Though I expect the method I use for researching for this project to change as I actually conduct my research, the following is what my current method is planned to be for how I learn how audiences’ perceptions of cat videos have stayed the same or changed over time.
First, I will research what the top ten most popular cat videos or cat video channels are on YouTube. I am focusing only on cat videos that have been posted on YouTube because, while several other platforms have been utilized to post and view cat videos on them, cat videos have been regarded by many sources as being one of the most popular, if not the single most popular, subjects of YouTube videos.
https://www.treehugger.com/why-cats-rule-internet-4862720
This idea, coupled with a clearer access to comments for each video, is why I will solely focus on cat videos posted on YouTube.
When I research for my list of the top ten most popular cat videos, I will only be collecting information from sources written in the past 5 years. This is so I can ensure any information I collect does not exclude any videos that would have risen to popularity in more recent years. Additionally, I will be searching for videos from a period of the last 19 years, as I want to ensure that older cat videos could potentially be added to my list, such as the earliest video (‘Pajamas and Nick Drake’), which was posted in 2005.
When I finally gather the list of videos that I will watch, I will not only be watching the videos themselves and analyzing their content, visuals, music, and the cat behaviors being depicted, but I will also be analyzing the comments posted for each video. I will only be reviewing the comments left within the most recent 1-2 years of a comment being posted. For instance, if for an older video the most recent comment was posted 4 years ago, I would only look at the comments posted between 4 and 6 years ago. My goal is to learn about what qualities about cat videos have endured or have changed over time, and I want the set of comments, no matter how long after the video’s posting they have been sent, to reflect how viewers perceive the videos nowadays.
After I finally finish watching all of the videos and reading all of the videos’ respective comments, I will read sources about theories regarding how we perceive online videos, how people react to imagery featuring animals, and how people react to or perceive content specifically featuring cats. I do not have any clear plans yet for specific theories or scholars whose works I will research, but I expect to gain a clearer idea of the types of theories and past analyses I will need to research in order to answer my research question for my project.
Trevor's Thoughts 
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