The aims of this study are:

1.        The project seeks to determine fans’ contemporary perceptions of notions of Intellectual Property law, and perceptions of plagiarism and authorship in online fan fiction communities. In this way, a better understanding of emergent attitudes towards media production and dissemination will be highlighted.

2.        This study seeks to provide up-to-date and accurate information about fan culture and Fanfiction.net site users taking into account opinions and contributions from fans, and writing from the perspective of a female fan fiction author.

3.        To identify key factors in instigating self-regulatory practices and conflict resolution within fan communities.

4.        To highlight the relationship between fan fiction and Intellectual Property law.

5.        To discuss the new role of the reader/consumer and the author in light of the increasingly popularity of fan fiction culture.

6.        To identify the impact of community on fans’ writing and whether Fanfiction.net constitutes a community despite its online status. This will necessitate critically analysing the structural composition and means of interaction on Fanfiction.net.

7.        To provide statistical data about Fanfiction.net through an anonymous online survey and subsequent follow-up interviews and make ethnographic and statistical data available to the fan and academic communities.