ogl 540 final project.

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Research Design and Pilot Study on Technology Addiction

Thaddeus Cain

Arizona State University

OGL 540

Dr. Patience Akpan-Obong

June 20, 2025

Research Design and Pilot Study on Technology Addiction

Introduction

Our ever-more digitalized world has recognized technology addiction as a serious mental problem. Although smartphones, social media sites, and constantly updating information provide unprecedented opportunities to connect and accomplish more, they have also developed compulsive behavior patterns that compromise psychological health. The proposed study will have a qualitative design that approaches the lived realities of people struggling with the problem of technology addiction and focuses on their perception of the origins of their habitual behavior when applying technology and the psychological consequences of indulgence. The given research attempts to fill gaps in the available statistics with more detailed first-hand accounts of events that quantitative research often misses.

Study Focus and Focal Phenomenon

The study concentrates on “The Psychological Consequences of Technology Addiction: A Constructivist Inquiry into Lived Experiences.” The central phenomenon under investigation concerns the ways individuals subjectively interpret and attribute meaning to their technology addiction, including its onset, psychological consequences, and effects on everyday functioning and interpersonal relationships. The present research will adopt a qualitative research design.

Approach to Inquiry

The investigative design will employ a phenomenological framework, given its superior capacity to explore individuals’ lived experiences and the meanings they attach to them (Shorey & Ng, 2022). Through its quest to unveil the core of lived experiences as seen from the perspective of those who have experienced them, phenomenology emerges as an especially apt method for exploring the subjective facets of technology addiction.

Procedures for Data Collection

Individuals who self-report experiencing technology addiction will be interviewed through semi-structured, in-depth interviews to obtain the data. Depending on the participant’s preference and on the practicalities of geography, the interviews will be held either face-to-face or via video-conferencing. Generally, each interview is expected to last roughly 60–90 minutes.

To cultivate rapport, the protocol will begin with an icebreaker question and then move on to open-ended prompts designed to describe participants' experiences with technology addiction. Example questions are:

· Could you elaborate on your relationship with technology and how it has changed over time?

· In your personal experience, what does the term "technology addiction" mean to you.

Participant Selection

Purposeful sampling will be employed to ensure that the selected participants supply rich, relevant insights into the phenomenon under investigation (Shorey & Ng, 2022). The eligibility criteria consist of the following:

Participants aged eighteen years or above

An explicit self-identification of having a technology addiction

An openness to explore their own experiences in considerable depth.

Ability to participate in an interview carried out in English

Diversity within the sample will be assured by recruiting via multiple channels.

Behavioral-addiction–centered mental-health clinics

Virtual forums and peer-support communities specifically focused on technology addiction

Should the initial three channels yield no participants, the research will likewise recruit university counselling centers.

Advertising on social media

Our target is to recruit 15–20 individuals, as this sample typically affords adequate data saturation in phenomenological studies while still ensuring the overall scope remains manageable (Shorey & Ng, 2022). The recruitment process will continue until thematic saturation is attained—this point is reached when subsequent interviews produce no further substantially novel insights into the phenomenon.

Researcher’s Role and Reflexivity

As principal investigator, I am conscious that my experiences and perspectives may influence the study at several stages. I have noticed how pervasive technology is in modern life and have watched my friends and family members struggle to set healthy technology boundaries. Though these experiences ignite my interest in this subject, they also introduce potential biases that must be acknowledged and managed.

To uphold reflexivity throughout the course of the study, I intend to:

I intend to keep a reflexive journal to document my assumptions, reactions, and decision-making processes.

Throughout the data-gathering and analytical phases, I will employ bracketing, deliberately setting aside my assumptions to focus on participants’ lived experiences.

I will participate in peer debriefing sessions with colleagues to interrogate my interpretations.

With clarity, I articulate my positionality throughout the research reports.

Together, these strategies will ensure that the findings faithfully reflect participants' lived experiences rather than reflecting my biases or expectations.

Procedures for Data Analysis

The data analysis will follow established phenomenological procedures (Bouzioti, 2023) by revisiting the transcripts multiple times to fully grasp the whole, gradually bracketing preconceptions, isolating pertinent quotations and statements on the phenomenon of technology addiction, and subsequently clustering them into meaning units and then grouping the units into overarching themes. The NVivo qualitative data analysis software will aid in the organization of the data and the coding process (Allsop et al., 2022). The process will unfold iteratively, repeatedly moving among the raw data, the coded segments, and the developing themes to maintain fidelity to participants’ accounts.

Pilot Study

Pilot Data Collection

In order to refine the research procedures, a pilot study involving two participants who met the inclusion criteria was carried out. Recruitment was achieved via personal networks, and prospective participants were assessed to verify their self-identification of technology addiction. Both pilot interviews were conducted through Zoom, with the participants offering recorded consent and the transcripts produced verbatim.

The pilot interviews followed the semi-structured protocol outlined earlier, with additional probing questions introduced whenever promising avenues of exploration emerged. Every interview lasted approximately 45 minutes. During and in the immediate aftermath of every interview, field notes were taken to capture the participants’ initial impressions and observations.

Pilot Data Analysis

The phenomenological methodology prescribed in the studies was used to analyze the pilot data. An initial study of the data revealed several major themes. Respondents expressed a slow understanding that their adherence to technology had become unhealthy, which was usually initiated by a negative impact in both work and personal life situations. Psychological consequences and functional implications of such behavior were relatively high, and the participants reported reduced job performance, sleep disturbances, and poor face-to-face interpersonal relationships. Regulatory strategies used by participants to curb their usage came in different forms but had little impact.

The pilot test generated a set of critical observations which will inform the entire research project. Notably, the interview guideline was to be refined. Several questions required rewording for clarity, and the word "addiction" occasionally provoked defensive reactions, underscoring the need to employ more neutral terminology in the initial stages of the interviews. Recruitment turned out to be more demanding than anticipated, as identifying participants who self-identify as technology addicted proved harder than expected. This underscores the need for a broader range of recruitment strategies.

The recruitment process was more challenging than it was thought to be, and finding individuals who self-report as technology addicted was much more difficult. This issue supports a greater diversity of recruitment tactics.

The topic also caused emotional responses, and thus, there was the need to ensure there was a safe and non-judgmental interview environment and to ensure that mental health resources were readily available. Although the pilot findings would translate to existing literature, they also reveal gaps that need to be probed. In addition, some areas require procedure improvements, such as the expression of better interviewing guidelines and enhanced communication of confidentiality measures.

As a result, the research design was adjusted based on the pilot insights. The recruitment strategies have been extended to increase diversity, and the questions to ask in the interviews have been reworded to limit the feeling of defence. Interviews have been extended to enable a richer conversation, and additional help materials for the participants have also been provided. Finally, the consent forms have also been re-directed to cover matters of confidentiality better.

Conclusion

Within this research design, a qualitative phenomenological investigation will explore the lived experiences of technology addiction. By foregrounding personal meanings and subjective experiences, the study aims to deepen our grasp of this emerging mental health concern with heightened depth and nuance. The pilot study indicated that the method was feasible while revealing specific areas for enhancement throughout the entire project.

References

Allsop, D., Chelladurai, J., Kimball, E., Marks, L., & Hendricks, J. (2022). Qualitative Methods with Nvivo Software: a Practical Guide for Analyzing Qualitative. Qualitative Methods with Nvivo Software: A Practical Guide for Analyzing Qualitative Data, 4(2), 142–159.

Bouzioti, D. (2023). Introducing the Phenomenological Model of Performance Practice (PMPP): Phenomenological Research Design and the Lived Experience in Performance. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177_16094069231211142

Shorey, S., & Ng, E. D. (2022). Examining characteristics of descriptive phenomenological nursing studies: A scoping review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78(7), 1968. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15244