Page 92 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Feasibility Study of New Media Technology
on Constructing Online Public Sphere

was vital in this research. Since questionnaires largely depend on a self-judgment scale

that leads to a collection of subjective data, it was unlikely to be the appropriate meth-
od here. There is a limited number of major internet media companies in China, which
made the use of semi-structured interviews possible. A semi-structured interview not
only collects data for specifically designed research questions, but can also inspire new
ideas which provide additional data and more in-depth insights from the view of media

practitioners.
Data from the government was also needed in this book. Because the adminis-
tration system of China’s network is becoming more and more transparent to the pub-

lic, government regulations and policies for the internet and ICTs can be easily found
through official publications. Due to certain restrictions and pressure, Chinese govern-
ment officials may not answer questions in a meaningful sense regardless of the form
of questionnaire or interview. There is thus little meaningful data that can be collected
from government officials. Therefore, information concerning the government was

retrieved using an indirect approach by means of a case study. I investigated the gov-
ernment’s role through the analysis of its interaction with the other two factors in the
triangular framework, and the implications for the result of the questionnaire surveys

and semi-structured interviews.

4.2.2 Secondary data

Secondary data inspired the design of methodology in the research. By exploring
the strengths and weaknesses of previous studies, I learned about the challenges and
difficulties that might arise, and gained knowledge that help solve the problems. By in-
vestigating media reports from various resources, details of the three cases were found

which offered solid data for the case studies in the research.
To meet the aim of the book, it was also necessary to take into account the per-
spectives of different actors from varying institutional backgrounds. A critical realist
perspective was therefore appropriate. Though online materials are not exactly academ-

ic literature, they are an essential part of the secondary data in this book. Blogs, jour-
nals and commentators’ articles form part of a full picture of the online public sphere

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