While I have conducted research projects in London and Prague, it is finally time to bring it home and conduct research here in the United States, specifically at Kent State. While I have spent the majority of the past 18 months doing international interviews and analyzing music publicity and music journalism, the shift to a new topic is almost complete.
Today, my human subjects research approval was granted by the university. This means that I can officially begin interviewing people for my thesis, which is analyzing how subjects of different ages interact with digital music services. I, for one, love Spotify as much as I love my vinyl collection, and I’m looking to understand if there are more people out there like me – and why or why not they’re out there. I’m specifically using dematerialization theory to understand the shift from physical to digital, as dematerialization theory looks at how physical items lose their meaning (or create new meaning) in a digital space.
Getting the human subjects research approval is a major hurdle, as you have to guarantee the safety and comfort of your subjects. You almost literally have to jump through hoops and make thousands of promises that the subjects involved will not be hurt and, if there is a risk of mental harm, that they can leave the interviews at any time. And, while you might not think talking about Spotify is harmful, you never know.
So, with the research approved, the final outline of the proposal is the last thing to be approved. Once that begins, the real dirty work – the interviews themselves – can actually be conducted.
It’s one step closer to the finished product.
