• Chapter 4 and 5 should be fully referenced, preferably using the Harvard style, e.g. (Hall, 1992: 120).
• Referencing. Harvard University style.
• If you are referring to a theorist’s work and not quoting (Surname date: page). If you are quoting, (Surname date: page).
• If you are referring to a website (Source of website date).
• In the bibliography (which should be alphabetised) it is Surname, Initial. (date) Title. Place: Publisher for books and Source date available from: URL [accessed on date].
Research Project Title:
SOCIAL MOVEMENT IN DIGITAL SPACE: How Twitter Gives Individuals in Egypt the Social Power to Mobilise, Organise, Share Ideas and News during the Arab Spring
Research Question(s)/Problem(s) [Definitive focus:
What is the importance of Twitter in Arab Spring countries, what is the concept of social movement, and what are the factors of this social movement in Arab Spring countries? These concerns lead us to the following research question: How did the youth used Twitter for social mobilisation and political change in Arab world (Egypt)?
Research Aims and Objectives:
The development of social media and its use as a political tool is an important topic in various Arab and Western research institutions, as well as one of the most important non-academic topics in the Arab region. This project aims: To investigate how youth in the Arab world (Egypt) used social media (Twitter) to mobilise themselves to influence political change in Egypt
Context/Background & Rationale:
Rationale:
Twitter was used in swift mobilising of Arab youth toward influencing political change (in Egypt), whereas the traditional media failed them in Egypt.
Background in chapter One:
The Arab world is often represented through certain stereotypes, such as the following: post-colonialism, Orientalism, self-Orientalism, violent stereotyping, and backwardness (Edward Said).
It is important to explore the story of the Arab Spring: Where did it start and how it spread? The Arab Spring occurred because traditional media did not carry the voice of the people, while social media did. Social media platforms enable the free flow of information in real time.
Even when the government attempts to contain information by controlling local stations and traditional media, digital media gives voice and social power to individuals.
This project explores political activism in the Arab Spring and how Twitter exposed the challenges of democracy. It also discusses Twitter as a force and its multiplier effect in the Tahrir Square protest (Egypt).
The role of Twitter in the Arab Spring is one of the most hotly contested subjects in the study of contemporary social movements and revolutions in the present-day Arab world.
Globalization is currently one of the defining characteristics of world politics, and one of its most contentious issues concerns the contemporary democracies of the Arab world, particularly through the lens of the influence of social media.
Theoretectical Position/s [theories to be employed in making sense of, or analysing, the chosen topic, citing theorists]:
– Twitter (social media).
– Arab spring (Social movement).
– Political change in Egypt.
– Egypt (Tahrir square) and the importance of Egypt in the Arab world.
Method/ology and Sources [Tools/techniques to be employed in the gathering and analysis of data; methods of accessing/acquiring data or evidence or information; sources of the data]:
Methodology:
Virtual ethnography
– Strengths
– Weakness
Anthropological approach
You have to use this Sources including also your additional sources:
BOOKS, JOURNALS, WEBSITE
Contents (Initial)
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Abstract
1. Chapter One (background) : Introduction to Twitter as an instrument of social movement in Egypt during the Arab Spring
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background to the study
1.3 Research problems/questions
1.4 Purpose of the study
1.5 Aim and objectives
1.6 Significance of the study
1.7 Scope of the study
1.8 Organisation of the study
1.9 Conclusion
2. Chapter Two: A Review of Literature ( Twitter and social movement) 5000 words you can change
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Social Media
2.3 Overview of Twitter
2.4 Social movements and twitter in Egypt before the Arab Spring
2.6 The Arab spring in Egypt (Social movement).
2.7 Political change in Egypt
2.8 The role of Twitter in political and social change in Egypt
2.9 Traditional media and Arab spring
2.10 Twitter as a Tactical Tool of Mobilization, Communication, and Coordination
2.12 International Attention
3. Chapter Three: Research Method
3.1 Research (Virtual Ethnographic Research)
3.2 Research Strategy
3.3 Research Design
3.4 Theoretical Approach
3.5 Data Collection
3.6 Ethical Concern
3.7 Limitation
4. Chapter Four: Data Analysis and Results (3000 words )
(from December 2010 to December 2011)
4.0 introductions
4.1 Data analysis use (Figure, charts, diagrams)
4.2 Results
4.3 outcomes
4.4 Discussion
4.5 Limitation
4.6 conclusion
5. Chapter Five: Conclusion and Future (3000 words )
5.1. Introduction
5.2 The future of social media (Twitter ) in the Arab countries
5.3 Summary of major findings
5.4 Conclusions
5.5 Limitations and recommendation for future research
5.6 Conclusion
7. Figure, charts, diagrams
8. References
9. Appendices
Research Question:
What is the importance of Twitter in Arab Spring countries, what is the concept of social movement, and what are the factors of this social movement in Arab Spring countries? These concerns lead us to the following research questions:
1- What was the political climate of Egypt before the Arab Spring?
2- How did social movements lead to the Arab Spring in Egypt?
3- How is Twitter used to mobilize youth for political change and democracy in Egypt?
4- How did Twitter influence political change and democracy in Egypt?
5- What is the future role of twitter in the Arab Spring?
Aims and Objectives:
The development of social media and its use as a political tool is an important topic in various Arab and Western research institutions, as well as one of the most important non-academic topics in the Arab region. This project aims to:
1- Examine the role of Twitter in social movements and its influence on political change in Egypt
2- Investigate how twitter led to the Arab Spring in Egypt
3- Review how twitter has been used to mobilize youth for political change and democracy
4- Investigate the influence of Twitter on political change and democracy in Egypt
5- Determine the future role of twitter in the Arab world
Dissertation structure
Introduction – needs to be punchy, engaged, lively … try and give the impression that this is a dissertation that needs to be read. The person that’s marking it needs to get the sense that you’re excited about what you’ve got to say.
Good ones often use a ‘hook’ – a short story or poem or interest piece that grabs attention.
Then needs brief overview of dissertation structure, aims objectives, purpose of the project, and summary of the conclusions.
Literature Review – this section needs to show a real depth of understanding of all the work that’s gone before. Don’t write a literature review that says ‘this person did/said x, y and z, and this person said a, b and c.’ That style of literature review will only produce a surface level understanding.
Instead try and pull apart the contradictions and tensions in what’s been written before about your topic – you might be able to find an area where you can contribute or say something original.
The literature review also needs to have a funnel structure, starting with something broad, and then narrowing down to the more specific aspects of your own research topic. It sometimes makes sense to have subheadings if there are a few themes to the literature.
It doesn’t need to be everything that’s ever been said that has any vague resemblance to your own – that can often be impossible, and depth is always better than breadth. But you also need to show that, in the background to this depth, there is a good understanding of other work.
Methods – By the end of your literature review you should be able to define your own topic. You then need to show how you went about researching it.
Typically, there are three parts to a methods section – the underlying principles of your approach, the way you collected the things you’ll be analyzing, and the methods you used to make sense of your material.
The first section will be about approaches e.g. are you taking a social constructionist, symbolic interactionist, feminist, poststructuralist etc ect approach, or a combination of approaches (and if a combination, how do these approaches fit together, are there any tensions). What are the theoretical lenses you’re using to make sense of your project? You might want to think about what kinds of knowledge that sort of approach might produce in comparison to others.
You then need to give detail on the things you collected e.g. if it’s a television programme, when was it made, who are the target audience, what are the viewing figures, and so on. If it’s more field based, e.g. interviews, when where and how did they take place, how did you recruit. It can also be good to give info on the experience of doing this – how did it feel.
Finally, you need to talk and show an understanding of the methods of analysis e.g. textual, semiotic, visual, discourse, autoethnographic, thematic, phenomenological, reflexive.
You need to make sure you understand your method of analysis well, and that it makes sense in relation to the other sections e.g. if you say your approach is realist, and you then claim to be doing a discourse analysis, something’s not right! Equally, a visual analysis of interviews might create some problems, unless you used visual texts in the interviews (although it would be expected that you’d still want to do something with the spoken text).
Analysis – this is the section of the dissertation where it really is over to you!
You do need to demonstrate that the work in the first half of the dissertation relates to your analysis (and this is a good reason for starting to write the dissertation here), but this section should be about your application of everything that’s gone before.
So you need to show when the theories discussed in your literature review are evident in your own analysis. You’ll also need to demonstrate the ideas that you mentioned in the methods section – e.g. is this really a textual, semiotic, visual, discourse, auto ethnographic, thematic, phenomenological, reflexive analysis.
Discussion – Don’t bring in anything new! This is a summary and a pulling together of everything that’s been said, showing where the links and potential future work could be developed based on your own ideas.
Highlight the originality of your work and demonstrate that the work hangs together. And end on something punchy!
