CONCLUSIONES Y RECOMENDACIONES

Effective use of reflexivity is not only a way to control the validity and reliability of the data in qualitative research, but enables the reader to gain insights into the aims, values and decisions that prompted the study (Turnbull, 1973). Malterud (2001) argues that the researcher's background will influence what subjects were chosen for investigation, the stance and angle of the investigation, the methods of collecting the data, the findings considered most appropriate, and the framing and delivery of the conclusions (Malterud, 2001, pp.483-484). Furthermore, in a study in which the researcher is constructed as a ‘human research instrument’ a true account of reflexivity is central to achieving reliability and avoiding accusations of bias. To achieve this purpose, I kept a detailed reflexive journal throughout the research, in which I have attempted to be systematic and honest about the knowledge construction within this study (c.f. Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

My position as a young Saudi woman who has experienced the important years of the 2000s when the Internet, and subsequently social media, were introduced into Saudi society, and through engaging with social media as a female member of the Saudi collectivity, sparked my interest in the topic of this research. Years of observing fellow Saudi women negotiate the many legal and cultural limitations imposed on them through their use of this instrumental tool (social media), and having done the same thing myself, have encouraged me to reflect on the dynamic and ever-changing Saudi society, a collective that is often - mistakenly - depicted as static and a religious ‘fly in amber’, especially when it comes to women.

From the initial stages of data collection, my knowledge of the way in which Saudi women use social media and their reasons for doing so directed me towards certain platforms to observe certain practices. I had previous knowledge of female social media influencers and micro- celebrities from Saudi Arabia, having actually followed their accounts closely for years. The proximity of my age to that of the respondents made it easier for them to relate to me and trust me and to feel comfortable talking to me about sensitive issues, such as premarital romance and love. In several cases, I used my own experiences with social media engagement as ice-breakers in the personal semi-structured interviews and as a way to guide debates in focus groups. Indeed, several scholars note the researcher's role as a data co-creator is to facilitate conversation in focus groups and interviews (Burgess, 1982; Byrne, 2004, p.182; Fontana & Frey, 2000, p.653; Mason, 1996, pp.36-38; Spradley, 1979; Taylor, & Bogdan, 1984, p.7). My approach resulted in the respondents viewing me not as a distant researcher, but as a friend with whom they were having a discussion. Knowledge of the latest debates, incidents, and even knowledge of the intricate Saudi dialect and local slang and cultural references made the analysis of netnographic data easier, faster and more accurate.

Finally, keeping an honest record of reflexivity involves reflecting on factors that may have negatively influenced the findings. Being a Saudi woman and the researcher simultaneously might have encouraged male participants in the focus group to express progressive liberal views in relation to women’s rights to have an individual identity on social media and experience premarital love without questioning her national affiliation or jeopardising her reputation. These values and attitudes, which are widely accepted as progressive in the public domain, are ones that male respondents might have thought I wanted to hear. However, the objective observance of data through netnography compensated for this possible shortcoming. Triangulation was employed for this specific reason; the multiplicity of methods was intended to increase the validity and reliability of the data collected. Even if men’s views during focus groups were influenced by the presence of me as a woman (and by the other respondents being female), male social media users observed through netnography were not aware of a female researcher observing them, and thus their views are entirely impartial.

5.8 Conclusion

This study was conducted through a constructivist research framework. Triangulation was used in my data collection strategy in order to validate the data and ensure its reliability as fully as

possible (Mason, 2002). The three methods used to collect the data were observational netnography, focus groups and semi-structured one-to-one interviews. The Kozinets (2015) guidelines for selecting online communities that are worthy of netnographic observation were used to determine which social media platforms should be observed. Accordingly, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube were included, but Facebook was excluded as it is no longer an active site for many Saudi users. The sample from Instagram included the accounts of six Saudi female social media influencers (micro-celebrities), as well as the private Instagram accounts of five females. On Snapchat, 61 accounts were observed that were a mix of micro-celebrity accounts and regular users, including individuals from my focus groups. On Twitter, the sample was drawn through observing the activities on trending Saudi hashtags that were related to my research questions. Finally, on YouTube, the sample was drawn from the comments section under videos which discussed a topic related to the themes of this research. Seven focus group sessions and six one-to-one interviews of both male and female Saudis were conducted in order to increase the validity and reliability of the data. Although the study could not completely avoid subjectivity, this is not a threat to the validity of the results as several scholars contest the setting of rigid criteria of objectivity when conducting qualitative research (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000; Geertz, 1973, 1983; Guba & Lincoln, 1989, pp.245-251; Lincoln & Guba, 2000, pp.178-179; Schwandt, 1989). The analytical approach I used was thematic analysis due to its compatibility with a constructivist research paradigm, as well as its flexibility and functionality, which make it ideal for analysing large data corpus. Coding the themes was undertaken inductively, free from analytical preconceptions. In addition, several deductive themes were expected to arise in relation to my research questions, such as veiling and gender segregation. Ethical issues were examined and addressed in this chapter, as well as a reflexive account of the knowledge construction in my research and my role as a researcher in it.

Chapter Six. Social Media: A Space to Challenge Tradition

I start my analysis by looking at the use of ‘identity separation’ by Saudi women to overcome limitations set on them by the collectivity and to protect their privacy when presenting themselves online. I identify a gap in some women’s presentation between the online self and the offline self. Drawing on the notion of counterublics to describe these spaces on which alternate contemporary feminine identities are being expressed and represented (Fraser, 1992; Senft, 2008), the analysis will highlight how social media networks can be used as a space where shame-honour culture can be challenged. I then move on to address that the ‘gap between selves’ is closing up when considering younger women (digital natives), mainly due to their higher sense of individual agency, which in return makes them less mindful of the collectivity’s long-held notions of family honour and its dependence on women’s modesty/chastity. This move, from a close knit social system towards an emphasis on personal autonomy and the individual instead of the group, is understood as part of a series of factors leading to the individualisation and detradtionalisation associated with modern communities that scholars such as Giddens (1991) and Beck (2002) have explored. These writings are drawn on here to examine Saudi women’s engagement with social media networks. The analysis in this chapter begins to answer a key question in this research on how social media engagement is impacting and changing the values and norms of young Saudi women by recognising social media platforms as a functional tool to create shame-free spaces where culture can be challenged. I continue to answer this question through the analysis in Chapter 7.