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Do my survey please! :) [] [] [] []

=** Week 1 **=

During the first lesson of Research Project, Ms McInnes goes through some basic research concepts. She re-introduces the D.L.S.O.P.E method which we should have known from year 11 and she goes through examples of what she expects an A-grade research project should look like. She also re-introduces the Wonder Wheel which as a program located on Google that is useful for helping us gain ideas for our research question.

So during the lesson, I did some wonder wheel searches and came up with this:



As you can see, I have chosen to do a topic about the dangers of the internet. My ideas are still somewhat undefined so I'm not quite sure where exactly I'm going to take this

Thursday: Spent Thursday's leson in the library where we were exposed to all different types of books that may assist us in securing our research topic idea. I was able to find a couple of books about the dangers of the internet.

=Week 2=

This week I mainly focussed on picking 5 articles from the search EBSCO. Ms McInnes has asked us to write a couple of sentences as to how the articles would help me in my research project. These are the articles I chose:

Available at: []
 * Article 1: Kids in Cyber Danger**

Reference: By DAVID, J 2010, 'Kids in cyber danger', //Sunday Times, The (Perth)//, p. 31, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCO//host//, viewed 8 February 2011.

According to Fedral Government cyber safety expert Greg Gebhart, children as young as 5 years old have been surfing the net via devices such as mobile phones, Playstation portables etc. This poses high risks for possibly exposing dangerous contents to children. Mr Genhart says parents should be aware of these things as nowadays it is very easy to gain access to the internet.

I chose this article because it's short, precise and gives relevant information on the issue.

Available at: []
 * Article 2: Your Kids on the Net **

Reference: Marinos, S 2008, 'your kids on the net', //Good Health & Medicine//, pp. 68-70, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCO//host//, viewed 8 February 2011.

The article gives an insight for parents about the dangers lurking on the net. Dangers such as pedophilia, access to information such as "How to commit suicide", cyber bullying and internet addiction which can therefore lead to obesity/health related problems. The article had various amounts of stats/data and real life situations along with tips on how to deal with it.

Available at: []
 * Article 3: Website Dangers Known and Ignored **

Reference: Editorial By MICHAEL HORTON, C 2010, 'Website dangers known but ignored', //Newcastle Herald, The (includes the Central Coast Herald)//, 3 June, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCO//host//, viewed 8 February 2011.

Statistics in a local area from this article shows that nearly half of them have a Facebook account, half of them have a chat room account and nearly 80% of them are aware of the dangers of socialising online but don't seem to care. On the other hand, the survey did reveal that some children are mature and sensible enough to be aware of these things.

Again, I chose this article because it had a lot of data based information in which could become very useful in my project.

Available at: []
 * Article 4: Warning: Kids face Internet Dangers **

Reference: Alison, M n.d., 'Warning: kids face. . .; Internet dangers', //Geelong News//, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCO//host//, viewed 8 February 2011

Most home computers (2/3 of Australian homes) don't have access to filtering systems hence anything inappropriate can pop up unexpectedly but having fiter systems doesn't always make surfing the internet any safer. This makes it easier for both children and adult to download x-rated material and illegal content such as child pornography.

I notice that nearly all the articles above have suggested parents to keep an eye and "shoulder watch" their children on the computer. They've also suggested to put the computer in a spot that can be easily monitered by the parents.

Avaliable at: []
 * Article 5: INTERNET. Lack of monitoring. We're failing our kids **

Reference: NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY WRITER STEPHEN, F 2010, 'INTERNET Lack of monitoring We're failing to protect our kids', //Advertiser, The (Adelaide)//, p. 17, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCO//host//, viewed 8 February 2011.

Another article which has quite a lot of data. It writes about what kinds of things children are doing while on the internet. Some of these including: giving out personal information, downloading pornography/illegal documents etc.

I've decided to stick with my topic and to help me gain a better understanding of what I want to get out of the research, I've written up 5 guiding questions. __** ﻿ **__ 1. What can parents do to keep their children safe? 2. What are some of the dangers of the internet? 3. Who is at risk and how can it affect them? 4. What are some signs that may show when a child is in a dangerous situation?

Thursday's lesson: Ms McInnes has asked up to write up a proposal. The proposal should give her a better understanding of what exactly I'm going to do and how I'm going to do it.

=**Week 3**= Monday: Ms McInnes teaches us about evaluating. One of the methods was the CRAP and it is an acronym which stands for **C**urrency, **R**eliability, **A**uthority and **P**urpose. Questions that fall under the headings are:

- How updated is the information? - When was the last time the website was updated? - Is the information too out of date for your research?
 * CURRENCY **

- What information is there? - What type of source is the information? Is it primary? - Does the author of the page credit or provide any references of his/her information/quotes?
 * RELIABILITY **

- Who are you getting the information from? - What are the credentials? - Who is the sponser/publisher and are they reliable? - Do you see any advertisements on the page?
 * AUTHORITY **

- Is the information provided sound bias? - Does it have facts or are they the author's opinions? - Do you feel like the author or creator is trying to sell you something?
 * PURPOSE **

Source: Karrer T. (2008). //The CRAP test..// Available: []. Last accessed 12th March 2011.

We were also introduced to the 5Ws. The 5 Ws is useful way of understanding how to do in depth research as well as providing a step by step guide to doing your research.

What is your research?
 * WHAT**

A question needs to be answered with as much specific detail as possible. Usually the first stages is the hardest although it'd be a lot easier to start off with a once sentence question that isn't too broad. Who will be involved in your research?
 * WHO**

It is a good idea to think about who, for example, you're going to get in touch with for surveys, interviews etc.

What is the reason for your chosen topic and what is the purpose of it?
 * WHY**

Think very carefully about why you've chosen the topic. A little bit of interest is a good start but think about whether or not your topic is too broad or whether or not you are capable of generating enough information or too much information. Think about the requirements for it and possible ways to present your findings.

When are you going to do your research?
 * WHEN**

By thinking about this is can help you with who your participants are going to be. If you're going to conduct an experiment make sure to prepare that several weeks earlier so you can have time to think about organising it. How are you going to do it?
 * HOW**

Think about the steps you're going to undergo. Will it be too difficult?

Source: Sanchez, A. (2006). //The Five 'ws' Of A Research.// Available: []. Last accessed 12th March 2011.

=**Week 4**= Tuesday: Today we did the five whys. This exercise helps generate ideas to help us look deeper into the topic.Ms McInnes gets us to do the 5 whys.

Why is the internet danergous? Because the internet is extremely large, can easily be updated with anything and is easily accessed by pedophiles and stalkers.

Why can pedophiles and stalkers access the internet easily? Because technology is extremely advanced nowadays and that itself allows anyone to be able to access it anywhere at anytime.

Why can anyone have access to it? Because it is widely avaliable and people depend on it.

Why do people depend on it? Because it can be used as a form of interaction, socialising, gaming etc.

Why do people use it as a form of socialisation? Because it's easier to socialise from at home on the computer rather than out of the house.

- Why is there climate change? Because there is an increase in greenhouse gases. - Why is there an increase of greenhouse gases? Because of the burning of fossil fuels. - Why do we burn fossil fuels? To get energy. - Why do we need this energy? For electricity and power. - Why do we depend so much on it? Because it was a cheap way of gaining power and back then people didn't know it was harming the environment.

=**Week 5**= I finished my concept map. I mapped out my ideas and potential answers for some of my guiding questions.



=**Week 6**= I've finished written up my survey on the Zoomerang site which Ms Woud introduced last week. This survey is for people of younger than 25 years. I'll be writing up another survey for the adults. This way I can keep track of the different age groups.

=**Week 7**= Ms McInnes keeps getting me to fix things up so this week I spent it finalising my proposal. To help me get to the A-standard of writing up the proposal, I'll refer to some of my peers. As well as that, I'm also preparing for my discussion. I got a friend who's already done the discussion to do a 'mock discussion' with me as a way of preparation. She gave me some tips on some of the questions I should ask which I found extremely helpful.

My booked time to do this with Ms McInnes is next Monday. Hopefully I can get my proposal done and printed off by then.

__Friday 18th__: Some of my friends have informed me about what's been going on in the news. Apparently there's this company that own an online site where they send and spread child pronography around the internet. I'll need to somehow find that.

__Saturday 19th__: I'm still keeping an eye on my survey. So far 15 people have completed it. I only need 5 more for it to be considered enough.



I still need to write up a survey for the older age group. I'll be writing one up and distributing it amongst teachers.

Also I've been discussing my topic with Onn. He's doing cyber bullying which is something that interwines with my topic. We're thinking of interviewing some kids at a primary school. Preferably his old primary school. So we'll need to get in contact with the principle/teachers first so that they know the situation. I think Hang would want to join us as she is doing schoolyard bullying which interwines with Onn's topic.

=**Week 8**= Browsed the internet and stumbled across an internet safety expert. I'll consider emailing him sometime this week.

I've fixed up my proposal.

**ASSESSMENT TYPE 1: The folio proposal **

**TOPIC: Kids, teens and the dangers of the internet **

I initially came up with my topic during the school holidays. Google played a part at assisting me with generating potential topics but unfortunately none of them really interested me that much to the point where I wanted to do an in-depth research on it. So the only option I had left was to come up with something myself. Then one day I came across this document on T.V where they were talking about online dating and how some people on there don’t appear to who they say they are. This interested me and so I began to think about the dangers of online dating. In the end I had come to the conclusion that the particular topic wasn’t extensive enough to be researched and so I broadened it up to the dangers of the internet. I then thought about whom I was going to aim this towards and because I had previously seen a lot articles circulating around children, teens and the internet, I decided to focus my research mainly on the dangers of the internet involving teens and children.

**Research method ** For my primary source I plan on creating 2 separate surveys - one for the students and one for the adults. This will easier for me to monitor and keep the age groups organised. I’ll also be conducting interviews in which Onn, Hang and I will be talking to children from a primary school. I have also decided to interview experts in this area of interest so that I can gain further information from a professional’s point of view making sure that I either record them or keep a copy of a written transcription. As well as that I’ll be visiting the library for more resources.

For my secondary sources I'll be using the school provided site, Ebscohost, to gain updated articles on the issue in the past. As well as that, I plan on researching statistics in the past as well as updated statistics and comparing them.

As part of the ethical concerns, I will need to ask permission before having any interviews done and ensuring that all my surveys will be anonymous/confidential. This will reduce survey-takers feeling uncomfortable about expressing their opinions. I’ll also express information that is provided to me will be used towards this research project.

This will be recorded on the provided Wikispace and my final write up will be written in the 1500 word report.

**Capabilities ** Out of the 5 capabilities, the one that is most relevant to my research topic is citizenship. This was my chosen capability because I will be involved in the community educating/talking to the students. I believe that this is a form of citizenship as I’ll have to learn to respect and acknowledge their points of views/rights even if it is against what I am thinking.

Word count: 485 words.

﻿Monday: I got my discussion over and done with. Although I kept stumbling every now and then, I thought it went alright. Ms McInnes has allowed me to make contact with an American internet safety expert. I'll need to think of emailing him some time this week.

Tuesday: I did a couple of Google searches and have found some 'internet safety' experts. Since I can't seem to reach the other person, I might consider emailing these other people.

I came across a site called Enough is Enough which is a site based on providing tips and information on how to keep children and families safe on the internet. I thought it was the most suitable site for my project so I've sent an email off to them asking if I could conduct an interview.

Thursday: I've been checking up on my emails since Monday. So far I haven't gotten a reply from them yet. So I might consider moving on and finding another person to interview.

Saturday: It's been close to a week and I have yet to recieve a response from the people I have sent the email to. I'll be doing some more research to see if I can contact another person.
 * Week 9**

Tuesday: Ms McInnes found me an article called "Teens ignore online risk".

Friday: I sent off an email to Pennington Primary School. Onn and I have planned to make a visit there and survey the kids to get a range of ages to have completed the survey. Currently awaiting a reply.

=**Week 10**=
 * - Monday:** Haven't yet recieved an email from the organisation from last week nor have I received an email from the school either. I've told Ms McInnes about this and she has rung the school up for me. Also I contacted Rob Nickel on Twitter since I can't seem to reach him through email. Rob is a professional Canadian public speaker, expert on cyber saftey and creatpr of the site [|Cyber Safety] I have asked him through twitter for his email address. Hopefully he'll reply soon and agree to answering my interview questions.

This week I will mainly focus on trying to survey the primary school kids and the teachers there. This will ensure I gain data from all age groups. I will also need to write up my interview question and get them checked by Ms McInnes. I will also think about writing up the draft of my 1500 essay.

-**Tuesday**: Rob replies via twitter and sends me his email. Now I need to discuss with him whether I could interview him.

I've sent off the email. Now I need to wait for his reply.

Received a reply and Rob has agreed to answer my questions. I'll need to write them up first.


 * Friday:** I told Ms McInnes about not having a reply from my primary school and so she has called up the school for me. I'll need to call him up myself sometime next week.

=Week 11=
 * Tuesday:** I have finished my interview questions so now I need to get them checked by Ms McInnes before sending it to Rob. This week I'll need to focus on writing up my 500 word outcome and contacting my primary school teacher. I'll see him on Wednesday and make sure to record our conversation.


 * Wednesday:** This is a copy of the email I sent to Rob. I've informed him that I'll be using that information for this project and he has agreed to it.


 * Thursday:** Ms McInnes has marked my interview questions and I have sent a copy off to him. Now I will be awaiting his reply.




 * Friday:** Today the Outcome Draft of 500 words is supposed to be due but since I have a pretty busy schedule I could not complete it on time. I have negotiated with Ms McInnes and she has agreed to let me hand up during the holidays.

=**Holidays Week 1**=
 * Tuesday:** I have been regularly checking up on my inbox. Still awaiting Rob's reply to my questions. Fingers cross he does!!!

This week I will be focusing more on trying to finish the draft of my outcome before sending it off the Ms McInnes. I should be done soon.

=**Term 2 Week 1**=
 * Monday:** I haven't been able to spend time on my outcome so I'm working on it this lesson. During the holidays I have been keeping track of my emails awaiting Rob's reply. Unfortunately he hasn't replied yet so I have sent him a message on Twitter.


 * Tuesday:** This lesson I'm focusing mainly on researching for information to answer my guiding questions. Unfortunately Rob has not replied yet so I have sent him the email again just incase the first one didn't reach him. If he doesn't reply, I would have to find someone else to interview.
 * Friday:** Went to speak with Mr Pizamolas at Pennington Primary School. He has agreed to letting me survey/take pictures of the kids. Also, I've decided that I won't be waiting for Rob to reply so I've contacted another internet safety expert from the site [] which stands for Internet Education and Safety Services.

This was my email:



=**Week 2**=


 * Monday:** Checked my email and got a reply:

This lesson I will be sending off the interview questions and constructing the survey questions for the Primary school kids.