methods

To carry out my research, I have chosen to do a case study on one specific individual. He is a 20 year old male, from Edinboro, Pa. I asked my participant to write down his experience with choosing to claim Straight Edge, and asked him to write about the types of things that influenced that decision. I will also be communicating with him over Facebook messages about any further questions I have, or anything else he would like to share. I wanted to be sure I had everything he said in print so I wouldn’t have to waste time transcribing an audio recording. Also, I wanted to have a record of everything he shared so that I would not lose or forget anything.

I chose to do a case study, because it was my participant who got my mind to wonder about my topic. My participant is my friend Cory, and I watched him as he transitioned from a party animal into a Straight Edge kid and it made me start to wonder about what influences a kid to claim Straight Edge. With that in mind, what better way to do my research than to go right to the source of my question and ask him for answers.

I am not trying to prove anything definitively with my research. My approach is far too small scale to be able to really say anything for sure about Straight Edge as a movement and what influences kids to join it. However, I would like to share my own findings about my friend, and maybe even begin to ask more questions about Straight Edge. I also admit that there is some biased involved in my research, because I’m only interviewing one subject, and we are friends. Cory may show the volunteer effect, and cater his answers to my questions in a way that will help me do well and may not always be as truthful.