Social Networking Sites

December 15, 2020

Research Project Proposal Outline

1. Introduction

This paper will focus on social networking sites and their contribution to marketing and brand development. Over the past decades, the rise in social networking sites has proven very useful in the growth of businesses (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). Most companies have assimilated this technological advancement to aid in marketing and branding, thus becoming an interesting research topic.

2. Background

The rise in technological advancement has facilitated global connections through social networking, with millions of subscribers joining for various reasons. Many studies have been conducted on social networking sites' role in morality, education, health, industrialization, and inequality (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). However, regarding its contribution to fostering marketing and branding of products, it remains a significant concern of whether it has met its intended target or not. Inconclusive research done on this area propels further discussion to be conducted, making it relevant and crucial.

3. Rationale

This paper focuses on two research questions:

1. What is the impact of social networking sites on business marketing and branding?

2. Are the results of using social networking sites in marketing and branding short term or long term?

These questions will answer these sites' effectiveness, efficiency, and reliability in growing the business world.

4. Method and Design

Data to be used will be collected primarily by interviewing a sample of business owners. This provides first-hand information that is accurate and reliable. When interviewing, questions will be kept short, simple, concise, objective, and precise (Baškarada & Koronios, 2018). Participants will also be allowed to give their personal experience. The use of updated descriptive data will again come from secondary sources such as journals and books to support and provide evidence of its contribution over the years. It is also readily available and cheaper.

Participants of this study will be business owners because they are active users of this business platform. A sample of small-scale and large-scale businesses will be considered. The age limit will not be considered for participants.

Thus, the research follows a descriptive design type since it best describes the relationship between variables of interest (Baškarada & Koronios, 2018). The relationship between social networking sites, marketing and branding will be determined, its impact, and its timeframe.

Descriptive studies are often done before an experiment to determine what specific things to manipulate and include in an experiment. They answer questions such as "what is" or "what was." This study's focus is to establish the relationships between variables of interest (Baškarada & Koronios, 2018). It is important to note that just because variables are related, does not significantly mean that one will cause the other. When interviewing, questions will be kept short, simple, concise, objective, and precise. Participants will also be allowed to give their personal experiences.

The results will be analyzed through correlation analysis, line graphs, and descriptive tables. The use of pie charts will also be widely used. Results showing a higher correlation between variables would suggest a stronger relationship between social networking sites and marketing and branding. An increasing trend in line graphs describes the significant impact of social networking sites on marketing and branding (Baškarada & Koronios, 2018). Higher variations from the line graph will describe the instability of the sites in adding value to marketing and branding. Smaller values of correlation will demonstrate insignificant effects.

5. Significance and Conclusion

This study will be crucial to business partners, students, and the government in shaping the direction in which businesses should take to increase their marketing and share in the global economy (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). Also, business partners will be better informed of the demand for their goods and services in the market. The growth of social networking sites will also help digitalize the business world and reduce production costs.

References

Baškarada, S., & Koronios, A. (2018). A philosophical discussion of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research in social science. Qualitative Research Journal.

Moser, A., & Korstjens, I. (2018). Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 3: Sampling, data collection, and analysis. European Journal of General Practice, 24(1), 9-18.

Research Topic- Social Networking Sites

Research Topic- Social Networking Sites

For the research project, I pick social networking sites as my topic of interest. Precisely, the research will aim to explore the effectiveness/impact of social networking organizational brand image. Technological advancements and the development of the computer, mobile technologies, and the internet have opened numerous avenues for people to interact remotely, efficiently, and faster (Nisar & Whitehead, 2016).

Due to these technological developments, millions of people worldwide have internet access and subscribe to at least one social networking site. This has provided businesses with opportunities for marketing and brand development. However, there is inconclusive research regarding social media's role and effectiveness as a tool for branding (Nisar & Whitehead, 2016). The inconclusive research makes the proposed study both relevant and significant.

To ensure that the research results are reliable and devoid of bias, I will provide high levels of objectivity. Also, I will ensure that the data collected is not based on my previous knowledge regarding social networking sites to ensure that the findings are not my opinions (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). Further, data to support my study’s interpretations will be collected from many sources to ensure triangulation and verification. Finally, I will ask some of my peers to review the findings from the research.

In conducting the research, both primary and secondary data sources will be used. Secondary sources will constitute data that has already been collected by other people or institutions and which can provide important literature for use in completing the study. On the other hand, primary data sources are original and collected first hand for given research (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). In the case of the proposed study, journal articles and books can be used as primary data sources.

To ensure that the data collected is valid, reliable, and up to date, I will select data sources published recently and peer-reviewed articles to ensure the accuracy of the collected data (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). Moreover, the data sources ( both primary and secondary) will be selected based on relevance to the topic to ensure that the research meets its desired goal of exploring the role and effectiveness of social networking sites on brand image.

Scholarly journals are original research articles that are written by experts and researchers in a specific academic discipline. They provide a forum through which knowledge can be produced and critiqued. Some of the critical characteristics of a scholarly journal include:

· Authors have certain credentials

· They are longer than five pages.

· They have a specific focus. For instance, contributing original or new research on a narrow topic

· Formal language, and structure.

Scholarly journals provide alternative viewpoints and explanations regarding specific research arguments (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). Subsequently, they will offer in-depth knowledge and data on the topic and provide a basis for validating my research findings. Moreover, Scholarly articles will be a useful source of primary data for completing the study.

References

Moser, A., & Korstjens, I. (2018). Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 3: Sampling, data collection, and analysis. European Journal of General Practice, 24(1), 9-18.

Nisar, T. M., & Whitehead, C. (2016). Brand interactions and social media: Enhancing user loyalty through social networking sites. Computers in Human Behavior, 62, 743-753.

DB 6

Reflect on your topic for the Unit 9 Assignment. Now that you have completed the research on your topic, think critically about how this event has affected you personally.

· Explain your reaction to the event. Do you see this event as having positive or negative implications or a combination of both?

· Explain how your background, culture, as well as other various societal-defining statuses affect your response to your event.

· Since your Unit 9 Assignment is to be a neutral research paper (not persuasive or opinion based) how will you remain neutral while completing final research and writing about the event?

I have attached in other docs the topic