1. The Impact of Social Media
Updated: July 2018
The Impact of Social Media
Conducting Independent Enquiry About Social Media
Part A
(3 lesson-version)
sociology.hku.hk/impact-social-media

2. Welcome to Independent Enquiry Study !
Structured Enquiry Approach
School-based assessment
20% of your DSE final mark
Research on any issues related to the DSE LS curriculum
Submit a report of not more than 4,500 words

3. A Step by Step Guide
Part A
What are the issues I should focus my research on?
Part B
What concepts and methods are relevant to your IES?
Part C
What areas should I explain in detail for my enquiry issue?
Part D
How do I formulate an argument?

4. Part A: Problem Definition
What are the issues I should focus my research on?

5. 1. Getting You Thinking……
What socially significant issue do you feel interested in?
What are the debates related the issue?
Let’s take social media as an example!

6. Video Watching: Why do you think that social media is significant to research on? (p.4)
Watch this video at:
Social media is very popular and its impact is widespread.
Social media changes the way people communicate with each other.
Studies of social media may have policy implications etc.

7. 2. Choosing a Controversial Issue
a. What’s debatable? (p.6)
The impact of social media on education.
While some people believe social media has detrimental effect on academic
performance of students, others believe that social media benefits both
formal education and informal education.
b. Whose view might be relevant to the debate?
Students, teachers, parents etc.

8. 3. Choosing Your Focus Questions
Enquiry question: How does social media affect education?
How do teachers and students use social media?
How useful do parents from various socio-economic classes see social media in terms of their children’s formal and information education?
How do teachers develop school policy to regulate the use of social media in school?

9. Kahoot: Which of the enquiry questions are good?
Teachers can discuss with students about what research questions to choose.

10. Good Enquiry and Focus Questions Are:
Controversial
Allows you to discuss from multiple perspectives
Specific enough
Feasible to collect data to research on
Focus questions are relevant to the enquiry question

11. Your Turn…… P.9-10 of Student Pack
What is your enquiry issue and major enquiry question?
Why is your study significant? Who might the results be useful for and why? Could your results be used to create social policy? If so, how?
What controversy(ies) are you going to discuss in your IES?
What do you aim to achieve?
What focus questions do you ask?
Who do you want to study?
Where would you base your research and why?

12. If you are interested in debates related to social media… Check them out on p.4-5
Education
Individualism
Privacy
Students could be given some time in class to explore these topics and think about which one they may want to research on.
and many more…
Gender relations
Culture

13. Upcoming…
How do I identify and define key concepts? How do I choose my research method?