Online research methods: An interview with Dr Neil Coulson

Dr Neil Coulson, Associate Professor in Health Psychology at the University of Nottingham, is at the forefront of online research methods. His primary research explore the role of online support communities, online surveys, and the role of social networking sites for people with a range of health conditions. As part of the Working Party on Internet Mediated Research (a committee of the BPS Research Board), Dr Coulson has recently helped to revise the Ethics Guidelines for Conducting Internet Mediated Research

Maori & Psychology Research Unit annual report 2004

Annual report of the Maori and Psychology Research Unit (MPRU) 2004. The unit was established in August of 1997. The unit is designed to provide a catalyst and support network for enhancing research concerning the psychological needs, aspirations, and priorities of Maori people. The MPRU is well situated to draw together skilled and experienced interdisciplinary research groups by networking and establishing working relationships with staff and students within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the University, and the wider community

Maori & Psychology Research Unit annual report 2009

Annual report of the Maori and Psychology Research Unit (MPRU) 2009. The unit was established in August of 1997. The unit is designed to provide a catalyst and support network for enhancing research concerning the psychological needs, aspirations, and priorities of Maori people. The MPRU is well situated to draw together skilled and experienced interdisciplinary research groups by networking and establishing working relationships with staff and students within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the University, and the wider community

Maori & Psychology Research Unit annual report 2006

Annual report of the Maori and Psychology Research Unit (MPRU) 2006. The unit was established in August of 1997. The unit is designed to provide a catalyst and support network for enhancing research concerning the psychological needs, aspirations, and priorities of Maori people. The MPRU is well situated to draw together skilled and experienced interdisciplinary research groups by networking and establishing working relationships with staff and students within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the University, and the wider community

Māori & Psychology Research Unit Annual Report 2012

Annual report of the Māori and Psychology Research Unit (MPRU) 2012. The unit was established in August of 1997. The unit is designed to provide a catalyst and support network for enhancing research concerning the psychological needs, aspirations, and priorities of Maori people. The MPRU is well situated to draw together skilled and experienced interdisciplinary research groups by networking and establishing working relationships with staff and students within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the University, and the wider community

Māori & Psychology Research Unit annual report 2011

Annual report of the Māori and Psychology Research Unit (MPRU) 2011. The unit was established in August of 1997. The unit is designed to provide a catalyst and support network for enhancing research concerning the psychological needs, aspirations, and priorities of Maori people. The MPRU is well situated to draw together skilled and experienced interdisciplinary research groups by networking and establishing working relationships with staff and students within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the University, and the wider community

My feed does not define me: the role of social networking site usage in adolescent self-concept

Introduction: Adolescence is a critical period of self-concept development. However, with the prevalence of social networking site use amongst this age group, this development is now occurring in a completely different context when compared to previous generations. Aims: This study aimed to investigate 1) the intensity of adolescent social networking site use, 2) discrepancies between adolescent and parent estimations of their social networking site intensity and their actual social networking site usage, 3) the relationship between social networking site usage and adolescent self-concept and 4) whether this relationship is mediated by adolescents’ social comparison tendencies. Methods: A cross-sectional sample of adolescents (N = 86, Mage = 16.8) and their parents completed a web-based questionnaire composed of reliable and validated measures including the Social Networking Intensity Scale and the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents. Participants also recorded their social networking site usage for one week using a recording application installed on their device. Results: Data analyses included descriptive statistics, a Hierarchical Multiple Regression and a One-Way Analysis of Variance. Results showed that participants spent an average of 1 hour and 35 minutes on social networking sites per day. The most popular sites amongst participants were Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp and the most common uses included talking with friends and family, finding entertaining content and feeling involved with what is going on with others. A significant difference was found between self and parent-reported social networking site usage and actual social networking site usage. Time spent on social networking sites or social networking site intensity did not predict adolescents’ general self-concept. Discussion: The results of this study did not provide evidence as to an association between social networking site intensity and adolescent self-concept. Results, implications and limitations are discussed in relation to previous literature and theory, educational psychology practice and policy.N

The Contaminating Effects of Building Instrumental Ties: How Networking Can Make Us Feel Dirty

To create social ties to support their professional or personal goals, people actively engage in instrumental networking. Drawing from moral psychology research, we posit that this intentional behavior has unintended consequences for an individual's morality. Unlike personal networking in pursuit of emotional support or friendship, and unlike social ties that emerge spontaneously, instrumental networking in pursuit of professional goals can impinge on an individual's moral purity—a psychological state that results from viewing the self as clean from a moral standpoint—and thus make an individual feel dirty. We theorize that such feelings of dirtiness decrease the frequency of instrumental networking and, as a result, work performance. We also examine sources of variability in networking-induced feelings of dirtiness by proposing that the amount of power people have when they engage in instrumental networking influences how dirty this networking makes them feel. Three laboratory experiments and a survey study of lawyers in a large North American law firm provide support for our predictions. We call for a new direction in network research that investigates how network-related behaviors associated with building social capital influence individuals' psychological experiences and work outcomes

Social Networking Dilemmas for Psychologists: Privacy, Professionalism, Boundary Issues, and Policies

Technological advancements have had positive and negative effects on the clinical practice of psychology. Increasing use of social networking websites has created new ethical issues concerning privacy and confidentiality, professionalism, and therapeutic boundaries. Due to the ever-changing nature of social media, there are no clear practice rules or guidelines set by the American Psychological Association (APA) for psychologists’ use of the Internet and social networks. This research took a closer look at psychology graduate students and psychologists’ use of privacy settings; their awareness, beliefs, and practices as they relate to their own and others’ online behaviors; their preparedness to have discussions with their clients about how they handle online “friend requests;” whether they are more likely to engage in online behaviors if they work with a younger population; and whether or not psychologists have developed their own ethical professional policy or they believe the APA should implement policies regarding psychologists’ use of social network. A total of 486 individuals visited the website for the survey and 445 participants completed the survey. Of the 445 participants, 22% (99) were male and 78% (346) were female. The mean age of participants in this study was 37.13, with ages ranging from 21 to 72. Approximately 86% (383) of participants reported that they maintain a personal profile on a social networking website, and 14% (61) of participants reported that they do not maintain a personal profile. This research seeks to inform better use of social networking websites such as Facebook by psychologists through an online survey