Pixels Hurt More Than Sticks and Stones: Confronting Cyberbullying on Facebook

Abstract

Executive Summary This report documents the process and findings of a research project titled “Pixels hurt more than sticks and stones: confronting cyberbullying on Facebook”. The project which was conducted with a generous financial support from Facebook Inc. was carried out by researchers based in the School of Information and Social Studies, The Technical University of Kenya. The study was initiated in 2020 but, due to COVID-19 pandemic, was completed in 2022. This report comprises six chapters. The first chapter explains the research concept. It specifically elucidates the context of the study, research problem, significance and justification of the study, scope and delimitations of the study, limitations of the study, as well as the dissemination strategy of the research findings. The second chapter presents the review of literature on the subject, analyses research gaps, and explains the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of the study. The third chapter clarifies the research approach, design, population, sampling approaches, data collection techniques and tools, data collection procedure, data analysis as well as research reliability and validity. The fourth chapter presents the analysed research data while the fifth chapter discusses the findings and positions them in the existing body of knowledge on cyberbullying in universities. The sixth chapter summarises the findings and presents the recommendations of the study. This study was conducted in conformance with best practices in scholarly research. The researchers obtained ethical clearance as well as a research permit from research regulators in Kenya. Similarly, the project was cleared by institutional gatekeepers of all the universities which participated in the research. The findings have been analysed and presented in a way which does not identify the respondents of the study. Therefore, their contributions, views and identities remain anonymous and confidential. All efforts have been made to ensure that this report is as accurate as possible. Nonetheless, we apologise for any errors that may have slipped through the rigorous editing and review process.