As for the breakdown of the rest of the dissertation, the paper will break into the thematic and methodological issues present during the course of the research process. I believe the discussion will focus on how each method helps add to the breadth of the overall research project. The first chapter of this project will provide an in-depth of the history of Facebook and online social networking. It is essential to discuss the superstructure surrounding online social networks to begin a multi-disciplinary approach to researching the questions posed earlier. Therefore, my final research should be constructed under a six chapter framework to explain the problematic posed by this research fully. The second chapter will be an expanded review of the theoretical literature. It will begin by looking at the history of social network theory and show how it developed to a qualitative method of analysis with the addition of computer-mediated communication, thus creating a body of theory dealing with online social networking. This review will also include visual rhetoric, the self online and student development. For visual rhetoric theory, I planned on using Handa’s work on visual rhetoric in a digital world and John Berger’s work on the visual media. Handa focuses on how visual rhetoric adapted to the introduction of new technologies and new methods of interaction. The cusp of visual rhetoric is present on how information is dissected between mass culture and technological innovators.
