The fifth question is
focuses on the ability of Fitzroy Sacred Heart Mission Op Shop to open another shop at a
different location. It is important to mention that if Fitzroy Sacred Heart Mission Op Shop is able
to open shop at a strategic location then visibility can surely be increased. When I was doing this
exercise I have gained knowledge regarding the way in which interviews can be conducted and
the ways through which I can actually analyse the reason for the less visibility of a shop. It has
helped me to frame questions for the Fitzroy Sacred Heart Mission Op Shop so that their
visibility can be increased.

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Part B
Introduction- Reflective essays are the ones that are used by the writer to examine her or
his experiences of life The writes here mention what has actually led to the change in him or her
and the experiences are shared through the writing that have grown and increased due to the
exposure to the experiences. In this particular study I will be discussing about the various
research methods that I have used in my learning and assignments (Mummalaneni 2014). The
Three research methods that I have already in the part an of the study will be discussed in an
extensive and reflective manner. I will be exclusively reflecting on the three research
methodologies that I have used over entire writing process. The three research processes are
highly important in cooperating and integrating knowledge into the conventional methods of
study process. It is important to mention that the I will be giving a highly detailed account of
what I have learned by the three research methods.
The app walkthrough method- this methodology is one of the ways that employs the
interface of the app to analyse the technological mechanisms that are embedded into the interface
of the app to understand how it can give the users and also shape their experiences. Thus, it is
important to mention that I had employed a step by step process and by observation and
documentation it can be said that the applications screen can be used to detect the flow of
activity, the screen features of the app. In this step by step process, the interactions and the
actions are slowed down and that normally forms the part of the normal app usage and it is
available for the critical analysis. It is important to mention that I have previously gained some
basic information regarding the app's background and the main business model that the app
maker company applies. After the completion of the preliminary step that involves the analysis
of the app before installation. After installing the app, the experience of analysing the app is

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basically what I have written in my research method. It is important to note that that after
registering and logging into the app, i have started mimicking the everyday usage and the also
wherever possible I have focussed on the technical aspects of the app review. The technical
aspects that have been measured during the app methodology are the placement of the symbolic
elements like the text, pictures, and the number of the icons. This entire process is conducted and
conceptualised using the symbolic elements like the app's governance, operating model, app's
vision (Lira yet al. 2014).
Challenges- It can be highlighted that the there is a debate regarding the model of the app
development. Whether the app development is closed cultural systems of open cultural systems.
Furthermore, it has been seen that the app's technical closure is actually poses technical
challenges to the researchers of the digital media. It is important to mention that the often the
source code of an app is not shred publicly and at the same time it is not shared publicly and this
hinders the researchers from properly analyse the operating code or the underlying structure as
the media researchers does with the software programs and the webpages that have accessible
file libraries and structures. I have been found that the media researchers gather the digital data
by the process of querying the Application Programming Interface (APIs) and this facilitates the
app to make interaction with the other software. Thus, it returns partial form of the datasets and it
is limited to the protection of the commercial interests. Moreover, it is seen that the API
documentation process that majority of the media researchers rely upon is often seen to be
incomplete (Light, Burgess and Duguay 2018).
Usability of the method- Prior uses of the walkthroughs- it is a generalised form of
cultural practice that specifically engages with the evaluation and consumption of the cultural
goods. In the vernacular sense the walkthroughs have both the commercial and pedagogical

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value. The examples include the software reviews on the YouTube, walkthrough to shows the
key elements of a game, instructional game walkthroughs, traditional infomercials. It is
important to note that this carries potential elements that can be used to persuade and educate the
target audiences. The vernacular walkthroughs are actually the type of walkthroughs that creates
a step by step walkthrough in a narrative style and it engages with a digital media concept. In a
more formal way it can be highlighted that in the academic setting the walkthroughs act as a
technique that are based on software engineering and it improves the user experience and quality
of code. It is important to mention that the human computer interaction is a concept of software
engineering and it helps in the creation of the useful and usable digital products. Technical
walkthrough- It is process of data collection and it is a central procedure. In this type of process,
the researchers engage with the exploring menus, tapping burtons, working through screens and
app interface. it is important to mention that the researchers here engage with the user keeping in
mid the position of the users. The researchers understand the position of the user and applies
knowledge that are entirely based on the accessing functionalities, features and discontinuing the
usage, acquiring the app procedure (Light, Burgess and Duguay 2018).
Ethical considerations of data collection from social media- From the case study and
the research methodology I have come to know that the social media presents a fertile ground
that can provide large swathes of data and ti can be used to for research purposes. However, it is
important to mention that research can be conducted but not in way that can harm, deceit, ignore
the consent and the privacy issues related to the social media data usage. It is important to
highlight that social media platform like the Facebook can be used to a lot of work to study the
human behaviour and it is also to get a large number of data due to the availability of large
number of people that are available on the social media. Thus, it can be said that the even if there

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are so many advantages, there exists complexities between the technical systems, groups, and
interactions between the individuals and groups. considering the research on the on the social
media platforms like the Facebook, there are potential implications like the ownership,
confidentiality and privacy and examining in a timely manner about the research guidelines that
are already existing. It is important to mention that the research on social media takes place
several academic platforms and therefore ethics approval is required from different bodies. It is
important to mention that there exist no official answers and guidelines that has been yet adopted
at the international or at the national level (Golder et al. 2017). It is important to mention that the
if the social media data are re-identified that might be exposed and a range of risks might arise
and can be seen as a public information. The ethical concerns are seen to rise when using the
sensitive data and with the group online. The age of the vulnerable groups can be signified as the
ones that are aged under the 18 years and the those that are having intellectual disabilities.
Therefore, it is always advisable to know the information of the vulnerable groups. However, it
is important to mention that the profiles of the such people do not provide much of the
information and it is even difficult to understand the true identify. It is often seen that people try
to hide their ow identity over the social media. Sensitive data can be designated as something
that includes the controversial opinions of the politicians and the discussion of the illegal
activities. Information on such subjects when gets revealed and the data are re-identified might
lead to risks. Moreover, it can lead to loss employment, reputational damage and he serious harm
to the users (Taylor and Pagliari 2018).
The major guiding principles- these are the guiding principles pertaining to the internet
research. This highlights that the greater the degree of vulnerability of the
participant/author/community, the greater is the obligation of the researcher to protect the

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participant, author or community. The word in the context of social media research is applied
universally rather than contextually. However, it can be said that this is not a one size fits all
pronouncements. The practical judgements need to take into account of the practical judgements
pertaining to specific contexts. Digital information is used at some point or the other and is sure
to involve the individual person. It is important to consider the human subjects but it is necessary
to include persons that are involved in the research data. Thus, it is important to mention that the
during making the ethical decisions, the researchers must make the right form of balance to
consider the rights of the subjects like the people, research participants and he authors.
Moreover, it is important to mention that the when making the ethical decisions, the social
benefits of the researcher right and the benefits of research must be considered. In other words, it
can also be said that rights of the subjects must outweigh the benefits associated with the
research (Roberts 2015).
Designing a question schedule- The third research method is a conventional method and
it can be said that a lot information can be brought into the scene through the interview as a
prime data collection strategy. The data that i have collected from the interviewing the local shop
is regarding their visibility and how that visibility can be enhanced. Therefore, the shop company
had data with them and so i have designed the interview so as to accrue data as much as possible
from the company so that it can help me in bringing out a solution to their problem. It is
important to mention that interviews are an effective form of data collection tool that can
effectively increases the chances of having the requisite amount of data for suggesting solutions
and even bringing out where the real problem lies. The interview helped to innovate and frame
question that are applicable for that particular question and in addressing the same. It has been
seen that interviews are conducted on TVs and the radio station and even face to face so as to

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bring the ground truth and the realistic data that will help in increase the chances of understand
the scenario and the situation in a better way. I have seen many times that interviews provide a
descriptive and detailed answers and this helps in understanding any situation in a better way.
Data collection can be designated as one of the fundamental component for evaluation as
well as research. Thus, it can be said that in order to access the data the researcher must be able
to get access to the data and there is a need to collect the data for the study. It is important to
mention that the nature of data collection actually helps in determining the method that will be
used in the data collection and the strategy of the study. There are different types of e data
collection methodologies like the quantitative and qualitative that are available for the data
collection (Castillo-Montoya 2016). Therefore, interviews are considered as the qualitative data
collection method. There are different types of reason that can justify the need for using
interview as the data collection method. It is important to mention that the interviews are
conducted when there is a need to conduct a highly personalized form of data as a well as there is
a need to get the opportunities for researching the underlying data. Interviews are a vital source
of information when the number of respondents are very limited and there is a need for good
return on the data. Interviews are also an important form of data collection when the respondents
are not fluent in the native language. The main form of benefit that emanates from conducting
interviews and it has the capability to offer a highly descriptive form of results and it helps in
analysis of a research project. It is important to mention that interviews do not limit the scope of
the research and it also does not limit the responses of the participants (Ranney et al. 2015).
Therefore, interviews help in gaining the context and the insight into a topic. here, an important
section to note that questionnaires are not the effective ways of getting an insight into critical
subjects. To seek a descriptive and complete analysis on any subject matter, there is a need to

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conduct interviews right from the beginning. This will facilitate the right form of the appropriate
screening for the right kind of interviewees. When a face to face interview in conducted, a key
advantage that emanates from the usage of the interviews is the usage of the data as it surfaces. It
stems from the ability to capture both the nonverbal and the verbal ques that are present in the
answers. taking appropriate and accurate interview is a matter of focus and it is important to
mention that the interviews can proceed in a focussed once the interviewer is in focus and take
control of the entire process and the is entirely on track to move towards the completion. Focus
interviews lead to more control over the flow of the interview and also on the flow of the
questions. It is important to mention that interviews also provide an extra set of intervention
when it is required. It is important to mention that intervention include the detailed explanation
on a typical portion of a question and it can merely be achieved by politely asking the respondent
to provide more detailed answers. Therefore, probing at the end of the interview provides a
detailed account of the clarity at the end of the interview (Alshenqeeti 2014).
Conclusion- From the above discussion it can be concluded that, there exists complexities
between the technical systems, groups, and interactions between the individuals and groups.
considering the research on the on the social media platforms like the Facebook, there are
potential implications like the ownership, confidentiality and privacy and examining in a timely
manner about the research guidelines that are already existing. The ethical concerns are seen to
rise when using the sensitive data and with the group online. The age of the vulnerable groups
can be signified as the ones that are aged under the 18 years and the those that are having
intellectual disabilities. Thus, it is important to mention that the during making the ethical
decisions, the researchers must make the right form of balance to consider the rights of the
subjects like the people, research participants and he authors.

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References
Alshenqeeti, H., 2014. Interviewing as a data collection method: A critical review. English
Linguistics Research, 3(1), pp.39-45.
Castillo-Montoya, M., 2016. Preparing for interview research: The interview protocol refinement
framework. The Qualitative Report, 21(5), pp.811-831.
Golder, S., Ahmed, S., Norman, G. and Booth, A., 2017. Attitudes toward the ethics of research
using social media: a systematic review. Journal of medical Internet research, 19(6), p.e195.
Jacobson, K., Murali, V., Newett, E., Whitman, B. and Yon, R., 2016, September. Music
personalization at spotify. In Proceedings of the 10th ACM Conference on Recommender
Systems (pp. 373-373). ACM.
Light, B., Burgess, J. and Duguay, S., 2018. The walkthrough method: An approach to the study
of apps. New Media & Society, 20(3), pp.881-900.
Lira, W., Ferreira, R., de Souza, C. and Carvalho, S., 2014, September. Experimenting on the
cognitive walkthrough with users. In Proceedings of the 16th international conference on
Human-computer interaction with mobile devices & services (pp. 613-618). ACM.
Mummalaneni, V., 2014. Reflective essay and e-portfolio to promote and assess student learning
in a capstone marketing course. Marketing Education Review, 24(1), pp.43-46.
Ranney, M.L., Meisel, Z.F., Choo, E.K., Garro, A.C., Sasson, C. and Morrow Guthrie, K., 2015.
Interview‐based qualitative research in emergency care part II: data collection, analysis and
results reporting. Academic Emergency Medicine, 22(9), pp.1103-1112.

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Roberts, L.D., 2015. Ethical issues in conducting qualitative research in online communities.
Qualitative Research in Psychology, 12(3), pp.314-325.
Taylor, J. and Pagliari, C., 2018. Mining social media data: How are research sponsors and
researchers addressing the ethical challenges?. Research Ethics, 14(2), pp.1-39.