|
Limitations of the Study
Several facts contributed to the limitations of the analysis of
this study. The lack of triangulation to complete the qualitative
investigation was one of the limitations. Even though participant
observation was also employed, the research data is based on the
qualitative analysis of the messages. Financial and time constraints
curtailed a more diversified inquiry.
This research analyzed messages posted by a highly involved audience,
comprised of the telenovela’s fans, which does not support
extrapolation of findings to the general telenovela audience. However,
the results provided detailed data that might certainly contribute
to the understanding of how audiences engage with the telenovela
text.
Another element that needs to be taken into account is the researcher’s
background. The researcher for this study had many recognizable
influences not only for the choice of the subject but also for the
theoretical orientation selected. The researcher’s Brazilian
nationality certainly played a role in the choice of topic to be
studied. As Tufte (1995) poses, most Brazilians were born with telenovelas
as part of their everyday life. Nevertheless, measures were established
to try to curtail research biases. The methodological approach,
which employed a pre-selected model of categories for the qualitative
analysis is part of this strategy. In addition, the use of the web
site search engine to generate the sample messages, therefore impeding
any influence of the researcher in the selection of the messages,
was another measure applied.
|
