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problematic as graduates may feel that everyone else has their lives ‘ figured out ’, which is not always the case . Some individuals may use their peers ’ social media posts as a measure of success for their own lives . 98
Methodology
Research Question How does graduating from university impact students ’ mental wellbeing and how does social media contribute towards this ?
Research Aims To qualitatively explore how graduation can impact students ’ mental wellbeing and how social media can contribute to this .
Research Objectives 1 ) To explore how student ’ s experience pre- and post-graduation . 2 ) To uncover the impact that social media may have on the mental wellbeing of graduates and how they navigate life post-graduation . 3 ) To understand how universities can better support students into their post-university career .
Semi-structured interviews were employed for this study as they allowed for the qualitative exploration of attitudes , values and beliefs of participants . 99 Open-ended questions were used to explore participants ’ thoughts and experiences relating to their university experience , plans for graduation , university support and their social media usage .
Participants for this study were recruited from Keele University and Staffordshire University . Participants were recruited through a purposive sampling technique , this being , using my own judgement to select those who I felt would provide me with the most insight into the topic being studied ( Wallen and Fraenkel , 2001 ; Tongco , 2007 ). Participants were either graduates of Keele or Staffordshire University , or postgraduate students studying at either institution . Participants came from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds , including Psychology ,
98
' Social media and young people ' s mental health ,' Mental Health Foundation , accessed 19 June , 2020 , https :// www . mentalhealth . org . uk / blog / social-media-and-young-peoples-mental-health
99
Elaine Wethington and Meghan McDarby , ' Interview methods ( structured , semistructured , unstructured ),' The Encyclopedia of Adulthood and Aging . ( 2015 ): 1-5 .