#mayhaps i will start a video essay channel where i do research like this...

[derridoid]

Very interested in your thesis 👀

ALRIGHT. putting this under the cut because it's A Lot and i don't wanna clog up your dash. but i'll go ahead and pop in the link to my thesis here! tl;dr - 80 pages of scholarly research that answers the question "why do people use tumblr?"

so, because i'm a grown up with a considerable presence on the web, i'll share some potentially personal info. i don't have any concerns about being doxxed or anything like that lmao this is tumblr dot com.

i completed my masters degree about a year ago at bowling green state university. bgsu is one of the few institutions in this area of the country that has programs for cultural studies, so it was a great fit for me.

my thesis's goal was to use qualitative, humanistic research methods to understand the broad culture of tumblr - that is to say, i wanted to study people and their experiences on the site. basically, my thesis advisor and i sat down and asked, "what the fuck is up with tumblr?" and developed a research methodology to answer this question. my methods were inductive, meaning that i went in and gathered data, took a look at my notes, and generated a conclusion that answered the question.

i did it within the realm of "constructivist grounded theory," which is a specific way to apply inductive reasoning to humanistic research. it focuses on how experiences construct meaning and value; people don't inherently give sites like tumblr value, they use it in a way that creates that for them. the basic steps of the research method are as follows: go over your literature to get an idea for what you're up to, collect your data (in my case, interview users of tumblr), "code" your data (go over the transcripts word by word and look for similarities/draw conclusions), go back into the field and interview MORE people, and then draw a conclusion that answers your question (which is usually "what is up with this thing").

i'm really proud of my thesis and the "theory of tumblr" i came up with (which i'll put in a blockquote at the end of this answer), but there are some things i'd change in the future if i go on to do a phd. i would have liked to go back out into the field to interview more people - i didn't have time for this since i only had two semesters to write my thesis lmao. i also would have liked to get a broader sample size. i was deep into bandom hell, so a lot of my research participants were in that subculture as well. they were all also personal acquaintances and friends - it would have been nice to interview perfect strangers! i guess my theory of tumblr is more "theory of a handful of people in my bubble who are part of a very specific subculture and all have very similar demographic/social backgrounds"

if anyone wants to build off this research, i recommend setting a survey out into the wild on tumblr and THEN doing interviews. give it a nice mix of multiple choice/slider questions as well as some short answer questions. look for overarching themes and similarities in all those responses! and maybe make one of your survey questions "can we reach out to you with further questions?" so you can do interviews that are more in depth. interview a few people at a time, see what they say, and then go out and interview more people and see if they say the same thing. don't be afraid to update your research question or change what themes you focus on. if your findings are different than what you expect, that means you're onto something cutting edge!

also - i TOTALLY recommend doing interview via zoom like i did. if you have a premium subscription, it'll generate a transcript for you in real time, so you don't have to sit down, listen to the audio, and transcribe it chunk by chunk. makes coding WAY easier.

as promised: my academic "theory of tumblr":

Tumblr is a microblogging social media platform that has been turned by users into an emergent space for community development, cultural creation, and identity affirmation. The aspects of the site that prove significant to its construction and userbase include but are not limited to the userbase’s focus on social engagement through shared interests and worldviews, the uniqueness of the site’s design, the prioritization of marginalized and diverse people, and the performance and refinement of user identities. These nuances of Tumblr have made it continuously relevant to users, even when considering both positive and negative personal experiences on the platform, as it helps provide a sense of connectivity and authenticity in an increasingly virtual world.

#frankie.txt #i love infodumping abt my thesis #i'm no longer in academia but i still take pride in it #mayhaps i will start a video essay channel where i do research like this...