Name: Quazi Ishaan Date: 1/10/2025

Reflective Log
Directions: This is a significant part of the research process as well as the most important component of your PREP. Give thorough and
thoughtful responses. The boxes expand as you type, so write as much as you need. Use the log to help you be reflective and flexible. It
should show that you regularly review your progress and revise your work. In addition to this log, you need to keep up-to-date reading notes
by using the Reading Record.
Proposal Title

The Influence of Social Media on the Efficacy of Deliberative Democracy

Problem Statement Research Question

-Social media platforms have transformed how Research Question​

citizens engage with political discussions, yet it is How does social media influence the quality and
unclear whether they enhance or diminish the inclusivity of public deliberation in democratic
effectiveness of deliberative democracy. While social processes?
media can broaden participation in deliberation, it
also risks amplifying misinformation and polarizing Updated Notes:
discourse.
●​ The role of misinformation has become
Notes: more evident in my early content analysis,
especially in polarizing issues such as
-Focus on how social media affects the quality of climate change and healthcare.
discussions in democratic processes. ●​ Discussions often lack depth, with
participants prioritizing emotional rhetoric
-Address concerns about the spread of over evidence-based reasoning.
misinformation and echo chambers. ●​ Algorithmic curation appears to exacerbate
the echo chamber effect, but I’ve noticed
-Highlight the dual nature of social media's that issue-specific groups (e.g., Reddit
role—both as a tool for inclusion and a potential forums) facilitate genuine deliberation
threat to rational discourse. when moderated well.

Definition(s) Assumptions and/or Hypotheses

Added "Content Moderation" as a critical term: The 1.​ Social media enhances inclusivity by
active process of managing user-generated content reaching marginalized communities, but
on social media to ensure it complies with platform the algorithmic design dilutes the quality of
policies. engagement by promoting more
sensationalist content.
Clarified "Genuine Deliberation" as a standard: 2.​ Moderated social media platforms improve
Deliberation characterized by reasoned arguments, deliberation quality compared to
evidence-based exchanges, and openness to unmoderated spaces, even within
differing views. algorithmically curated feeds.
3.​ Real-time feedback mechanisms on social
media (e.g., likes, retweets) incentivize
emotional content over reasoned
discourse, skewing deliberative outcomes.

Updated Notes:

●​ I’ve added an assumption that user

anonymity plays a significant role in
reducing accountability in online
deliberations.
●​ I’m exploring whether platforms with
user-identity verification result in
higher-quality discussions.

Relevance and Importance of the Study Proposed Method of Inquiry

-Understanding how social media impacts the Updated Methods:

efficacy of deliberative democracy is crucial for
shaping policies that enhance democratic ●​ Experimental Setup:​
participation while mitigating the negative effects of I am currently conducting an experiment
misinformation and polarization. This study can where I compare discussions in moderated
inform strategies to use social media more forums (e.g., Facebook groups with active
effectively in public discourse and decision-making admins) versus unmoderated platforms
processes. (e.g., general Twitter threads). I’ve set up
controlled discussion topics to analyze
Notes: differences in the depth of discourse and
the prevalence of echo chambers.
-Emphasize how findings can help improve the ●​ Survey Adjustments:​
design of social media platforms for better My survey now includes questions on
democratic engagement. participants' perceived trust in the
information they encounter on social media
-Highlight the importance of this research in an era and their awareness of algorithmic
of increasing digital participation in politics. influence.
●​ Content Analysis Progress:​
Updated Notes:
I’ve categorized posts into "reasoned,"
"emotional," and "misinformed" arguments.
●​ This research can inform policy Early findings show that emotional posts
recommendations for platform regulation, tend to receive the highest engagement.
particularly regarding transparency in ●​ Comparative Analysis Additions:​
algorithmic design and accountability for To deepen the analysis, I’ve included a
content moderation. case study comparing deliberation
●​ Understanding how to balance inclusivity and surrounding the 2024 elections across both
deliberative quality is critical as digital online and offline forums in my city.
participation continues to rise globally.

Summary of Progress

I’ve finalized my experimental design and started conducting the actual experiments.
I’ve collected preliminary data from social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter
1.​ Where am I and completed a pilot survey with a small group of participants. Additionally, I’m
now? organizing my content analysis findings into thematic categories for a clearer
presentation of results.

I need to expand my sample size to include a broader demographic, ensuring the

2.​ Where do I results are generalizable. I also plan to refine my coding system for content analysis
need to go? by creating more specific subcategories for argumentation types. Once the
experiment is complete, I’ll focus on interpreting the results and drawing connections
between the data and my hypotheses.

●​ Recruit additional participants from diverse backgrounds, particularly those

from underrepresented groups in online deliberations.
●​ Finalize and run the survey with the updated questions to gather more robust
3.​ What do I
need to do to
data.
get there? ●​ Continue gathering real-time social media data to analyze trends and refine
my thematic coding for content analysis.

Reflection
A question or activity assigned by the instructor
[Teacher Note: USE QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES FROM THIS DOCUMENT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR]

Random Thoughts
This is a chance to give a personal reaction to your experiences
(Note: This section is not required or graded)