YeonKyung Lee(FORP)

Funding Opportunities Research Projecton Cultural Reflection on the Social Media Content

Submitted to Dr. Kathryn NorthcutSubmitted by YeonKyung Lee30 October 2015

Executive Summary

The goal of the research is to suggest an effective way to localize American academic institutions' social media content to Korea. To achieve the research objective, I will conduct a literature review, a survey, and interviews. I will also analyze similarities and differences between American and Korean academic institutions' social media content. The research will take 16 months to complete, and the final thesis will be submitted by April 2017. The total estimated budget for the research is $3,320. The proposed research is eligible for two funding sources, which are the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC) General Programmatic Research Grants and Association for Business Communication (ABC) C. R. Anderson Research Fund.

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Project DescriptionSocial media is an emerging research topic in the technical, scientific, and business communication field. Current studies in the field focus on the social media use of individuals, companies, and institutions or social media's impact on people’s lives and society. However, little research has been conducted on cultural reflection on social media content. Popular social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have one platform used by worldwide users. Even though content mingles in one platform, people from different cultures use different rhetoric and graphics on their content. Culture also influences how an individual interprets and accepts information on social media (Pookulangara & Koesler, 2011). Cultural reflection on social media content should be analyzed to help companies or academic institutions use social media efficiently and to suggest a new research direction of social media in the technical, scientific, and business communication field.

To measure cultural reflection on social media content efficiently, I narrowed down the scope of culture and social media. First, I will focus on the United States and Korea. Second, I will focus on academic institution’s social media content. The research will be conducted for the Technical Communication Master's thesis at Missouri S&T. The purpose of the research is to suggest an effective way to localize American institution's social media content to Korea. To meet the goal of the research, I will conduct a literature review, an online survey, interviews, and comparative analysis. The literature review will focus on the articles about social media use in Korea and social media in the technical communication field. Also, the online survey will be conducted on Korean students who are interested in study abroad. The survey questionnaire will reflect Korean students’ needs and expectations of American academic institutions' social media. The interviews will be conducted on social media representatives from selected academic institutions. For comparative analysis, I will choose three academic institutions from each country and analyze their social media content in various aspects.

According to Barnes (2011), 100% of the 456 four-year accredited U.S. institutions use social media as a student recruitment tool. Considering that majority of American academic institutions use social media as a student recruitment tool, the research results will help American academic institutions to utilize social media more efficiently. Also, the proposed research will suggest a new research direction of social media within the technical, scientific, and business communication field. Lastly, the research results will promote technical communication program's student recruitment because social media is an excellent tool to raise awareness of the technical communication field that is unfamiliar to international students. The research aims to answer following questions: 1) What are the differences between American and Korean academic institutions' social media content?; 2) How do

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different cultural backgrounds reflect on the social media content?; and 3) How should American academic institutions localize their social media content to Korea?

Benefits

The proposed research will promote an understanding of cultural reflection on the social media content and a new research direction of social media in the technical, scientific, and business communication field. It will also strengthen a student recruitment strategy for American academic institutions and technical communication programs.

Promote exchanges of ideas of social media in the technical communication field

In 2014, Technical Communication Quarterly published a special edition devoted to social media and the role of technical communicators. Articles in the edition covered the course organization for teaching social media in the technical communication program (Hurley & Hea, 2014), the rhetoric used in tweets during an emergency situation (Bowdon, 2014), and a collective knowledge making process through social media (Longo, 2014). Most articles focused on incorporating social media into technical communication pedagogy and promoting educators’ understanding of social media. The proposed research results will raise the concept of cultural reflection on social media content and improve technical communication instructors’ understanding of social media which will benefit the programmatic development of technical communication. Also, the research results will suggest a new research direction of social media in the technical communication field and promote exchanges of ideas and discussions about social media in the field.

Strengthen American academic institution’s student recruitment strategy

The research results will suggest a practical use of social media in Korean student recruitments for American academic institutions. According to the Institute of International Education (IIE)'s 2014 survey, Korean student enrollment in U.S. academic institutions constituted 8% of the total international student enrollment, which makes Korea the third leading country in the international student enrollment (International students: Leading places of origin, 2014). Social media reaches students with less expense than conventional recruitment methods such as recruitment trips, articulation agreements, brochures, or website. The research results will help American academic institutions to understand Korean students and to reach them effectively through social media. The results will also increase the concept of cultural reflection on social media and promote different student recruitment approaches in the various countries.

Promote student recruitment in the technical communication program

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Social media can be an effective tool for recruiting students to the technical communication program. Social media is a great platform to raise awareness of the technical communication field among international students and share stories of the alumni. International students are not familiar with the technical communication field because there are not many academic programs established in other countries. For example, there is no academic program of technical communication in South Korea even though major Korean companies like Samsung and LG hire technical writers. Social media’s unique functions such as community creation and sharing will help wide distribution of information and promote easier access to prospective international students. The research results will help technical communication programs manage social media efficiently and recruit prospective South Korean students to the program. Recruited Korean students will contribute to developing the technical communication industry and establishing academic programs of technical communication in Korea.

Timeline

The research will take 16 months to complete. The goal is to defend the thesis and submit the final thesis by April 2017. I will submit the main thesis proposal by December 2015 and start conducting the literature review in January 2016. After the literature review, I will collect data from April 2016 to October 2016. See Figure 1 for the detailed project timeline. The schedule is based on the Spring 2016 thesis schedule by the Office of Graduate Studies at Missouri S&T.

Figure 1. Project timeline

Budget

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The proposed research will require a budget of $3,320. The budget includes the cost of data collection, travel, and materials and supplies. Data collection includes the cost of paid research articles, paid online surveys, and interviewee's incentives. Paid online surveys will help reach a broad range of participants. The paid online survey expense is based on the survey service provider SurveyMonkey’s monthly cost of $25 and a three-month data collection period. Also, six interviewees will be given $50 worth of gift cards as an incentive. The travel cost will be used for travel to the 2016 Society of Technical Communication (STC) Summit on 15-18 May 2016 in Anaheim, CA. The summit will help me understand the recent social media research trends in the technical communication field. The materials and supplies cost will be used for thesis binding. A detailed budget is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Project budget

Budget Item Cost ($) Sub-total ($)

Data collection 875

Paid research articles 500

Paid online survey 75

Interview participants incentive 300

Domestic travel 2,375

Summit registration 1,275

Transportation 500

Lodging for four days 400

Per diem for four days 200

Materials and supplies 70

Total Cost $3,320

Qualifications

I am currently pursuing Master's degree in technical communication at Missouri S&T. Various coursework in the technical communication program qualifies me to conduct the research. In the International Technical Communication course, I gained an understanding of cultural differences and improved my analytical skills by practicing prototype analysis. I am also proficient in both English and Korean, which qualifies me to conduct content analysis and a survey of English and Korean materials. I have a successful experience in managing social media content of the public cultural agency in Korea. I was responsible for managing the agency's official social media channels including a blog, Facebook account, and Twitter account. The

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understanding of Korea’s social media gained in the industry will help me direct an effective localization strategy for the research results. I also conducted various industry research including LinkedIn’s network effect and lock-in strategy, Spotify’s business model and copyright infringement, and Monsanto’s patent management during my undergraduate of Economics at Missouri S&T. Research skills, time management techniques, and presentation skills that I gained from various research experience will qualify to conduct the proposed research and complete the defense.

Funding Sources

The Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC) General Programmatic Research Grants

CPTSC funds proposals that meet their organization goals. CPTSC aims to contribute to developing technical, professional, and scientific communication academic program, promote practical research related to the programmatic issue in the field, and facilitate new ideas, research, or career connection in the area (CPTSC, 2014). General Programmatic Research of CPTSC Research Grants funds research that promotes program development of technical communication (CPTSC, 2014). The proposed research fits CPTSC General Programmatic Research Grants because the research results will contribute to developing student recruitment strategies for technical communication. Student recruitment and retention play a significant role in program development. The proposed research will also promote discussions of new research direction in social media. A different view of social media will add a new dimension to the concept of social media, which will increase technical communication instructors’ understanding of social media. Since more and more technical communication program incorporates social media into the program (Hurley & Hea, 2014), the research will contribute to developing curriculum in the technical communication program.

The deadline for the previous proposal was 12 May 2014. If CPTSC provides the grant in 2016, the deadline will be in mid-May of 2016. Submitted proposal should be 2-3 pages and contain a cover page, research question or problem, research methods, project timeline, budget, and acknowledgment statement. The applicant must be a member of CPTSC at the time the applicant submits a proposal. CPTSC will examine whether the topic is related to technical communication program, the applicant is a member of CPTSC, the methods are clear and appropriate for the subject, and the research clearly states the budget that makes sense. CPTSC says that the granted research should be conducted within 12 to 18 months (CPTSC, 2014). The proposed project expects to complete research in 16 months, which qualifies for the grants. Also, CPTSC gives $1,500 to two research projects (CPTSC, 2014). The grants can be partially used for the project budget of $3,320.

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Association for Business Communication (ABC) C. R. Anderson Research Fund

ABC’s C. R. Anderson Research Fund supports research in the field of business communication including areas of “business communication, management communication, business writing, consulting, marketing, English, speech communication, intercultural communication, linguistics, rhetoric, and information systems” (C. R. Anderson, n.d.). Since social media is an emerging topic in the communication field, the proposed research is eligible for C. R. Anderson Research Fund. The proposed research will also reflect the aspect of intercultural communication by analyzing each country’s cultural dimensions applied on their social media content. Cross-cultural analysis of social media will increase understanding intercultural communication on the social media platform. Also, the proposed research will look into the rhetoric applied to texts on social media content that makes the research a good fit to C. R. Anderson Research Fund.

ABC accepts proposals twice annually on January 1 and September 1 (C. R. Anderson, n.d.). The proposed research will complete the main proposal by December 2015 so I will be able to apply for C. R. Anderson Research Fund by 1 January 2016. The submitted proposal requires a project description in less than 1,000 words, precise research questions, statement of relevance to business communication in less than 500 words, research methods, expected outcome, budget, and the applicant’s CV (C. R. Anderson, n.d.). The CFP doesn't specify page number requirement. The research should be conducted within 12 months to be eligible for the grant. Therefore, the timeline will adjust if the project gets the grants. The applicants can be graduate students or faculty members who are a member of ABC (C. R. Anderson, n.d.). ABC funds a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $5,000 but excludes the expense associated with conferences (C. R. Anderson, n.d.). Thus, the amount of $945 which excludes the travel expense of $2,375 from the total budget will be covered by the funds.

YeonKyung Lee(FORP)

References

Barnes, N. G. (2011). Social media usage now ubiquitous among US top charities,ahead of all other sectors. Social Media Research. Retrieved from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research website: http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/socialmediaresearch/socialmediatopcharities/

Bowdon, M. A. (2014). Tweeting an Ethos: Emergency Messaging, Social Media, and Teaching Technical Communication. Technical Communication Quarterly, 23(1), 35-54. doi: 10.1080/10572252.2014.850853

CPTSC. (2014). In 2014 CPTSC Research Grants Call for Proposals. Retrieved from http://cptsc.org/2014researchCFP.pdf

C. R. Anderson Research Fund Applications. (n.d.). In Association for Business Communication (ABC). Retrieved from http://www.businesscommunication.org/page/anderson-applications

Hurley, E. V., & Hea, A. C. K. (2014). The Rhetoric of Reach: Preparing Students for Technical Communication in the Age of Social Media. Technical Communication Quarterly, 23(1), 55-68. doi: 10.1080/10572252.2014.850854

International students: Leading places of origin. (2014). In Institute of International Education (IIE). Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/Research-and- Publications/Open-Doors/Data/International-Students/Leading-Places-of-Origin

iPhone. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone

Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011). Social Media? Get Serious! Understanding the Functional Building Blocks of Social Media. Business Horizons, 54(3), 241-251. doi: 10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005

Longo, B. (2014). Using Social Media for Collective Knowledge Making: Technical Communication Between the Global North and South. Technical Communication Quarterly, 23(1), 22-34. doi: 10.1080/10572252.2014.850846

Summit registration. (n.d.). In Technical Communication Summit’ 16. Retrieved from http://summit.stc.org/conference/registration-rates/