Method 2 – Online Observation 145

The   online   observation   method   of   data   gathering   in   this   main   study   was   entirely   observation,   conducted   on   respondents   with   open   Facebook   profiles   and   those   who  have  given  me  access  to  their  Facebook  as  Friend  and  the  groups  created  by   students  for  students  who  are  studying  in  the  United  Kingdom.  I  did  not  take  note   of  the  time  spent  online  but  I  was  logged  in  everyday  checking  Facebook  from  time   to  time,  staying  logged  on  observing  for  at  least  an  hour  each  time.  The  persistence   of   data   and   the   asynchronous   feature   it   has,   made   observation   outside   the   time   respondents  use  their  Facebook  possible  as  these  affordances  allowed  respondents   updates   to   be   accessed   later.   This   is   another   affordance   Facebook   can   provide   when   use   as   a   research   tool.   Observation   was   conducted   on   5   active   groups   I   searched  and  found  on  Facebook:  Durham  University  Malaysian  Society  (DUMAS);   Durham   My   ++;   CK   +   UG   Cardiff;   Malaysian   Students’   Society   of   Manchester   (MSSM);  and  Malaysians  Students  Society  of  Glamorgan  (MSSG)  2011/2012.  I  was   interested   to   seek   the   students’   experiences,   the   use   of   Facebook   groups   and   its   effect  on  their  sense  of  self  and  belonging  while  away  from  home.  The  first  2  groups   are   not   only   for   Malaysian   students,   they   are   open   to   students   from   other   southeast  Asian  countries.  As  a  student  from  Brunei,  I  was  already  a  member  of  the   2  groups.  I  sent  a  request  to  join  the  other  3  groups  for  the  purpose  of  observing   the  activities  and  interactions  involved.  I  also  used  these  groups  to  post  recruitment  

messages  (I  did  not  get  any  responses  from  this).  My  level  of  involvement  in  these   groups   was   minimal.   These   groups   were   created   for   the   purpose   of   bringing   students  together,  keeping  them  posted  with  updates  and  to  arrange  for  activities.   These   groups   basically   act   as   event   coordinators;   however   the   development   and   purposes  of  the  groups  evolved  over  time  (depending  on  the  members).  Members   of  the  groups  increase  every  academic  year  with  new  students  coming  to  study  at   these  cities.  Active  members  are  always  those  students  who  are  currently  studying   at  the  universities,  while  the  previous  members  who  have  left  the  country  became   silent  readers  or  have  a  very  limited  involvement.    

Before   commencing   with   the   formal   online   observation,   I   created   a   list   of   points   and  questions  I  have  on  cosmopolitanism  (as  listed  in  section  4.3,  Page  121)  to  take   note   when   doing   the   observation   whilst   remaining   vigilant   of   the   actions   that   I   might  not  have  covered  in  the  list.  Who  the  members  are,  the  topics  they  discussed   or  posted  in  the  group,  and  the  types  of  events  they  created  were  included  in  the   list.  These  allowed  me  to  see  the  types  of  activities  that  directly  and  indirectly  affect   Malaysian  students  in  the  United  Kingdom.  Through  observation  of  these  groups  I   was  able  to  see  the  kinds  of  activities  these  students  shared  and  the  potential  they   have   in   strengthening   their   identity   as   Malaysian   students,   while   overseas   and   regardless  of  their  ethnicity.  Although  identity  strengthening  might  not  be  one  of   the  purposes  for  creating  the  groups,  several  of  my  respondents  told  me  of  their   experience  with  some  of  the  Facebook  groups  they  are  members  of,  and  that  they   experienced  reinforcement  of  their  ascribed  identities  through  communal  activities  

online   and   offline;   an   issue   which   I   will   discuss   in   the   empirical   chapters   of   this   thesis.  

Observation   on   the   respondents’   Facebook   profiles   was   focused   on   their   status   updates,  interactions  and  comments  made  on  their  page,  the  photos  uploaded,  the   types  of  photo  album  they  have,  what  they  “Like”,  cover  photos  and  profile  photos.   Cover   photos   are   only   for   those   profiles   that   were   recently   updated   to   the   new   Timeline  format.  Observation  here  is  limited  to  their  profile  page  because  I  could   not  monitor  their  interactions  on  their  friends’  pages.  It  would  be  a  daunting  task   considering   the   limited   time   I   had   to   complete   the   fieldwork,   thus   I   limited   the   observation  of  their  presentation  of  cosmopolitan  self  on  their  own  profile  and  only   visited  other  profiles  when  the  topic  of  discussions  or  some  matters  are  significant   to  this  study,  and  therefore  needed  to  be  followed  up.  This  vast  pool  of  information   to  work  with  highlights  the  potential  of  the  site  as  a  research  location/tool  as  well   as  highlighting  the  need  to  limit  research  according  to  the  research  questions  and   to   factor   in   the   time   constraints.   Similarly,   if   I   were   to   employ   social   network   analyses/quantitative   analysis,   the   data   gathering   would   provide   a   spread   of   information  but  would  not  allow  for  deeper  analyses  to  be  conducted  as  the  data   would  be  too  huge  and  general  to  work  with.  There  is  always  a  limit  to  a  research   project’s   scope   (Hine,   2009)   and   it   should   be   defined   by   the   research   interests/questions   themselves,   partially   in   order   to   avoid   doing   unnecessary   research  activities.    

The   observations   conducted   were   valuable   in   getting   more   than   a   glimpse   of   respondents’  likes,  dislikes,  taste,  and  behaviour.  Even  though  a  user’s  personality   could  not  be  thoroughly  read  from  their  profile  we  could  still  have  a  glimpse  of  their   life  as  Markham  (2004:  147)  has  written  “we  give  others  a  glimpse  of  the  frames  we   use   to   view   the   world   and   reveal   some   of   the   masks   we   consciously   or   unconsciously  think  are  important  in  the  presentation  of  self”.  Online  observation   and  interviews  employed  together  provide  this  research  with  rich  data  as  findings   from  both  methods  can  be  validated  and  critically  assessed.  As  Kendall  (1999:  62)   endorses   “(r)esearching   understandings   of   participants’   sense   of   self   and   of   the   meanings   they   give   to   their   on-­‐line   participation   requires   spending   time   with   participants  to  observe  what  they  do  on-­‐line  as  well  as  what  they  say  about  what   they  do”  and  that  “comparing  participants’  descriptions  of  their  on-­‐line  behaviour   with   actual   examples   of   that   behaviour,   enables   researchers   to   critically   evaluate   statements   by   participants   concerning   the   effects   of   their   on-­‐line   participation”   (1999:   71).   As   openness   is   never   fixed   and   is   contextualised,   temporalised,   spatialised  and  individualised,  observation  allows  me  to  see  the  discrepancies  in  the   information  a  respondent  shared  during  their  interview  and  to  see  other  possible   context   in   which   his/her   openness   is   expressed.   I   went   back   and   forth   recalling   what  have  been  said  in  interviews  while  observing  their  Facebook  activities.  Due  to   Facebook  affordances  (persistence  and  searchability),  I  was  able  to  revisit  what  they   did  in  the  past  and  to  take  note  of  the  traces  or  trail  of  activities  they  left  on  their   profile.  It  is  difficult  to  know  the  process  they  went  through  before  posting  such  as   self-­‐censorship,   self-­‐negotiation,   and   dilemmas,   thus   data   obtained   from   observation   are   supported   by   interview   data.   Referring   back   to   their   actions   on  

Facebook  what  was  said  during  the  interviews  allowed  for  more  understanding  of   the  users’  specific  actions  (comments,  discussions).  Coming  back  to  the  point  made   earlier   about   an   overabundance   of   information,   such   data   are   limited   to   a   researcher’s  ability  to  study  them.  The  limitation  of  online  observation  is  reduced   by  incorporating  other  research  data.