The document outlines a research study on censorship experienced by Chinese immigrants in Ireland compared to censorship in China. It will use mixed quantitative and qualitative methods, including surveys and interviews of Chinese students, to understand their internet usage in Ireland versus China and whether it influences their views on censorship at home. Limitations include a small sample size, sensitive nature of the topic, and potential bias.

1. Chinese Censorship, at Home,
Abroad
A Continuation or a Break in a new
country?
Daniel Murray
Róisín Tangney
Betty Maguire
Justin Ahern

2. Introduction
Daniel Murray

3. Introduction
• A gap in the study of Chinese immigrants in
Ireland: censorship
• Few countries as thorough in its censorship as
China.
• ‘The Great Firewall’
• Wide range of topics taboo
• Censorship leading to self-censorship

4. Public Security Bureau mascots

5. Google incident
• Google versus Chinese government earlier this
year over refusal to censor further.
• Principled or trouble-making? Opinions of
Chinese servers differ.

6. Research Question
• Do Chinese in Ireland take advantage of non-
censored internet to access information denied
to them at home?
(a) What kind of sites do they access in Ireland?
(b) Which Internet sources do they find to be more
reliable - Irish or Chinese?
(c) Does their use of Internet in Ireland influence
their attitude towards censorship at home?

7. Target Group
• Chinese students in Ireland, as they would
have experiences with both China and Ireland.
• Chinese community in Ireland since 1950s but
many would have limited contact with China.

8. Literature
Review
Róisín Tangney

10. • OpenNet Initiative. (2009, June 15). Internet
Filtering in China. Retrieved November 14,
2010, from OpenNet:
http://opennet.net/sites/opennet.net/files/O
NI_China_2009.pdf

11. Internet use in China
• 420 million internet users
• 162 million blogs
• 30 million daily Kaixin users
• 583.5 million mobile phone subscribers

12. What’s Blocked?

13. What’s Censored?
Taiwan, Tibet, Tiananmen
North Korea
Falun Gong
Religion
Pornography
News Stories

14. Do they want more information?
• Anti-CNN movement following clashes in Tibet
in 2008
• Race traitors targeted
• Google controversy
BUT …

15. Online discussion forums suggest many
Chinese people want to end Internet censorship.

16. Chinese Community in Ireland
Wang, Y. Y., & King-O'Riain, R. C. (2006). Chinese
Students in Ireland. National University of
Ireland, Maynooth, Dept. of Sociology. National
Consultative Committee on Racism and
Interculturalism.

17. Profile Study
• 30,000 Chinese people living in Ireland
• 3,000 3rd level Students

18. Co-Ethnic Researcher – Why?
• Relates to target population
• Body Language/Cultural differences
• Communication
• Comprehension
• Participants’ rights
• Recruitment

19. • “Most of the interviewees do not use the Irish
media often. They find the programmes are
quite different from those in China …In the
Chinese community they have their own
media”
(Wang and King-O’Riain, p.49)

20. Research
Design
Betty Maguire

21. Mixed Methods Approach
• ‘an approach to inquiry that combines or
associates both qualitative and quantitative
forms. It involves philosophical assumptions,
the use of qualitative and quantitative
approaches and the mixing of both
approaches in a study’
Cresswell, P. 4

22. ‘Mixed Method Approaches involves the use of
both quantitative and qualitative approaches
in tandem so that the overall strength of a
study is greater than either qualitative or
quantitative Research’
Creswell&Plano Clark, 2007

23. Quantitative survey
30 Qualitative face-to-face interviews

24. Paradigm
Social Constructivist Paradigm
participants’ views of the situation being
studied
broad, open-ended questions

25. • ‘Researchers realize that their own
background shapes their interpretation, and
they position themselves in the research to
acknowledge how their interpretation flows
from their personal, cultural and historical
experiences’
Cresswell, p. 8.

26. Sampling
Snowball sampling
Snow-probability sampling technique
subjects are hard to locate
http://www.experiment-resources.com/snowball-sampling.html

27. 2 Approaches
First Approach
make initial contact with key informants
information rich cases
Pickard, A.J. Research Methods in information, Facet
Publishing, 2007, p. 65

28. Second Approach
an initial participant
interview and observation
characteristics and issues that need further
inquiry
Pickard, A.J. Research Methods in information, Facet
Publishing, 2007, p. 65

29. According to Erlandson et al, 1993,82
“Purposive and directed sampling through
human instrumentation increases the range
of data exposed and maximises the
Researcher’s ability to identify emerging
themes”

30. Linear Snowball Sampling
http://www.experiment-resources.com/snowball-sampling.html

31. Exponential non-discriminative sampling
http://www.experiment-resources.com/snowball-sampling.html

35. Interview Questions Examples
• Their opinions on broad issues, e.g. Taiwan,
Tibet, etc
• Opinions on recent incidents, e.g. Google v.s.
Chinese government, 2008 food poisoning
scandal, etc
• Opinions on internet access in Ireland, as
opposed to China?
• Which would they trust more? Why?

36. Interview Focus
• Emphasis on letting the responses of the focus
group guide us during the interviews

37. Limitations
 Small sample
Students only (3,000 out of total population of
30,000)
Dr. O’Leary,R., Dr. Li, L.,
“Mainland Chinese Students and Immigrants in Ireland
and their Engagement with Christianity, Churches&
Society”, p. 3.

38.  Costs
Phone credit
iPod as questionnaire incentive
Transcription costs
Funding
National Immigration Council of Ireland
Atlantic Philanthropies
Confucius Institute

39.  Sensitive Issue
Perception of Preconceived Bias of Westerners
Co-Ethnic Researcher

40. Time Management

41. Ethics

42. Ethics
 Sensitive Issue
 Make Research Overt
 Code of ethics
 Informed Consent
 Letter of request

43. Limitations
 Team Bias
 Small Sample Size
 Controversial Subject Matter
 Timeframe

44. Chinese Censorship, at Home,
Abroad
A Continuation or a Break in a new
country?

45. Introduction
• A gap in the study of Chinese immigrants in
Ireland: censorship
• Few countries as thorough in its censorship as
China.
• ‘The Great Firewall’
• Wide range of topics taboo
• Censorship leading to self-censorship

46. Public Security Bureau mascots

47. Google incident
• Google versus Chinese government earlier this
year over refusal to censor further.
• Principled or trouble-making? Opinions of
Chinese servers differ.

48. Research Question
• Do Chinese in Ireland take advantage of non-
censored internet to access information
denied to them at home?

49. Focus Group
• Chinese students in Ireland, as they would
have experiences with both China and Ireland.
• Chinese community in Ireland since 1950s but
many would have limited contact with China.

50. Research Approach
• Mixed Methods: Qualitative and quantitative
studies, with use of online questionnaires and
interviews with volunteers

51. Interview Questions Examples
• Their opinions on broad issues, e.g. Taiwan,
Tibet, etc
• Opinions on recent incidents, e.g. Google v.s.
Chinese government, 2008 food poisoning
scandal, etc
• Opinions on internet access in Ireland, as
opposed to China?
• Which would they trust more? Why?

52. Interview Focus
• Emphasis on letting the responses of the focus
group guide us during the interviews

53. Literature
Review
Róisín Tangney

55. • OpenNet Initiative. (2009, June 15). Internet
Filtering in China. Retrieved November 14,
2010, from OpenNet:
http://opennet.net/sites/opennet.net/files/O
NI_China_2009.pdf

56. Internet use in China
• 420 million internet users
• 162 million blogs
• 30 million daily Kaixin users
• 583.5 million mobile phone subscribers

57. What’s Blocked?

58. What’s Censored?
Taiwan, Tibet, Tiananmen
North Korea
Falun Gong
Religion
Pornography
News Stories

59. Do they want more information?
• Anti-CNN movement following clashes in Tibet
in 2008
• Race traitors targeted
• Google controversy
BUT …

60. Online discussion forums suggest many
Chinese people want to end Internet censorship.

61. Chinese Community in Ireland
Wang, Y. Y., & King-O'Riain, R. C. (2006). Chinese
Students in Ireland. National University of
Ireland, Maynooth, Dept. of Sociology. National
Consultative Committee on Racism and
Interculturalism.

62. Profile Study
• 30,000 Chinese people living in Ireland
• 3,000 3rd level Students

63. Co-Ethnic Researcher – Why?
• Relates to target population
• Body Language/Cultural differences
• Communication
• Comprehension
• Participants’ rights
• Recruitment

64. • “Most of the interviewees do not use the Irish
media often. They find the programmes are
quite different from those in China …In the
Chinese community they have their own
media”
(Wang and King-O’Riain, p.49)

65. Research
Design
Betty Maguire

66. Mixed Methods Approach
• ‘an approach to inquiry that combines or
associates both qualitative and quantitative
forms. It involves philosophical assumptions,
the use of qualitative and quantitative
approaches and the mixing of both
approaches in a study’
Cresswell, P. 4

67. ‘Mixed Method Approaches involves the use of
both quantitative and qualitative approaches
in tandem so that the overall strength of a
study is greater than either qualitative or
quantitative Research’
Creswell&Plano Clark, 2007

68. Quantitative survey
30 Qualitative face-to-face interviews

69. Paradigm
Social Constructivist Paradigm
participants’ views of the situation being
studied
broad, open-ended questions

70. • ‘Researchers realize that their own
background shapes their interpretation, and
they position themselves in the research to
acknowledge how their interpretation flows
from their personal, cultural and historical
experiences’
Cresswell, p. 8.

71. Sampling
Snowball sampling
Snow-probability sampling technique
subjects are hard to locate
http://www.experiment-resources.com/snowball-sampling.html

72. 2 Approaches
First Approach
make initial contact with key informants
information rich cases
Pickard, A.J. Research Methods in information, Facet
Publishing, 2007, p. 65

73. Second Approach
an initial participant
interview and observation
characteristics and issues that need further
inquiry
Pickard, A.J. Research Methods in information, Facet
Publishing, 2007, p. 65

74. According to Erlandson et al, 1993,82
“Purposive and directed sampling through
human instrumentation increases the range
of data exposed and maximises the
Researcher’s ability to identify emerging
themes”

75. Linear Snowball Sampling
http://www.experiment-resources.com/snowball-sampling.html

76. Exponential non-discriminative sampling
http://www.experiment-resources.com/snowball-sampling.html

80. Limitations
 Small sample
Students only (3,000 out of total population of
30,000)
Dr. O’Leary,R., Dr. Li, L.,
“Mainland Chinese Students and Immigrants in Ireland
and their Engagement with Christianity, Churches&
Society”, p. 3.

81.  Costs
Phone credit
iPod as questionnaire incentive
Transcription costs
Funding
National Immigration Council of Ireland
Atlantic Philanthropies
Confucius Institute

82.  Sensitive Issue
Perception of Preconceived Bias of Westerners
Co-Ethnic Researcher

83. Time Management

84. Ethics

85. Ethics
 Sensitive Issue
 Make Research Overt
 Code of ethics
 Informed Consent
 Letter of request

86. Limitations
 Team Bias
 Small Sample Size
 Controversial Subject Matter
 Timeframe