Analyzing Patterns Within Academic and Legal Definitions: a Qualitative Content Analysis of the Term "Cyberbullying" Page: 40
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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This study employed qualitative content analysis to develop themes for both the
academic and legal definitions of the term cyberbullying. Additionally, the definitions were
coded deductively based on Vandebosh and Van Cleemput (2008) suggested criteria for a
cyberbullying definition. Although the study is qualitative in nature, quantitative word
frequencies were analyzed to add additional validity to the outcomes. Although qualitative
content analysis differs from quantitative content analysis in the subjective nature of
interpretation, rigorous and systematic procedures were employed to ensure internal
validity of the study. The academic and legal definitions were both studied independently
and together.
3.2 Research Paradigm
The research paradigm for this study was Interperetivism. Willis (2008) defines
this research perspective as one that claims research is not responsible for providing
absolute truth, but rather it relies on the reader to socially construct truth. Additionally, the
aim is to construct truth based on local contexts rather than attempting to generalize to an
entire population. Thus, the aim of study was not to construct an absolute definition for the
term cyberbullying, but rather to illuminate the wide variety of definitions in use and to
critically analyze them against each other to determine what are the basic elements and
themes present.40
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Winn, Matthew R. Analyzing Patterns Within Academic and Legal Definitions: a Qualitative Content Analysis of the Term "Cyberbullying", dissertation, August 2013; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc283860/m1/41/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .