： Production and reception analysis
： Production and reception analysis
A1:Chinese female
Survey question
Overall details
The assignment is a (maximum) 3000-word _report_ (_not _an
essay)
The report is a write-up of the mixed method research project
we have been working through in class. You must summarise and analyse both forms of data generated during the course of the module – _qualitative focus groups_ and _quantitative survey data_.
· Although we worked in ‘teams’ to conduct the research
involved in this project, analysis of the data in both parts is strictly to
be done on an individual basis.
Structure
· An outline is given in the module guide for the components
required in the report. This can be found on the final page of the module
guide.
· There is no recommended or mandatory ‘word count’ for each
section. Choosing to write an appropriate amount per section is part of the
assessment.
· These components, briefly put, consist of the following:
o A brief, referenced description of your chosen data collection
methods, focus groups and surveys.
o A brief, referenced description of your analytic methods.
o A brief method section, providing information about the recruitment
of and details about focus group participants and the sampling procedure
for your survey.
o An analysis section, where you report the findings of your research.
Note: this should be the biggest section of the report. You can choose to
analyse the focus groups and the surveys in individual analysis sections,
or you can choose to structure the report thematically (thereby integrating
both methods throughout).
o A discussion and critical evaluation, in which you must evaluate the
advantages and disadvantages of using mixed methods (quantitative and
qualitative analysis) in social research.
o References. Be sure to use relevant theoretical, methodological or
empirical literature throughout the report to enhance the discussion and
show evidence of understanding.
Focus Group Data Analysis
Your analysis of the focus group data will need to include an
analysis of four focus group discussions – one from each ‘condition’.
As you will recall, each of you was assigned to a ‘team’ (A1, A2, B1,
B2, C1, C2, D1, D2), corresponding to one of four conditions (along two
axes: gender and nationality). Allocation to A1 or A2 required your team to
conduct a focus group with Female Chinese students; allocation to B1 or B2
required your team to conduct a focus group with Female non-Chinese
students; allocation to C1 or C2 required your team to conduct a focus
group with Male Chinese students; allocation to D1 or D2 required you to
conduct a focus group with Male non-Chinese students. (These groups can be
found on Learn.) This means that you will need to choose one transcript
from A1 or A2 to analyse, one from B1 or B2, one from C1 or C2 and one from
D1 or D2. I would recommend, of course, choosing your own group’s
transcript, plus 3 from the other conditions.
· To successfully analyse the focus group transcripts, you need
to answer some research questions, relating to a discussion of some
‘Areas of Inquiry’ (Chinese History, Society, Politics & Culture). The
research questions for the focus group part of the project were as follows
(discussed in Lecture 4 and elsewhere):
o What are the qualitative responses of the audience to the programme
‘China on Four Wheels’? How are individual responses articulated? Are
these individual responses stable, or do they change in a situation of
interaction with others?
o In what ways do the individuals contribute to a ‘group position’
in response to the programme ‘China on Four Wheels’? How do these group
positions relate to the shared characteristics of the group (male/female;
Chinese/non-Chinese)?
· Procedures for analysing the focus group data were mentioned
in Lecture 3. The options for analysis here are broad, constituting any one
or combination of qualitative analytical methods you are familiar with from
any methodological reading you have done before or during the module,
including: topic/thematic analysis, discourse analysis, narrative analysis,
etc.
Survey analysis
The title of the survey part of the project is: ‘A survey of
peoples’ attitudes towards, opinions about, and level of knowledge
concerning China.’
· This part of the assignment required your project teams to use
a convenience sample (ideally of an at least loosely-defined group, for
example ‘Loughborough University students’) to answer a questionnaire
survey you designed in Bristol Online Surveys relating to the above title.
In other words, this part of the project did _not _require you to sample
the same groups of people as the focus group part of the project did.
· The recommended number of responses for the survey is 75-100,
in order to maximise the usefulness of the data you receive from your
respondents while reducing the difficulty of generating larger response
rates. However, due to probable non-response, you should expect to have had
to contact more people than this to generate the appropriate response rate.
· The responses generated can be analysed within Bristol Online
Surveys or SPSS. SPSS offers more options for analysis, but data from
either service can be used. The options for presenting your analysis were
discussed in Lecture 10.
