1. Aims and Considerationssheet
ExistingProducts:
How manyexistingartefactsdoyoufeel youwillneedtolookat?
The more existingartefactsIlookat,the more likelyIamto gaina well roundedideaof what
makesa social actioncampaign successful,andwhatdoesn’tworksowell.Byanalysingthe datain
termsof howmuch impactdifferentcampaignsworked,Ican aimto sieve outandlearnfrom
some of the more successful,andadoptsimilar strategiesandtechniques.Inordertogain thiswell
roundedandextensive knowledge of whatmighthelpme tocreate a successful campaign,I’llneed
to compare around3-6 campaigns whilstresearching,andextensivelyanalyse the factsand
figures.
What kindsof artefactsare youexpectingtolookat?
I’mexpectingtolookat a wide range of social actioncampaigns,as tofurtherbenefitmy
understandingof more thanone areaof potential cause forsocial actioncampaigning,ratherthan
justone.By thisI meanthat I won’tonlyspecialise myresearchinone particulararea(eg.
Domesticviolence),butinsteadwill covermanyareasof research(domesticviolence,dogfouling,
political protestetc).Bydoingthis,itwill meanthatIam not limitedtoone particularareawhenit
comesdownto the researchsection.I’ll use the internetasmyprimarysource for researchinto
existingsocial actioncampaigns,withsearchenginessuchasGoogle andYahoo allowingme to
quicklyfindcontent,aswell asstatistics.
What elementswill youlook attohelpyouwithyourresearch?
I’ll be playingclose attentionto the intendedpurposesof eachexistingcampaignIchoose to
research,andby usingthe guideline forpurposes(eg.Changingvotingbehaviourorbringingabout
local change), I’ll be able toforma good understandof whypeople chose tomake social action
campaigns,aswell asthe waysinwhichtheychoose to go aboutdoingso.To addto this,I’ll also
lookat whetherornot eachcampaignhas actuallybeensuccessful,and whetherit’shada positive
or negative impact,whichinturnwill helpme tofigure outwhichcampaignsare worthtaking
inspiration fromandwhicharen’t.I’ll aimto accurately gainan ideaof the impact of each
campaignby findingsstatistics(quantativesecondaryresearch) whichwill giveme awell rounded
ideaof effectivenessof campaigns,butalsothroughnewsarticlesandwebblogs(qualitative
secondaryresearch).
Primary Research:
How manypeople wouldyouhope toquestionaspartof your primaryresearch?
As isoftenthe case,the more people questionedinanyformof research,the more accurate and
useful the researchwill be.Byusingthisprincipal,I’llaimtointerview asmanypeople asIcan in
orderto conduct the most useful researchIcan. Havingsaidthis,I alsoneedtoconsiderthe fact
that I have no real wayof reachingoutto a large amount of participantsinthe same way thata
large scale companywithsocial mediafame andmoneywouldbe able to.Withthisinmind,Idon’t
wantto set myaims toohighwhenitcomesto decidingonthe amountof people Ihope to
questionformyprimaryresearch.Itall dependson whetherornotI’m able toreach out to
someone/oran organisation withalarge social mediafollowing.If thisisnotthe case, I’ll aimto
questionaround30 people,butthe more Ican get, the better.
What methodswill youuse?
A mixture of bothquantative andqualitative researchwillbe necessaryinordertogainwell
roundedknowledge.Thiswill be achievedthroughanonlinesurvey,withbothbox tickingstyle
questions(quantative) aswell extendedquestionswhichrequireawrittenanswer(qualitative). I
aimto reach the audience formysurveyviasocial media(primarilyFacebook)byusingapublic
statusupdate invitingfriendstotake part.On topof this,I’ll alsoaskclassmatesif theycouldtake
2. part. In regardsto the possibilityof alarge social actionorganisationendorsingmyresearch,Iwill
attemptto share my ideawithvarious organisations viatwitterinanattempttoget themto share
a URL to participate inmysurvey. AnotherareaI’ll aimtocover isresearchinto lookingatthe
statisticsandfiguresof poverty,intermsof the actual statisticsof poverty,andthe statistics
behindprevioussocial actioncampaignstargetedatpoverty.Thiscanall be achievedthrough
internetsearches,aswell aslibrarybasedresearch.
Couldthere be issuesingettingaccesstopeople affectedbyyourchosensocial issue?
There couldbe possible issueswhentryingtogetaccess to variouspeople affectedandassociated
withpoverty.Some of these issuesinclude the factthatas a youngmiddle classmale livinginYork
(whichisan affluentcity),Irarelycome intocontactwithpeople affectedbypoverty,andmysocial
circlesbothinand away fromcollege have verylittle associationwithpovertyingeneral.Secondly,
people withpovertydon’thave accesstothe internet,therefore wouldn’tbe able tocontribute
directlytothe campaignviainterviews,online surveysetc.Toadd tothis point,peopleaffectedby
povertyare oftenilliterate due tolackof educationandfunding,whichaddstothe difficultyof
gettingaccessto themas individuals.
How will youknowif yourresearchhasbeensuccessful?
If my researchhas been successful,Ishouldbe able toforma well roundedaudience profile,in
termsof whoI’ll be targetingthe campaigntowards andhow to reach thisaudience.If myresearch
has beensuccessful,thiscanbe measuredbyevaluatingstatisticsfromcertaincharitiessuchas
Oxfamwhichseekdonationstohelpbothdomesticandinternational poverty.If donationshave
increasedbetweencertainmonthsandinparticularif mytargetaudience have beendonating
more moneyor become more involvedinhelpingthe cause fordomesticpovertyIwill know my
researchhas beensuccessful.Althoughthere isnodirectwaytomeasure if qualitative datahas
beensuccessful the secondaryeffectsof havingacampaignwhichstemsfromthe data I have
collectedandthe successof thiscampaignwill aidme to see whetherithasbeensuccessfulornot.
Considerations:
Why mightyouneedtobe sensitive whencarryingoutresearch onsocial actionissues?
There are lotsof legal andethical issuesthatsurroundresearchwhichisbaseduponsocial action.
The main argumentscirculate aroundhavingrespectforthe social change youwantto bring
about,the campaignmust be tasteful andtherefore notcause offencetopeople byforexample
belittlingthembutthe campaignalsohasto finda balance betweenashockfactorand being
dignified.Anotherkeyissuewhichmayarise whencarryingoutresearchisthateverythingis
factual and that questionsinthe researcharen’t biasedorunfair.Thismeanswhenthe researchis
carriedout itmust be read upon and evaluatedproperly.Furthermore,youmayhave tobe
sensitivethatwhencarryingoutresearchthat itis age appropriate forthe audience itisintended
for forexample if itisaimedforchildrenitcannotbe to difficulttounderstandortoexplicitorif it
isaimedat adultsthe researchmay have to be fairlyshieldedandnoteasilyaccessible.
3. Couldyouface any problemswhentryingto researchsocial actionissues?If so,isthere away to
overcome these?
Possible problemsmayinclude alackof data or statisticsina particularfieldforexample there
may notbe many leadingexpertsincertainfieldswhichmeansthere isn’talotof factual evidence
or much researchitself intoasocial issue.Thiscouldmeanthatwhenyoutryto collate data ina
metaanalysisformitcouldlimityourknowledge.Howeverthiscanbe overcome asinmodernday
societymostsocial issueshave beenwelldevelopedandwiththe use of the internetif researchis
hard to find,gettingincontactwithleadingresearcherswithanemail iseasyenoughtoproduce.
Furthermore,problemscouldarise if there are difficultiesreachingyourtargetaudience for
example youmayneedavolunteersampleof adultshoweverthe primaryusersof social media
sitesare teenagersandpeople intheirearlytwenties.Thiscanbe overcome byadaptingyour
research style forexample takingaprintedoutformof the questionnaire toatown citycentre or
postingitto peoplesaddressesandhope tocollate enoughdatathiswayinstead.
Where wouldyouexpectyourfinishedpiecestobe displayedanddistributed?
My campaignwill containvariousformatstothenbydistributedacrossasmanytargetaudiences
as possible.Mycampaignmayinclude physical posters,logoswhichare easilyrecognisable,
advertsand merchandise.Ihope thatmy final pieceswill be displayedinpublicareassuchas city
centres,theatres andaroundcollegesanduniversitiesinthe hope thatas manypeople canbe
influencedbythisaspossible.Furthermorei hope myfinal piecescanbe displayedinsocial centres
such as hospitals,clinicsanddentistofficesasmytargetaudiencestendtohave appointmentsand
therefore if mypiecesare visible inwaitingroomstheymay leave alastingimpression.
What fundingissues mightasocial actionorganisationface?
Social change and non-profitorganisationsmayhave fundingissuesasdonationsare putdirectly
intoaidor helpingafamilygetoutof poverty,thismeanslittleornofundingexpensesare leftfor
the campaign.Thismeansthe social actionorganisationmayfinditdifficulttopromote the cause
or finditdifficulttopayexpertswhoeitherdesigncampaignsorpromote them.Some social action
organisationsface littleornofundingfromthe governmentandtherefore itisall self generatedif,
like the RSPCA whichrelypurelyondonations,aneconomygoesintoarecessionorthe economy
fallsdonationsare likelytodecrease aspeople mayhave tocancel theirmonthlydonationsasthey
simplycannotafforditanymore. Furthermore,theymayhave aproblemwiththeirsponsorship
agreement,somethingtheydomaybe deemedunethical whichmeansasponsormaypull outand
stopgeneratingincome forcompany.
What ethical considerationsmightyouneedtothinkabout?
Whendealingwithsocial change there are lotsof ethical issuesthatmayneedtobe addressed,for
example questionsare verysubjective andtherefore canbe interpretedbyaudiencesdifferently,if
the questionsare notwell thoughtouttheymaycome across as rude or offendpeople. It’salso
importantthatI gain consentfromeveryone involvedinthe campaign,thisisbecause sometimes
there can be misunderstandingsasdowhatthe campaignis about,or whatrole certain
participantswill fill withinthe campaign,somakingsure everyone’shappyiskeytoanethically
soundcampaign.Inthisparticularinstance forexample,if Ichoose touse an image of a certain
persononmy posterinorder to demonstrate the harshrealityof poverty,Iwillgaintheirfull
consentbefore doingso.
How couldsocial,personal andpolitical issuesaffectyourresearch?
The fact that I’m often upsetwhenitcomestothe harsh realityof social issues,mightactually
affectmyresearch.What I meanby thisisthat whenlookingupall the statisticsandreading
articlesaboutthe poor conditionsthatmanypeople actuallylivein,Imightactually findithard.
Thisis a potential personalissue,butotherthanthis,Idon’thave any directlinkstothe issue of
povertythatcouldhindermyresearch. To add to this,the fact thatthe middle class(whomy
campaignisprimarilytargetedtowards) are likelytobe more rightwingleaningintermsof their
political views.Thismighthave aneffectonhow Iaim to targetthemas a demographic,andI’ll
needtotake thisintoconsiderationatall timeswhenmarketingmycampaigntowardsthem. On
4. top all this,the fact that there are oftenmanysocial barriersbetweenmyparticularsocial class
(middle class) andthose effectedbypoverty(generallyeitherunskilledworkingclassor
unemployed) meansthatitcan be harderfor me to actuallyinteractandget holdof poverty
victimswhomImighthave otherwise potentiallywantedtobe a part of the campaign.I’ve
mentionedthispointpreviouslyinthe 6th
question,anditessentiallyboilsdowntothe factthat I
simplydon’thave anylinkstopoverty,andlive inafairlyaffluentareaof York.Thishowever,
shouldbe easilyovercomewiththe helpof the internetandbypossiblyevengettingintouchwith
otherlocal organisationswhoworkwithpovertyvictims,thusgivingme the abilitytotalkface to
face withsome of them.
How couldthe communitycharacteristicsandtheirresourcesaffectyourresearch?
Communitiesandtheircharacteristicsmayaffect myresearchasmany differentcommunitieshave
differenteconomicandsocial standards.Forexample acommunityinpovertymayhave verylittle
resourcessuchas computers,technology, andinternetaccessorsimplysomewhere forpeopleto
complete questionnairesoronline surveys.Thismeansthatformytarget audience andbringing
aboutnational change and awarenesscertaincommunitiesmaynotbe able to provide data.
Furthermore,some communities maybe difficulttoreachforexample small tightknit
communitiesinvillagesmayonlyhave anagingpopulation, meaningthatI’mamnot reachingmy
target audience. Luckily,the factthata large proportionof the York and surroundingareasare
middle classmeansthatI won’thave tolookfar whenitcomesto the targetaudience forthe
groupI’m tryingto receive helpfrom.Notonly are this,butthe majorityof myFacebookfriends
(whoI will be advertisingmysurveyto) alsomiddleclass,whichwill allowthe researchon how to
reach outto a middle classaudience tobe muchmore accurate.
