Lab Assignment 1: Research Proposal
Student's name: LI JIANQIAO
Institutional Affiliation
I. Literature Review
Li's groundbreaking 2006 study of cyberbullying in schools identified significant differences between genders with respect to behavior as either bullies or victims. The primary focus of the study examined gender differences in cyberbullying experiences, although the researchers also sought to explore gender differences in perception of school climate. Li identifies three specific questions that guided his research:
1. Do male and female students have different experiences in relation to cyberbullying?
2. Are there gender differences in student beliefs about adults' prevention of cyverbullying?
3. When cyberbullying occurs, do male and female students behave differently in terms of informing adults? (Li 2006: 6).
The study, which employs a quantitative, survey-based methodology, was conducted using a random convenience sample from "three middle schools in a large city in Canada." 130 males and 134 females completed the questionnaire. Approximately 6% were ESL students. Three-quarters of respondents were white, 6.4% Asian, and approximately 18 percent were black, hispanic, aboriginal or from other ethnic groups. Li notes that 90% of respondents reported that they either had average or above average grades, with only a few indicating that they received lower marks. The anonymous survey contained two sections: one seeking to establish demographic information about respondents, and the other focusing on gender and behavior.
The study found that males were more likely than females to bully either in person or via electronic means, while "female cyberbully victims were more likely to inform adults than their male counterparts."
For me, one of Li's most interesting observations is that this result contradicts the theory that "females prefer to use electronic communication mediums [...] to bully others."
The strength of the study arguably lies in its straightforwardness: Li formulated highly specific and well-thought-out research questions that allowed him to conduct an extremely focused study. That said, the study is also limited by its specificity: the sample population constitutes a very limited age range, all respondents came from urban cities. Furthermore, the voluntary nature of the survey may have skewed the results somewhat; it is not difficult to imagine that victims and bullies would elect to respond in different proportions.
II. Research Question
One seeming weakness in the bullying literature is that researchers seeking to examine the scope of the problem often employ their own definitions of bullying, rather than seeking to define this activity as relevant stakeholders (e.g., students) might. In order to explore this issue--and perhaps supplement Li's findings--I would like to explore gender differences in cyberbullying at the high school level. To this end, I would like to ask two questions. First, do males and females have different experiences in relation to cyberbullying at our school? Second, how do males and females define cyberbullying at our school?
Exploring these questions will require two different methodologies. The first would be best served with a quantitative survey, much like Li's. The second question, however, is more difficult to pin down: it would be best served by conducting brief, qualitative interviews with a select group of survey respondents.
References
Li, Q. (2006). Cyberbullying in schools a research of gender differences. School psychology international, 27(2), 157-170.