Services - Qualitative Research

Initial Research

- Annotated Bibliography

- Literature Review


Background and Purpose

  • Webtoon Scanlation groups have contributed to the rising global popularity of South Korean webtoons; to explore this claim, it is essential to learn about scanlation groups firsthand.
  • The purpose of this study was to gather primary data and firsthand accounts about webtoon scanlation, scanlation industry, and readership from scanlation groups.

    • Theoretical Frameworks

  • Participatory fandom
  • Webtoons as a cultural commodity
  • Fan labor as a gift economy

    • Methodology

  • Scanlation Groups were contacted to be a part of a study Online survey was distributed
  • Of those who participated in the survey, a few were asked to participate in an interview
  • Due to participants being active on anonymous accounts, chatroom interviews were utilized

    • Preliminary Research


    Social Media Mining for Background Knowledge

    I looked through forums and online sites to gain insight on background information. I also examined manga/webtoon aggregator websites, as many Scanlation groups uploaded on these platforms. Through this, I found links to the Discord servers of Scanlation groups on their credit pages. After joining the servers, I looked through chat rooms and channels to gain further information about readership. Through this, I also found which members of the Discord server I could reach out to.

    Determine Criteria for Participants

    Because my research is on unofficial scanlation of Webtoons, I wanted to reach out to Discord server members involved in the scanlation process. Colloquially known as "staff members", scanlation group members have their own position that they fulfil within the process (such as translation, typesetting, cleaning, etc).

    Create Questionnaire

    I created a questionnaire through Google Forms for participants to fill out. The questions were generally open ended questions and participants were allowed to type as much as they wanted. There was also a question that asked if permission would be granted for further interviews.

    Recruiting Potential Participants

    Through the social media mining process, I figured out which members were "staff members" in the scanlation group's Discord Server. I messaged moderators asking for permission to conduct the study, and once permission was granted, the moderators circulated the questionnaire I created. Many participants also reached out to other scanlation groups to fill out the questionnaire. There was also an age requirement (18+) and was a promise of hiding user profiles and maintaining confidentiality.

    Participants Fill out Questionnaire

    Participants then filled out whichever questions they were comfortable with. The responses were recorded through Google Form. Participants granted permission if they were comfortable with further interview questions and left their e-mail addresses or Discord tags.

    Reach Out to Participants for Further Interviews

    Participants were contacted through Discord based on their responses for further questions. Due to confidentiality issues, no in-person interviews were conducted. Therefore, interviews were conducted in a chat room setting where answers could also be recorded easily and participants could maintain their confidentiality.

    Online Interview with Chosen Participants

    Through the online chat room setting, there was less of a formal back and forth interview, but more of a free flowing conversation that allowed the participants to express themselves.

    Findings


    Assess Participants' Responses

    Based on questionnaire data and interview data, I was able to analyze responses and asses any common points that participants had. Through Google Form, I could sort responses by question or by participant, which narrowed down the ease of assessing responses.

    Analyze Literature Data with Participant Data

    Using the data collected from literature review, I could assess how the responses from participants fit in to the narrative and theoretical frameworks raised from earlier.

    Findings

  • Participants were unpaid for their work, but some stated there were many scanlation groups that paid its members
  • Some participants joined scanlation groups due to their interest in webtoons and translation
  • Participants stated that receiving criticism was a common occurrence within their field
  • Many participants stated that their scanlation groups were in competition with other groups
  • There were mixed feelings about platforms that host official translations

    • Research Report


    Conclusions

    Through this study, we can see the firsthand accounts of members of scanlation groups. Not only did we find out about different positions within a scanlation group, but also how scanlation groups interact within a larger webtoon community, such as other scanlation groups, readers, and original artists and licensers).