SCHOLARLY AND PRODUCER PERCEPTIONS OF GENRE IN ADOLESCENT WEBLOGS more

Lois Ann Scheidt Dissertation Prospectus SCHOLARLY AND PRODUCER PERCEPTIONS OF GENRE IN ADOLESCENT WEBLOGS GENRE In contemporary scholarship, genres are defined as classes of communication that typically possess features known to their users, common forms and purposes, and name recognition (Swales, 1990). Another often-cited definition is that of Miller (1984, p. 156), who characterizes genres ―as typified rhetorical actions based in recurrent situations.‖ In applying both Swales and Miller to online communication, Herring, Scheidt, Bonus, & Wright (2004) observed that ―weblogs are a good prima facie candidate for genre status‖ based, in part, on the cultural acceptance of the terms weblog and blog. The researchers conclude that ―blogs, rather than deriving from a single source, are in fact a hybrid of existing genres, rendered unique by the combination of features of the source genres they adapt, and by their distinctive technical affordances‖ (Herring, Scheidt et al., 2004, n.p.). Building upon Herring, Scheidt et al. and Miller’s earlier work, Miller and Shepherd (2004) trace blogging’s roots to a diverse set of paper and electronic forms, including log books used in navigation, the commonplace book— notebooks that were kept to gather read or overheard quotations, the paper diary, webpages, and cam sites. Herring, Scheidt, Kouper, and Wright (2004) found that adolescents produced 31% of all the weblogs they studied in three samples (March/April 2003, September 2003, and April 2004) and found that adolescent blogs were overwhelmingly of the diary type. In their earlier work, Herring, Scheidt et al. (2004) found that the diary/personal journal genre was the most common form across all demographic categories. In reviewing genre categories of weblog predecessors, Mallon's (1984) work in categorizing paper diaries stands out. Mallon describes seven primary types of thematic diary: Chroniclers, Travelers, Pilgrims, Creators, Apologists, Confessors, and Prisoners. Mallon’s taxonomy does not consider the participant characteristics or structure; rather, he focuses on the thematic characteristics of the diary and its entries. An alternative approach to classification is that of Herring (2007), who proposes that faceted classification be used to classify computer-mediated communication (CMC) such as weblogs. Faceted classification allows for the assignment of multiple classification items to a artifact rather than forcing assignment of a single taxonomy category. Herring proposes a scheme of 10 medium factors and eight situation factors that are subdivided into more specific factors. She argues that since faceted classification ―does not rely on pre-existing modes,‖ it can be used to complement genre analysis and to offset some of its limitations when applied to emerging and innovative forms (section 1.1). Each of these scholarly approaches offers a potentially useful way to classify weblogs. ADOLESCENCE Adolescence – the second decade of life – ―is a period of transition: biological, psychological, social, and economic‖ (Steinberg, 2002, p. 3). It is a natural part of growing up. As young people work through their transitions, they develop bonds with their peer group, bringing about both positive and negative repercussions (Steinberg, 2002). Online spaces that allow adolescents to experiment with self-presentation and communication can facilitate the transmission of youth culture and peer groups. As many as 93% of American adolescents use the internet regularly (Lenhart, Madden, Macgill, & Smith, 2007; Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, & Zickuhr, 2010), and among other online activities, they blog and use social networking sites Lois Ann Scheidt (Lenhart, Madden, et al., 2007; Lenhart, Purcell, et al., 2010) or create other kinds of content (Lenhart, Horrigan, & Fallows, 2004; Lenhart, Purcell, et al., 2010). It is therefore likely that this age group will continue to expand the potential of the websites they frequent. GENRE PRACTICES OF ADOLESCENTS AS CONTENT PRODUCERS Both Swales (1990) and Miller's (1984) work implies that content creators possess a basic understanding of communication genres and their choices among them as they develop content. No scholarly research has been found that identifies how weblog producers negotiate the genre styles available to them as they produce their online work, however. The work of adolescent weblog content producers is of particular interest, as their nascent understanding of online communication forms and their limited experience with the full range of weblog forms available can illuminate the relationship between producer and scholarly perceptions of weblog genres. Independent of scholarly classifications, adolescent content producers are the most productive forces that move web development forward (Lenhart, Purcell, et al., 2010), making an understanding of their perspectives of particular interest to information scientists. In a performative turn, Scheidt (2006) applied Langellier's typology of audience (1998) to adolescent diary weblogs. This work begins to dissect the sub-genres of adolescent diary weblogs by first looking at the emotional placement of the audience within the producer’s work. Scheidt found that nearly 51% of adolescent weblog posts were asking the audience to witness the event from the producer's perspective. RESEARCH QUESTIONS This dissertation will look at three primary research questions related to the relationship between scholarly and producer perceptions of genre in adolescent weblogs. First, how do female and male adolescents view their own weblogs and their production of them? Second, which weblogs do the adolescent bloggers aspire to emulate and not to emulate? Finally, how do users' perceptions of their own blogs compare with established scholarly constructs of genre? METHODS First, a purposive sample of weblogs created by female and male adolescents will be collected. I am currently beginning a pilot study of keywords to locate this sample. My goal is to identify at least 300 English language weblogs produced by female and male adolescents, each with at least two entries made on different dates, the most recent of which must have been produced within 30 days of data collection. Complete identification of sample weblogs through automated means is not possible. Therefore, it is expected that potential sample candidates will require individual review to isolate the sample from a broader pool of candidates. Should purposive sampling fail to generate the necessary quantity of candidate weblogs, snowball sampling using the identified weblogs’ link lists, comments, and trackbacks will be used to locate additional female and male adolescent blogs. Relevant contact information for the adolescent bloggers will be gathered for each subject weblog, and if necessary inferred from the information provided. That contact information will then be used in sending an introductory email message and an invitation to participate in the online survey to the weblog producers. The online survey will collect information on the producers’ weblog activities, including production practices and thematic decision-making. The exact questions for the survey have not yet been developed; they will come largely from analysis 2 Lois Ann Scheidt done during a pilot study and through work to be done as part of my participation in S651 Topics in Quantitative Sociology with Dr. John Kennedy, Director of the Indiana University Center for Survey during second summer session 2010. Questions developed in this course will also be tested as part of the pilot study. It is expected that, given the age of the participants, the survey will have a low response rate. This assumption is behind the attempt to survey the entire sample population, rather than limiting this phase to a subsample of the whole. A minimum of 15 survey responses for each gender is targeted. The survey will ask participants if they are willing to be interviewed as part of the study. From the affirmative responses, at least five weblog producers of each gender will be interviewed to garner more nuanced insight than will be available in the survey. Interviews will be recorded for transcription and will take place using a Voice over IP (VoIP) system such as Skype. Theme analysis of narrative survey responses and interviews will be assisted through the use of a qualitative software package such as Nvivo (http://www.qsrinternational.com/). The weblogs of interview subjects will be explored more deeply utilizing content analysis and online ethnographic methods. The analysis will be targeted toward the structural, contextual, and thematic elements of individual weblogs. Investigations will look at the textual, design, and multimedia elements of the subject weblogs utilizing scholarly constructs of genre such as such as Herring, Scheidt et al. (2004), specialized taxonomies such as Mallon (1984), and faceted classification systems such as Herring (2007). ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES It is anticipated that adolescent producers’ perceptions of their weblogs will differ significantly from scholars’ external genre perspectives. It is also anticipated that producer perspectives on their blogs will be highly gendered, with girls perceiving their work to be diary entries and boys perceiving their work to be other then diary entries, even though in most cases their themes will be inwardly focused rather than external to themselves. It is also anticipated that male bloggers will aspire to emulate high profile public bloggers, while female adolescents will be more concerned with emulating the work of higher profile members of their social circle. POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Research on adolescent content creation in online environments is limited. Few studies have undertaken to assess producers’ perspectives on their own work, with most focusing on scholars’ external evaluations. This study aims to begin to bridge that gap by comparing producers’ internal evaluations of their work with the application of scholarly taxonomies to the same content, in order to increase knowledge of adolescent online practices. 3 Lois Ann Scheidt REFERENCES Herring, S. C. (2007). A faceted classification scheme for computer-mediated discourse. Language@Internet, 4, article 1. Retrieved December 26, 2007 from http://www.languageatinternet.de/articles/2007/761 Herring, S. C., Kouper, I., Scheidt, L. A., & Wright, E. (2004). Women and children last: The discursive construction of weblogs. In L. J. Gurak, S. Antonijevic, L. Johnson, C. Ratliff, & J. Reyman (Eds.), Into the blogosphere: Rhetoric, community, and culture of weblogs (n.p). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. Retrieved July 2, 2004 from http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/women_and_children.html Herring, S., Scheidt, L. A., Bonus, S., & Wright, E. (2004). Bridging the gap: A genre analysis of weblogs. Proceedings of the Hawaii International Conference on Systems Science HICSS37. Retrieved January 6, 2004 from http://www.blogninja.com/DDGDD04.doc Herring, S. C., Scheidt, L. A., Kouper, I., & Wright, E. (2006). A longitudinal content analysis of weblogs: 2003-2004. In M. Tremayne (Ed.), Blogging, citizenship and the future of media (pp. 2-30). London: Routledge. Langellier, K. M. (1998). Voiceless bodies, bodiless voices: The future of personal narrative performance. In S. J. Dailey (Ed.), The future of performance studies: Visions and revisions (pp. 207-213). Annandale, VA: National Communication Association. Lenhart, A., Horrigan, J. B., & Fallows, D. (2004). Content creation online. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved August 30, 2004 from http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Content_Creation_Report.pdf Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Macgill, A. R., & Smith, A. (2007). Teens and social media. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved January 24, 2008 from http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Social_Media_Final.pdf Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A. & Zickuhr, K. (2010). Social media & mobile internet use among teens and young adults. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved February 15, 2010 from http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2010/PIP_Social_Media_and_Young_A dults_Report.pdf Mallon, T. (1984). A book of one's own: People and their diaries. New York: Ticknor & Fields. Miller, C. R. (1984). Genre as social action. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 70, 151-167. Miller, C. R., & Shepard (2004). Blogging as social action: A genre analysis of the weblog. In L. J. Gurak, S. Antonijevic, L. Johnson, C. Ratliff, & J. Reyman (Eds.), Into the blogosphere: Rhetoric, community, and culture of weblogs (n.p). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. Retrieved November 14, 2004 from http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogging_as_social_action_a_genre_analysis_of_the_w eblog.html Scheidt, L. A. (2006). Adolescent diary weblogs and the unseen audience. In D. Buckingham & R. Willett (Eds.), Digital generations: Children, young people and new media (pp. 193210). London: Lawrence Erlbaum. Steinberg, L. D. (2002). Adolescence (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill College. Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 4