Event Abstract

The “application” of Facebook as a research tool to explore human behaviour and the self-coding done by “participants”

  • 1 Athlone Institute of Technology, Nursing & Healthcare, Ireland
  • 2 Ulster University, School of Nursing and Institute of Nursing and Health Research, Northern Ireland
  • 3 Ulster University, School of Nursing and Institute of Nursing and Health Research, Northern Ireland

Rationale Alcohol misuse can negatively impact on the physical, psychological, social and financial aspects of individuals, their families, and society. Recent figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2015) rank Ireland fourth out of its 34 member countries for annual consumption. In light of this and the dramatic increase in alcohol related morbidity and mortality in the 18-29 age group and reports such as one in four Irish people disclosing they have experienced harm as a result of someone else’s alcohol consumption (Hope 2014), alcohol misuse especially among young adults has been identified as a public health priority. It has been suggested that Social Networking Sites (SNSs) expose important information about how young adults are interacting with one another. It has also been suggested that it is also possible to learn about the behaviour of individuals through what they choose to display publically on SNSs. Aim As part of a wider research project to inform the development of an intervention to address the issue of alcohol misuse by young people in the context of social media in the Republic of Ireland, a study to describe the shared patterns of behaviours and language of young adults on Facebook in Ireland with regard to alcohol has been undertaken. Methodology A virtual ethnographic approach using non-participant observation was utilized to follow the interactions of participants on Facebook. Purposive sampling was used to identify participants aged 18-29 years old, living in the Republic of Ireland and who had a publically available Facebook profile. Permission to conduct this research was granted by the Filter Committee of the Health Research Ethics and Governance Committee at Ulster University. Using a codebook specifically developed for the study the content on each participants’ profile over a 30-day period was reviewed for e.g. textual comments, pictures and down loaded icons for any references in relation to alcohol. Analysis Data collection and content data analysis will be completed by December 2016. Results Some of the preliminary recurrent themes emerging from the data regarding conversations of interest relating to alcohol consumption include; planning alcohol drinking activities, negative effect/consequences of alcohol consumption, reaching the legal age for alcohol consumption, special occasions. Conclusion Conclusions and recommendations will be presented once full data collection and analysis is complete. In addition to providing findings from this observational study the researcher will also report some of the challenges that were encountered when utilizing Facebook as a data collection tool.

References

Hope, A. 2014. Alcohol’s harm to others in Ireland. Dublin: Health Service Executive.
OECD. 2015. Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use: Economics and Public Health Policy, OECD Publication. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181069-en [Accessed 12 October 2015]

Keywords: facebook, social networking sites, Research tool, Lurking, observational research

Conference: 3rd UCL Centre for Behaviour Change Digital Health Conference 2017: Harnessing digital technology for behaviour change, London, United Kingdom, 22 Feb - 23 Feb, 2017.

Presentation Type: Research abstract

Topic: Digital Health

Citation: Larkin JM, Kernohan G and Lagan BM (2017). The “application” of Facebook as a research tool to explore human behaviour and the self-coding done by “participants”. Front. Public Health. Conference Abstract: 3rd UCL Centre for Behaviour Change Digital Health Conference 2017: Harnessing digital technology for behaviour change. doi: 10.3389/conf.FPUBH.2017.03.00058

Received: 22 Feb 2017; Published Online: 22 Feb 2017.

* Correspondence: Mr. John M Larkin, Athlone Institute of Technology, Nursing & Healthcare, Athlone, Westmeath, Ireland, jlarkin@ait.ie

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