Formulating+Questions

During the initial stages of this research project, we viewed episodes of iCarly and discussed what questions arose as we watched. Most questions we formulated revolved around how kids view the show, how media professionals view the show, and how parents view the show as a whole. As time passed, we made our way to [|Common Sense Media] in order to further explore the feelings of both adults and children with regard to iCarly. What initially stuck out in my mind were parents' negative comments about the program, and I wanted to take the opportunity to explore this concept deeper. While Common Sense Media allowed me the chance to skim the surface of parents' opinions, I felt that in order to gain a better understanding, I would have to speak to actual parents face-to-face.

 This led me to focus on one aspect of the show that I found rather disturbing: the lack of parents and the depiction of adults as aloof and childlike.

Because our research methods included interviews and observations, I realized there would be no better way to gain insight to a parent's brain than to co-view clips from iCarly and ask them a series of questions that allowed them to open up. By interviewing parents of adolescents about their normal viewing habits, co-viewing habits, and opinions of adult representation in iCarly, I would be able to obtain a better understanding of whether or not the show provides a good moral basis for young adults as well as an effective portrayal of role models.

 Through the research I was preparing to do, I formulated my **thesis**: Parents will see that the lack of parenting combined with negative relationships between parents and children give young viewers a false sense of reality in which there are no positive role models as well as no negative consequences for poor attitudes and unruly action.

The initial questions I formulated served  as a foundation to my line of questioning about iCarly. The questions regarded normal viewing habits of parents and their children to provide a background of each interview subject, including:
 * How many hours a week do you watch TV? How many hours do your children watch?
 * What shows do you watch most frequently? What shows do your children watch most frequently?
 * How frequently do you watch TV with your children? What shows (if any) do you co-view with your children?
 * Do your children have a television in their bedroom? Why or why not?

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">After viewing clips of iCarly that include Carly's older brother, Freddie's mother, and Sam's mother, I formulated questions with regard to how the interview subjects felt about adult representation within the clips, including:
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How do you feel adults and authority figures are depicted within these clips of iCarly?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What actions taken by adults and authority figures in these clips do you feel are good examples for children? What actions taken by adults and authority figures in these clips do you feel are bad examples for children?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Are there any actions taken by adults and authority figures in these clips that are reflective of your own parenting?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How do you feel that the actions taken by adults and authority figures in these clips give the main characters the tools necessary to be positive or negative role models for viewers of the show?

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