Tracking Plan of Media Use

Tracking plan

I have developed this plan in order to organize the data I will be collecting, regarding my media use. This plan will function as a guideline and helpful tool in order to collect a great amount of data that I will use later, in my research project.

I plan to track my media use on my computer and on my iphone, as these are the devices I use every single day, and several times a day.

Weekly data collecting:

I will do weekly braindumps regarding my media use. Every braindump will contain a specific topic or area of my media use, in order to get a broad view on my use of different media.

Specific data collecting:

-                                 Thursday 24. Of October

I plan to videotape my media use on my computer, in the morning of Thursday 24. Of October, as I spend the most coherent time on my computer (and on the internet) in the morning when I first turn on my computer (here I usually have to review selected sites and get up to date). My usual sites will consist of Facebook and Hotmail, perhaps also gmail and linkedin, and whatever other sites I may be compelled to visit at this point.

(I normally check Facebook and Hotmail on my iphone when I first wake up, but I will not do this at this specific date, as I want to videotape my ‘first meeting’ on this day, and I will use my iphone to videotape it, and therefore has to visit these sites the first time on my computer).

Steps:

-          - First I will videotape my use of media in the morning. I will do what I normally do, ad try not to be effected by the video recording my use. I will note the time and period for my media use this specific day.

-          - I will have my research journal with my, writing down braindump (20 min) after the ‘first meeting’ has ended. I will write whatever comes to mind of feelings and thoughts of this meeting.

-           - Afterwards I will review the taped video of my media usage, and describe what I and seeing using condensed notes.

-         -  There after I will turn the condensed notes and the braindump in to thick description of this meeting.

-          -  And at last I will write my feelings and thoughts of this meeting I my journal.

The rest of the day, I will use my media journal to write both condensed notes and feelings after every media use (both usage on my computer and on my iphone).

At the end of the day, I will do a braindump of my media use that exact day (and write it in to thick description).

I plan to note the time for every media use during this day and the period of which I engage in media use.

-                                           Tuesday 29. Of October:

24 hour media fast: Today I plan to fast from my media use.

Meaning that I will (try) not to use any media throughout this day (from I wake up until I go to bed).

-         -  I will do a braindump in morning describing my feelings of not being able to use media for an entire day.

-          - Before I go to sleep, I will do another braindump reflecting on the day of fasting and what media use means in my every day life.

-          - Throughout the day I will note feelings and thoughts in my research journal, every time I feel compelled to use media. I will note time for these instances.

-          - If I fail to fast from media, I will note down the time for media use and what devices I used and what I used it for.