Effects of Media Violence on Children - Research Proposal Example

1,051 words Effects of Media Violence on Children A Research Strategy a. Problem Description Media is a powerful medium in influencing behaviors of people. Children nowadays are exposed to the influence of media from television to the internet. Parents rely on television or computer games to entertain their children while they do their regular household chores. They even make it an incentive for their children when they do well in school or behave well at home such as giving them gifts for computer games or extending their television hour. Thus, children spend more time in front of media facilities in a day than any other activities. The problem with today’s media is the prevalence of the use of violent actions or languages that can have an effect on the behavior and perception of children on how they should act with others. Many are concerned particularly on its impact on aggressive behaviors (Freedman, n.d.) of children towards other people like their parents and peers. They might think that it is alright to act violently towards another person since they easily see it being done through media presentations. As I see various media presentations that are accessible to children. I am compelled to know what exactly the effects of media violence on children are. This question is the main problem that I want to resolve through valid and verified information and not just opinions given by people. Thus, I am planning to use the following research strategy to resolve this problem. b. Information needs, sources and usage to resolve the problem The following information is needed to resolve the issue on what are the effects of media violence on children. The presentation of this section identifies first the needed information that will help to resolve the problem, the rationale for gathering such specific information or how the information will be used to resolve the problem and the potential sources for it. Overall, the internet will be the major sources of information for this research. It will tapped online archive of books, academic oriented encyclopedias, published journals available on net and studies conducted by government and non-government agencies available in their respective websites. Online libraries of the university will be thoroughly exhausted for this research. Personal interviews of relevant personnel particularly in the field of psychology, sociology and media will also be interviewed as needed. Definition of media violence-What makes it violent? It is important to know the standard definition of media violence as set by field professionals from sociology, social relations, media studies and psychology to help streamline information gathering. It will ensure that the subsequent information gathered will be inline with the definition of media violence. Sources for this information are media violence related studies published in journals related to media, psychology, and sociology. Statistics on the prevalence of violence in media It is imperative to determine the extent of violence cited in media as well as determine what types of media accessible to children espouses more violence compared to other types of media. This information is necessary to established that there is really an incidence of violence in media that can influence children’s behavior. Sources for this information are published journals related to psychology, sociology and media as well as government and non-government agencies that monitor and evaluate the presence of violence in media presentations accessible to the public particularly to children. Figures on the time spent on media and types of media watched by children It is crucial that the research established the amount of time spent by children in the United States exposed to media presentations as well as determine what types of media children usually watched or exposed to in their homes, schools, and in other public places. It is crucial to gather this information so that the research can establish that there is substantial amount of time spent by children exposed to media that can possibly influence their psyche. Sources of this information are government and non government statistics provided for example by the Administration for Children and Families, and other agencies that monitor children’s welfare. Other sources are published studies by children’s welfare organizations, universities and government and non government agencies available in academic journals. Effects of media violence on children This last information directly answers the problem of this research. It must clearly show the effects of media violence on children with the definition and incidence supported by the previously identified information. It should also show what are the “effects of these effects” to the formation of social relationship of children and its subsequent impact when they reach adult age. It should be gathered from professional sources such as peer reviewed studies from academic journals, research conducted by government and non-government agencies. c. Process in evaluating information to be gathered Evaluation and acceptance of information will be based on validity and reliability. It should not be mere perceptions of individuals or groups writing on net or perception of writers of published books. There should be a basis why a particular source cited particular information. Thus, randomly selected sources that present information that has not corroborated by research will not be considered to resolve the problem of this research. The following step by step process will be observed in evaluating what information should be accepted as references for this research. Step 1. Date of publication of sources must be recent particularly for statistics gathered studies and government and non-government sponsored research. Other sources should have at least a publication date of three to five years from the current year. Step 2. Studies published in journals must be peer reviewed to ensure that it went through the process of review of professionals from relevant fields. Step 3. Source of information must not be overly biased in the information it made available to the public. It is acceptable though that studies used for this research will be sponsored by bias sources such as government and non-government agencies in charge of children’s welfare. However, information from them must be within the requirements of step 2. Step 4. Field professionals to be considered for interview must have attained higher education and enough experience in their respective fields such as attaining a masters or doctorate degree and published at least three research papers that they conducted themselves to ensure that they know exactly what they are talking about making the information reliable. Bibliography Bruckman, A. (2005, December). Student Research and the Internet. Communications of the ACM Vol. 48, No. 12, pp. 35-37 Elder, L. & Paul, R. (2003). Critical Thinking: Teaching Students How to Study and Learn (Part IV). Journal of Development Education, Vol. 27 No. 1 pp. 36-37 Freedman, J. (n.d.) Media Violence and Its Effect on Aggression. Media Awareness Network. Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/effects_media_violence.cfm on 27 NOvember 2009 Foster, A.  (2007, March). Information Navigation 101. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(27), A38-A40.  Retrieved November 18, 2009, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1255298491). Goett, J. & Foote, K. (2000). Cultivating student research and study skills in Web-based learning environments. Journal of Geograpahy in Higher Education, Vol. 24 No.1. Retrieved November 18, 2009 from Research Library (Document ID: 5914022) Read More