Research Proposal for XYZ: Social Media Impact on User Emotions

This research proposal outlines an ethical research design for XYZ, a social media organization, to analyze the impact of social media feeds on user emotions. It addresses the ethical concerns raised by a similar experiment conducted by Facebook, focusing on informed consent, voluntary participation, and data confidentiality. The proposal aims to investigate how manipulating newsfeeds with positive or negative content influences users' emotional states and comments. It includes a literature review, research paradigm, data gathering methods, and a detailed discussion of research ethics, emphasizing the importance of moral integrity, respect for individuals, and privacy protection throughout the research process. The research seeks to provide insights into the psychological effects of social media and contribute to establishing ethical guidelines for conducting such studies.

Running Head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL 1
Research Proposal

Research Proposal
Letter of Transmittal
Date 3 May 2018
CEO,
XYZ Social media Corporation
Subject: Submission of Research Proposal on “Examination of impact of social media feeds on
Emotional status of People”
Respected Sir,
Hereby, we are submitting a proposal to examine the impact of social media feeds on the mood
and emotions of the users. The research proposal has been designed in accordance to the
knowledge gathered from the ethical guidelines and research methodology.
I have researched the past case of Facebook, which was severely criticized for breaching the
privacy of the users. The current proposal is made keeping in consideration all the requirements
of the users. The information obtained from the experiment can be used for future studies
regarding the impact of social media on the psychology of the people.
Thank you
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Research Proposal
Executive Summary
The present research proposal is proposing an ethical research design for XYZ, a social media
organization. It is proposed that XYZ company implements an algorithm to tamper the newsfeed
of about 1,00,000 people to analyze the impact of positive or negative post to influence the
emotional state of the users. The experiment will impact the result of newsfeed on comments. A
similar experiment was conducted by Facebook which was highly criticized because of its poor
research design. There were certain issues in the present research design. There are certain issues
in research involving the research participants such as informed consent, condition of voluntary
participation and withdrawal from the research and confidentiality of the research participants.
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Background of the Research............................................................................................................4
Literature Review............................................................................................................................5
Research Paradigm..........................................................................................................................6
Sampling, data gathering methods, data analysis............................................................................7
Research Ethics................................................................................................................................8
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Research Proposal
Introduction
In academic research, adherence to the basic norms of ethical conduct is necessary. It is
necessary to establish the credibility of the scientific community and influence the perception of
the public to accept and judge results of the scientific experiments. Research ethics are necessary
for the scientific community to clearly differentiate between the acceptable and unacceptable
behavior when human beings are involved in the research study. However, with the increasing
nature of the competitiveness in the research, it has become challenging for the researchers to
pioneer ethical research. Therefore, it is important that ethics does not remain marginalized or
detached from the scientific queries (Wiles 2012). Moral integrity of the researcher is also
important in assuring that the findings and the results of the research are trustworthy and valid.
In the studies involving the human subjects, the research subjects can be protected by informed
consent. The informed consent should include all the processes and procedures, which should be
involved in the research (Miller, Birch, Mauthner & Jessop 2012). The research participants must
be aware of the nature of the research projects and their role in the research. Further, the
researcher should make sure that the ethics are applied at each stage of the research, which are
planning, conducting and evaluation of the research results. In this regard, the present report will
propose an ethical and effective research design for XYZ, a social media organization. In the
past, Facebook conducted an experiment by manipulating the user’s news feed to analyze the
changes in their emotions. Facebook implemented an algorithm to tamper the newsfeed of about
70,000 people and increased the number of either positive or negative post to influence the
emotional state of the users. The experiment yielded the result that the negative newsfeed
influenced negative comments and positive newsfeed invited positive comments. This
experiment of Facebook was highly criticized because of its poor research design. There was
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Research Proposal
certain issue in the present research design. Although the experiment was not illegal, it was
unethical in several ways. There were certain issues such as informed consent, condition of
voluntary participation and withdrawal from the research and confidentiality of the research
participants, which invited criticism from all over the world. The present report will propose a
research method so that the same experiment can be conducted in a proper manner.
Background of the Research
In the present, social media has perpetuated to the human lives such that, most of the people
cannot spend their day without the use of social media. However, the constant and continued use
of social media has a strong impact on the lives of people. There are several negative effects of
social media on young kids and teens, which includes cyber-bullying and depression. However,
same risks are present for the adults and the people of different generations. The primary issue
with social media is that it is addictive. It can also impact on the psychological characteristics,
personality and the use of social media. There are also several people, who excessively use social
media and behave in specific manner such as neglecting family life, escapism, concealing the
addictive behavior and using social media to modify their mood. Further, most of the research
states that excessive use of social media triggers sadness and less satisfaction towards personal
life. The excessive use of social media builds a perception of social isolation, which has a
prolonged impact on psychological wellbeing. Although these social media websites offer an
invaluable resource for the people to connect with each other from far geographical locations, it
has a negative impact on the people. The social media has found with the intent to support the
offline social network; however, it is hindering the direct communication between the people.
Social media can have various impacts on the mood and perception of the people. Therefore, in
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the present research, the impact of social media on the mood and frame of mind of the people has
been evaluated. The aims and objectives of the research are:
 To analyze the impact of social media on the psychology of the consumers
 To analyze in the impact of negative news feed on the perception of the consumers
The research question for the study is:
 Does the newsfeed in social media websites can influence the mood of the users?
 Is there possibility of emotional contagion through social networks?
Literature Review
In the scientific experiments, informed consent and ethically sound research design are
preconditions for credible investigations. It can be critiqued that the research design and
informed consent are influenced by a range of different factors. Other than that, the cultural
settings, communication issues also affect the information comprehension in the research settings
involving human participants. There can be discrepancies in the social status and the financial
conditions of the research participants, researchers and study sponsors, which might impact the
information apprehension in the research settings (Hammersley & Traianou 2012). There are
also several other ethical issues such as some people are coerced or exploited to participate in the
research due to their weak economic conditions. The political conditions can negatively
influence the voluntary participation of the researchers. There are certain other conditions such
as language, which can prevent effective communication between the research participants. It
can also impact the translation of technical and complex scientific concepts. There are also
certain challenges regarding who has the ability of providing informed consent for the research.
In the research ethics, informed consent is given highest importance. It emphasizes the
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Research Proposal
importance of taking decisions to agree or decline the participation in the research. In empirical
research, the researchers or the investigators often work in resource poor settings and need to
balance the ethical standards with the local standards of the research (Danis, Largent, Grady,
Hull & Wendler 2012). There are certain situations in which the traditional customs of the region
are in constant conflict with the international guidelines for informed consent.
In the research design, there are certain challenges embedded in the socio-cultural, economic and
political context, which might impact the efficacy of the research. There is a consensus for the
need of universally acceptable ethical guidelines, which can govern the scientific research. The
purpose of research ethics is to provide guidelines to the researchers and the research community
guidelines to effectively conduct the research. It increases the awareness regarding the
recognized norms of research ethics (Cowburn, Gelsthorpe, & Wahidin 2016). These guidelines
are intended to help the researchers to adopt an ethical stance, reflect and clarify the ethical
dilemma. It prevents scientific misconduct to maintain the public trust on the scientific
community.
The term research ethics encompasses different values, norms and arrangements essential to
regulate the research activity. The research ethics codifies the scientific morality in practice. It is
the responsibility of the research to comply with the different norms of research ethics. The
research activities provide deep insight and fulfill the aim of quest of knowledge and
information. In the research process, the involvement and the interpretation of the information is
integral part of process. The values of the researcher impact the choice of topic, data sources and
interpretation of the research outcomes (Israel 2014). The values of the researcher impact the
integrity in documentation, consistency in the arguments of the research and impartiality in the
research. It is important that the research must safeguard the whole research process from
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pressures from external or internal stakeholders. It is important to note that the researcher should
maintain soundness or relevance of the arguments and provide high quality documentation so
that the researcher can provide research based conclusion.
The research ethics also emphasize respect for individuals and human dignity. The researchers
should respect the dignity and the personal integrity of the research participants and the people in
public. They should focus on preserving the freedom and respect of the public and safeguard the
public from unreasonable harm. Another important research ethics is the respect of privacy,
while processing the personal data of the research participants. It is important that the research is
conducted so that the researcher can maintain the privacy of the data (Iphofen, & Tolich 2018).
Other than that, the researcher must inform the research participants regarding adequate
information about the research, purpose of the research, funding, accessibility of the information
and the consequences for the participation in the research (Daniel & Sam 2011). This
information can be given by analyzing the form of the research process.
The researcher should provide information in a neutral manner so that the research participants
do not face any pressure to reveal the information. Furthermore, the information should be
adapted according to the cultural background of the research participants. The research should
not affect the services and outcomes of the research. Other than that, informed consent is
important ethical obligation of the research. When the research project deals with the personal
data, the researcher is obliged to inform that the research subject and its outcome on the
participants (Haag 2010). The informed consent should be obtained in an informed and explicit
form.
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Research Proposal
Further, the researchers have a moral obligation towards completing the research in an ethical
manner. The researchers have an obligation to treat the research respondents in an ethical manner
and not engaging in harmful and deceptive practices. The research ethics can be categorized in
three sections, namely, deceptive or fraudulent practices, invasion of the participants’ privacy
and lack of concern towards the respondents. The ethics are integral part of the research process
as the research process is based on trust, openness and goodwill for the society as a whole. The
ethics are also essential in ensuring that the results of the research are truthful and can be trusted.
It is also important that the research participants are protected throughout the research process.
The research participants imply the people, who have consented to the research process and are
an active contributor to the research process (Scruggs & Mastropieri 2006). If human or animal
participants take part in the study, it is the ethical obligation of the researcher to protect their
rights. It is necessary to assure that there is no physical, mental or emotional harm done to the
research participants. All the research studies should have a consent form attached to them. It
assures that the research participants are not deceived and they can withdraw from the research at
any point of time.
Research Paradigm
The above literature emphasizes the importance of the ethical research and value of informed
consent and voluntary participation in the research. In the research conducted by Facebook, the
company breached various ethical considerations, which invited heavy criticism from the
research bodies all across the globe. The research design did not include informed consent and
voluntary participation in the research. In this essence, in the present section, an effective and
ethically sound research design will be developed for XYZ organization.
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Research Proposal
In the present section, the research paradigm of positivism has been evaluated. The positivist
research paradigm states that the research process should not be influenced by the perception of
the researcher. It states that only information gained though measurement and statistical means is
reliable. In positivism, the researcher uses an objective stance for data collection and
interpretation. The positivist studies use deductive approach for the research (Merten & Ginsberg
2009). It states that the researcher needs to concentrate on the facts and should not be biased by
any kind of bias.
The positivist research paradigm is associated with deductive approach and quantitative research
methods. The company will use the quantitative approach to fulfill the aims of the research. The
quantitative methods are those methods, which incorporate statistical means for achieving the
objective of the research. It uses mathematical models, theories and hypothesis related to a
specific phenomenon (Mackey & Gass 2015). In the current research, survey will be used for
obtaining the primary information. It is a quantitative research method, wherein researcher
selects a sample of respondents with the help of standardized questionnaire (Guillemin & Gillam
2004). There are several methods of administering a survey, such as telephonic survey, email
survey, internet survey or face-to-face survey. In the present survey, the internet survey will be
used to collect the information.
Sampling, data gathering methods, data analysis
After the selection of research methods, there are certain other aspects of research such as
sampling, data collection and data analysis, which are essential determinants of the research
process. The research outcomes and the generalization of the results are dependent on the
sampling size and methods. In the current research, random sampling will be used for the
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research. A consent form will be provided to the research participants, once they login to the
portal of the social media site. It will inform them about the research and its impact on their
personal lives. Once the research participants agree to the research, they will be provided with
tampered social media posts in the news feed (Haggerty 2016). After the login session, the users
have to fill a survey regarding their current feelings and level of happiness. The data will be
gathered from the website of XYZ social media organization. The company will use an online
survey to analyze the change in feelings of the users. An online survey refers to the questionnaire
which is circulated over the internet. These types of research can be completed over the internet
only. These surveys are used as a web form and the answers are stored in a specific database.
There are certain types of software, which can be used to analyze the information in the database
(Lewis 2015). The business organizations often use online survey to have a deep understanding
of the taste and opinions of the customers (Rush, Ling, Carpenter, Carter, Searles & Byrne
2017). The data obtained from the research will be analyzed through the means of statistical
software.
The sample size of the research is taken as 1000. It is an appropriate number and therefore, the
result of the research can be generalized over a large population. As the research method of
survey is taken for the research, the data can be collected from these participants easily. The
random sampling method is used as the people, who agree to participate in the research.
Validity, Reliability, Credibility, Trustworthiness and Limitations
There are several determinants to assess the quality of research in a quantitative research. The
researcher should assure that there is clarity and appropriateness in the research questions,
appropriate description for sampling and coherence between data, interpretation and conclusion
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