Qualitative Research Proposal Essay

For my field research observation site I chose the flea market (la pulga) located in Alamo, Texas. I chose this specific site because in our Mexican American culture families tend to go there to buy cheap merchandise. Although many people go there many of the things they buy there can or is related to crime. I chose this flea market because it is close to home and there are usually a high number of people there during the weekends. There were a number of issues with this place, but there were two who stood out above the rest. The main points were: do people realize that by buying certain objects they are committing a crime, and also is law enforcement doing anything to prevent these types of crimes from happening. There are mainly two types of individuals who go to these places. The first types of people who go to these places are mainly Mexican American. There is not one age group that stands out above the rest since Mexican American groups. Mexican American individuals tend to visit these places as a family. The second types of people are mainly Winter Texans. A rough estimate from my observation would be that Winter Texas are 30% middle aged (45-60), and 70% elderly. Winter Texans mainly go as couples and are usually there just pass time; Mexican Americans on the other hand are there because they want to buy cheap objects. Research Question or Topic My research questions are: 1. Are people well informed that purchasing pirated DVDs is a crime? 2. What is law enforcement doing to prevent these crimes from happening? Literature Review Bibliography One of the academic journals I found out to be possibly the most interesting out of my whole research was the one dealing with the piracy of CDs/DVDs. This journal does not only talk about the piracy of media, but also about the replicator, the user, and the technology used. It explains how the replicator uses computer software to copy the media and how it gets to the market from there. It talks about the types of users who buy the product and it also talks about the technology being enforced to make it harder and in some cases impossible for the replicator to create a copy of the media. Even though this journal is out there it still seems that some people are unaware of the consequences with the replication of this media, and also the problem it can cause in our society. One of the main points the article describes is whether copy-protection work or not. The answer to this question is that there is copy protection on DVDs which makes it harder for anyone to copy media, but since pirates (replicators) don’t play by the rules there are still some ways to bypass the copy-protection. Research done in this journal- 1. Copyright 2. Product Counterfeiting 3. Manufacturing Processes 4. Anti-counterfeiting Measures 5. Replicators 6. Users of the Pirated DVDs The second article I found is called Factor that Influence the Piracy of DVD/VCD Motion Pictures. Basically the title says what the article is about. It explain some of the major factors that cause people to burn these DVDs, and factors that cause people to buy them. The article says that people tend to buy these DVDs because of the cost benefit. This means that people are getting DVDs way cheaper than if you were to go and buy the real one at an actual store. The author’s findings are also used to support the social norms used to make an effort to stop the piracy of this media. Research done in this article- 1. Copyright Infringement 2. Pirated Video Recordings 3. Piracy 4. Empirical Research 5. Motion Picture Industry 6. Bootlegging and Methodology aspects. The last article I read was talking about the structure about an American flea market. There are differences between flea markets up North and flea markets here in the valley. One of the most obvious differences would be the people that go to the flea markets. The article talks about the types of people that go to the flea market. It talks about the economic effect a flea market has on society. It talks about the behaviors of the buyers and sellers in a flea market. The research in this article was done by surveys across different flea markets and on the consumers in those flea markets. Not only were these studies done on U. S. flea markets they were also done on different countries for example Mexico. Research done in this article – 1. Flea Markets 2. Marketing 3. Case Studies 4. Economic Activity 5. Consumer Behavior 6. Business Cycle 7. Sociocultural Factors My Three Sources Block, D. (1997), CD? DVD/piracy:the replicator, the user, and the technology. Emedia Professional, 10, 92. Chih-Chein, W. (2005). Factors that Influence the Piracy of DVD/VCD Motion Pictures. Journal Of American Academy Of Business, Cambridge, 6(1), 231-237. Sherry Jr. , J. F. (1990). A Sociocultural Analysis of a Midwestern American Flea Market. Journal Of Consumer Research, 17(1), 13-30 Research Design Step 1 Prepare myself by doing some background research on the site I am preparing to observe. Be prepared for anything that may come my way, and be prepared for opportunities that may arise while doing my research. I need to go organized and possibly focus on one point of interest. Need to prepare my looking and listing skills since they are essential for any field researcher. Go prepare to do constant writing since it is one of the most useful way of recording data. Step 2. Gain access to enter the observation site, in my case I don’t think it is a problem since it is open to the public. Other sites have different important sections but in a flea market everything is together so I just have to worry about getting inside. I need to get involved in normal activities to make myself unnoticeable and look like an everyday customer. Perhaps buy merchandise or other things regular customers do. Step 3 By looking as a customer I can build trust with the people working in this area, and this way they can go on doing their job like they normally do, and this can help me observe them in their normal working routine. Step 4 While walking around the site I can record anything I find to be deviant or criminal, in my case I found the distribution of illegal DVD copies. I’ll observe from afar, learn and record anything else. I have to make my findings very detailed this way I don’t miss anything of importance that can later help me answer my question, and this way I won’t have to return for small doubts I may have. Record any conversations I may have had with any of the people there. Step 5. Finally after I am done gathering data I just exit the observation site I just exit the site and start compiling my data. Step 6 After putting my data and getting a better understanding of my observation site. With a better understanding of what happens in the site I will be able to put together a detailed survey or interview questions. Of course the survey or interview will be anonymous and have to make sure the customer knows this. You need to make the customer know that the research is anonymous because if not the person might put false data and the data will be inaccurate. Step 7 After conducting all my research I can put together a conclusion and determine what it means. I’ll ask myself questions for example did I find the answer my questions, was my hypothesis correct, and is there more research to be done. The conclusion has to be precise this way if a person is interested in the same topic they will have all the information they need. Step 8 This is how will conduct my research and hopefully get a good grade on this assignment, if not I will need some research on how I can do better.