I had to hold off on this blog for a little while as I awaited feedback and had all my risk assessments and ethics documentation signed off. This has finally happened and I am now into the research phase of my project. This means that a number of things are now set in stone and this includes:
The Research Questions
The main question that my project intends to answer is from a Critical Race Theory perspective, what role if any, Black Twitter plays in the construction and performance of identity and representation among Black London-based non-African American Twitter user?
I am specifically interested in finding out the following
- How do the research participants define Black Twitter?
- How do the research participants engage (if at all) with Black Twitter?
- In what other ways do the research participants perform and construct their identity on Twitter
The research process
I will be conducting face-to-face interviews with 30 or so individuals between now and 11th July 2014. I will also be undertaking a digital ethnographical study of participant tweets and twitter biographies.
The participants
I am interested in working with individuals who meet all of the following criteria
- Self-identify as Black in accordance with the classification provided by the UK 2011 Census. This classification includes those who self-identify as “Black/African/Caribbean/Black British or Any other Black/African/Caribbean background” (ONS, 2011).
- Reside in one of the 33 Boroughs of London
- Have a personal Twitter account registered on or before 1st May 2013
- Maintain an active presence of twitter as evidenced by volume of tweets/recent tweets
And if possible:
- Know about/have heard of Black Twitter
I am very excited about this stage and I can’t wait to start learning more about race, Twitter and identity. If you are interested in taking part and/or know anyone who would be interested in taking part then please either leave a comment below (be sure include your email) or drop me an email.
