A number of assumptions are made in the study to enable the selection of a rational sample representative of the underlying population. Key assumptions include; the sample size selected for this study will sufficiently represent the entire student population in American high schools. Additionally, it is assumed that the instrument used in the qualitative research, the questionnaire has validity and measures the desired constructs. It is also assumed that the respondents will be overly truthful in answering the survey questions and that their actual accounts of cyber bullying will constitute both witnessed and observed experiences.
With regards to validity and the questionnaire’s ability to measure the desired variables, it will be assumed that the response alternative between the two groups (13-15 and 16-19) are mutually exclusive, that the questions are able to accommodate all possible answers, are phrased neutrally, do not have prestige bias, and do not in any way make the respondents feel guilty. It will also be assumed that the mode of administration, the questionnaire, ensures that the respondents answer all the questions.
Implications
Assertively, the proposed study will have multiple implications. The research will supplement the current research on cyber bullying by including social networking sites and focusing on the opinions of teenagers. Aggregately, key implications of the research will be to identify the characteristics of cyberbullies and their victims, determine whether there is a direct correlation between the rise in social networking sites use and Cyber bullying, examine the gender differences in cyber bullying, determine changes in bullying strategies and scrutinize with a fresh eye the effects of cyber-bullying.
Limitations
It has always been alleged that the qualitative approach to research might not always lead to valid and reliable results. The critics of qualitative approach pinpoint that authors of secondary sources may at times report erroneous information rendering the corpus of such literature staggeringly unreliable (Wrenn, 2007; Kent, 1993). Additionally, even though the questionnaires will be designed diligently, it is still acknowledgeable that their no standard reference point against which the questions can be viewed in an attempt to define their validity and reliability. As Kasi (2009) writes, wrong questions and language may have adverse effects on the validity of a research project. Again, it cannot be decisively avowed that the sample size picked for the study will be the exact representation of the entire high school population that is directly affected by cyber bullying. Most importantly, since the research will not be replicated, the reliability of the research findings cannot be assured; Reliability of a study is the ability of the study to produce the same results is repeated (McFarland & Kim, 2006)
References
Kasi P. (2009). Research: What, Why and How?: A Treatise from Researchers to Researchers. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
Kent, R. A. (1993). Marketing Research in Action. New York, NY: Routledge.
McFarland, E. G., & Kim T. K. (2006). Examination of the Shoulder: The Complete Guide. New York, NY: Thieme Medical Publishers.
Wrenn, W. B. (2007). Marketing Research: Text and Cases, Second Edition. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press, Inc.
