student research proposal, opinions please!

[phatsam7]

Dear All,

I am a 2nd year student at Keele University studying Media, Culture and Communications and Sociology. I am also a car nut and member here. Which brings me to my dissertation. My research questions is: To what extent are car subcultures represented negatively in the mass media?

This is not your usual research proposal, however, it is a topic close to my heart. And I'm sure close to yours aswel. There are many different types of car subculture, and I intend to look at them all as fairly as possible. However, as an enthusiast and owner of modified cars, I thought that I should see what people like yourselves think (not to mention the fact that you are part of the mass media and in that sense, are very relevant). I want to examine this issue in terms of: age, geographical location, association with different forms of crime, and so on.

I know this isn't Fiat specific, but my question is basically: what are your thoughts on the topic of car subcultures? And do you think they are unfairly/incorrectly represented in the media?

Cheers in advance

 

[Ffoxy]

I would say mainly mis-represented, as for the majority of owners there are no or few problems, and people with less concerns and faults either are less likely to post good news or dont know about the Forum/s.
The majority of Forum posters do so after searching for help with their own faults and pick up a liking for those with similar interests.

 

[jug]

at the beginning it is good to start with a broad topic such as car subculture representation in the media. however that is far too broad to be your actual 'question'. as you examine this topic you will inevitably end up focusing on a certain area that has plenty of information available, that should be the basis of your research question, a specific question that can be answered with information you have already found. never ask an impossible question and then try to find the info to prove or disprove it, that is far more difficult.

if you try to answer "To what extent are car subcultures represented negatively in the mass media?" you could easily use up your entire word limit defining the different subcultures. you need to decide exactly what you are going to research.
which subculture? (who are we tlaking about?)
what kind of negative representation? (what claims are made that you can prove or dispriove)
what kind of media? (who's claims are we testing)

you should let your research decide these things. next step is to collect as much info as you can on the broad topic, then decide which specific topic you have enough info for, it is often something you did not expect or consider.

for example you could say "in the news drivers aged under 21 are often represented as more dangerous than drivers aged over 21, is this representation fair when considering traffic convictions and accidents for each age group".

i wouldnt have chosen that question off the top of my head, it would be the natural result of my research if for example i had found;
-evidence of the 21 divide in news reports (see what the most common age divide is in the media and use it)
-figures for traffic convicitons by age
-figures for accidents by age

if i had not found that info first, then the question wouldnt be asked. make life easy for yourself and ask a question that you can answer.

 

[Mister T]

Generally, our initial thoughts are too broad, they need to be trimmed down to be turned into a research question.This is where your tutor will be able to direct you towards a more precise question which can be turned into a practical research proposal.

You also have to review the existing literature to see what has already been researched and what the outcomes are.Who or what will be the focus of your study?The attitudes of journalists will require a different approach to an analysis of say, comparing road accidents between two groups. The method will be determined by the question, when refined ,usually several times.

Your love of cars is both an advantage and a obstacle at the same time! You will need a good tutor to guide you

Good luck with the project

 

[swinisskill]

im glad i didnt bother going to uni sam , you sorted this out yet ?

 

[jug]

im glad i didnt bother going to uni sam

like everything else in life; in hindsight it was easy but at the time it was stressful.

 

[phatsam7]

cheers for having a gander guys...

i'm in the process of writing a literature review (seeing whats already available on the topic of car subcultures) - so i'll see how practical its going to be

 

[Mister T]

Glad to see your getting some good ideas of the forum- I have always found it a good place for interesting discussions.

The idea of a sub culture is a tricky one - are people who enjoy cars etc really so different from everyone else to be considered a sub group? It could be that they are just the same bunch as everyone else who happen to like mucking about with cars-do they have different values etc from the rest of us -if not -why treat them as a seperate group?

I happen to enjoy the styling of Fiats/Alphas , but does this make me part of a sub group? Lots of interesting directions to go in....