Decoding the Bars: A Quantitative Analysis of the Information Behavior of the FlipTop Battle League Fanbase

Overview

This repository contains the source code, data, and final PDF manuscript for the thesis project completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for LIS 192: Quantitative Research Methods in LIS at the University of the Philippines - Diliman.

Abstract

Since counter-culture media first transitioned to online platforms, there has been a continuous discussion attached to how audiences process dense, culturally specific information. The explosion of Internet-driven video platforms has only accelerated the discussion. This study was undertaken among the fanbase of the FlipTop Battle League, a highly viewed digital rap battle platform. Sixty purposive respondents were identified for the sample. Chi-square analysis was used to answer the three core research questions regarding the audience's reliance on asynchronous decoding behaviors, the YouTube comment section, and "berrypicking" techniques. Results showed a significant reliance on community-generated metadata in the comment sections, but no significant prevalence of active, multi-tab cross-referencing. Implications for further action include recommendations for the integration of in-platform contextual tools.

⚠️ Disclaimer: This manuscript and dataset were created as an academic requirement for an undergraduate coursework class (LIS 192). While it has been reviewed and evaluated by a course adviser, it has not undergone formal academic peer review and should not be cited as an authoritative literature source.

Author

Kristian Mark S. Surat
School of Library and Information Studies
University of the Philippines - Diliman

Project Structure

• Surat_LIS192_Thesis.qmd: The primary Quarto markdown file containing the manuscript text and embedded R code for statistical analysis.
• Surat_LIS192_Thesis.pdf: The finalized, compiled thesis document.
• data.csv: The anonymized raw survey data used for analysis.
• references.bib: The BibTeX file containing all literature citations.
• apa.csl: The Citation Style Language file enforcing APA formatting.
• conceptual-framework.png: Diagram illustrating the study's conceptual framework.

Build Instructions

To reproduce the final PDF from the source code, ensure you have the following installed:

1. R (with packages: ggplot2, psych, dplyr, likert)
2. Quarto CLI
3. LaTeX (via tinytex or standard TeX Live installation, including the framed package)

Run the following command in the root directory:

quarto render Surat_LIS192_Thesis.qmd --to pdf