Impact of Teenage Sexting on Children and Its Consequences

Semi Structured Focus Group Interviews With Students

Online ethnography

Text mapping with students

Individual Interviews with students

Triangulation

Individual interviews with teachers

Ethics

Informed consent

Disclosure

Research Methods and Statistics: Impact of Teenage Sexting on Children and Its Consequences

There have been research designs developed to study various young people's experiences on 'sexting'. Data, collection tools have also been selected for this purpose. A survey design has been adopted and a data collection tool chosen.

Justification of the study design

First, sampling is deeply regarded in conducting surveys, as it is essential in almost all behavioral research. The research also involves questionnaires whose responses being computer-entered, written or oral comprise the primary data. It is possible to epigrammatically summarize the views of all respondents by using the same phrasing and order of questions. The attitudes and other characteristics of a specific population can be deduced from the responses given to similar questions offered to a representative fraction drawn from that population. Moreover, researchers can compare the attitudes of different populations or look for changes in attitudes over time when similar questions are presented to the selected sample (Shaughnessy, Zechmeister & Zechmeister, 2012). Investigative approach for conducting research is immensely important. Methods that make surveys a strategy that is effective for the examination of people's cognition, feelings and opinions are broadly analyzed in the rest of this chapter.

2. Participants

The representatives will include two schools with different kinds of students from diverse social backgrounds and values hence enabling effective study: from North London and South London. The lowest populated ethnic group harbors more than half of students from both schools. Mixed socioeconomic status (SES) populations are considered in the two schools (Ringrose, Gill, Livingstone & Harvey, 2012).

Significant research has deduced that sexting is experienced differently among age groups ranging between ages 11 and 16. The comparatively low rates of sexting reported in recent data among the youngest group (11-12) (Ringrose et al., 2012; Martinez-Prather & Vandiver, 2014) led to distinct selection of students from year 8 (12-13) and year 10 (14-15) in order to spark an investigative sense of the differences expected to be perceived during this inevitable stage of social, psychological and physical growth.

3. Data collection tools

3.1. Semi-Structured Focus Group Interviews with Students

Students of similar gender will be required to participate in groups of between 2 and 5 to share experience of sexual content they have picked up online. Selection targets diverse students between 8-10 ages per group. The participating students' qualification is experience in handling and dealing with mobile technologies.

The interview will be carried out separately based on gender, as recent study shows that there are different perceptions of sexual practices and activities for each gender (Allen, 2004). This format targets individual conceptualization of boys' and girls' and their perception on the topic.

The completion of the interviews will then prompt the researchers to 'befriend' the students on Facebook where only those comfortable should accept. The researchers will then critically explain their reasons for analyzing the students' activity on the site.

3.2. Online Ethnography

The willing participants will then connect with researchers on Facebook as 'friends' thus enabling the researchers to view and evaluate their profile updates. A smaller, representative, case study participants will be selected by the researchers based on the Facebook content and group discussions, for detailed individual interviews involving sexual communication and representation on Facebook.

3.3. Text Mapping with Students

The participants will then fill in the researchers with the information about tasks carried out in WhatsApp, including sharing of obscene photos to groups and individual chats as well as setting their profile photos with explicit photos (Ringrose et al., 2012.

Individual Interviews with Students

McClelland and Fine's (2008) 'intensity sampling' will be the format to be followed where sexting experiences are actualized broadly with the participants drawn from the focus groups and involved in the individual interviews. Classrooms and meeting rooms will be used to conduct the interviews which will run for half an hour.

3.5. Triangulation

The study layout developed enables a follow up that confirms communication from Facebook as it was deduced from the focus group interviews thus executing good triangulation. The use of the research strategy will allow the researchers to make observations of the participants online. They will also have the ability to talk about the participant's interactions that they observed (Ringrose, 2011). The researchers will be able to reflect and clarify the online interactions of the participants.

3.6. Individual Interviews with Teachers

Staff members specializing in e-safety, technology, media studies and one focus group interview will conduct the individual interviews with an ethics team to fathom teachers' and staff opinion on sexting and highlight school policies and practices that are observed for such.

4. Ethics

This project will chiefly revolve around the ethic aspects on withdrawal rights, informed consents, confidentiality and anonymity. The management of disclosures and potential discomfort from the participants (e.g. sharing disturbing experiences in an interview) relate to other key issues. The potential participants will require permission from their parents and will both receive the researchers' contact information for any clarification required.

Interviews will be conducted by a qualified team who are thorough in providing a suitable environment for effective study, especially for young people. This team will identify itself professionally as researchers and not teachers, but emphasize that they are open to any reports of harm to them or to the participants. Furthermore, the team will reiterate that the details of the study are completely confidential and make the participants understand the vitality of being respectful to their fellow's issues that may circulate in the study (Ringrose et al., 2012).

The research procedures of the Institute of Education's (IOE) are in alignment with the most thorough measures of practice in addition to the principles of good practice as laid out in the Data Protection Act (1998). All research should meet these standards, with good research practice and ethical standards that have been published by the researchers' professional societies (BSA, BERA). The ESRC Research Ethics Framework (ESRC REF) ethical research principles will also be followed. Necessary sensitivity must be applied when conducting research on minors and delicate topics, and with ethical alliance to the protocols of carrying out such studies. In adherence to ethics guidelines stated by BERA on minors, ethical guidelines that are particularly for this research were established.

6. Informed Consent

The head-teachers of all the schools where the study will draw some participants is to be informed clearly about the ethical measures to be put in place regarding protection of their students, confidentiality, informed consent and data storage. Formal written permissions will be handed out by the legal guardians of the project participants to the researchers at each stage of the study. Information leaflets detailing the project's participation will be given to the participants and their parents who can get more clarification through face-to-face interviews. Withdrawal from participation will be allowed at any phase as also the participants will be informed before commencing. The participants will be assured of the project's confidentiality and also informed of ground rules that will ensure utmost respect for each other. Anonymity will be profoundly used in writing to cautiously conceal identification of the participants. Where possible, self-chosen pseudonyms will be applied in the study. Pseudonyms for the schools will be given and needless to say, great caution will be taken to hide their identification as well as their neighborhood. Detailed information coupled with consent forms will be processed highlighting all the issues stated above.