Mass Media Research: An Introduction, 8th Edition Instructor’s Manual (стр. 6 )

b)  Can be based on a comparison of survey data constructed for other purposes.

c)  Can compare results produced at two different times even if researchers have unreliable data

d)  Make it possible for researchers to recognize nay differences in question wording and context that might differ from one survey to the next

Which of the following is not an advantage of cohort analysis?

a)  Highly flexible

b)  Provides insight into the effects of organization’s ownership on employees

c)  Can be less expensive then experiments or surveys

d)  Can be used with either original data or secondary data

The major disadvantage of cohort analysis is that the specific effects of age, cohort, and period are difficult to untangle through purely statistical analysis of a standard cohort table. To solve this problem, researchers use all of the following except:

a)  Palmore’s triad method

b)  The Constrained multiple regression model

c)  The goodness-of-fit technique

d)  Partial correlation

True/False

Cross-lagged correlations are done when information about two variables is gathered from the different samples at two different times. (F) Influences associated with each particular time period are called period effects. (T) Cohort analysis can be more expensive than experiments or surveys. (F) It is impossible to combine quantitative and qualitative data in a longitudinal study. (F) The Internet has made it possible to collect longitudinal data online. (T)

Fill in the Blank

1.  (Cohort analysis) involves the study of specific populations, usually all those born during a given period, as they change over time.

2.  Influences produced by the sheer fact of maturation, or growing older, are called (age effects).

3.  In longitudinal studies, respondents often become sensitized to measure instruments after repeated interviewing, thus making the sample atypical. This is called (the sensitization effect).

4.  A (follow-back panel) selects a cross-sectional sample in the present and uses archival data from an earlier point in time to create the longitudinal dimension of the study.

5.  A (catch-up panel) involves selecting a cross-sectional study done in the past and locating all possible units of analysis for observation in the present.

Short Answer

1.  Why aren’t there more trend studies in mass media research?

2.  What kinds of techniques have been used to minimize sample mortality?

Chapter 9 - Experimental Research

Overview

This chapter introduces experimental research methods. Experimental research is used relatively infrequently in the mass media. Due to its infrequent use, this chapter examines only the more basic techniques: controlled laboratory experiments, quasi-experimental designs, and field experiments.

The first part of chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of laboratory experiments and presents systematic procedures about how to conduct experimental research. One advantage of experiments is establishing cause and effect. In a laboratory situation, researchers have control over the environment, the variables, and the subjects. In addition, experimental research provides researchers with a low cost compared to other research methods and makes it easier for others to replicate. However, the experimental technique is not perfect because of the artificial nature of the experimental environment, researchers’ bias, and limited scope.

There are eight steps that experimental researchers should follow when conducting an experiment: 1) select the setting; 2) select the experimental design; 3) operationalize variables; 4) decide how to manipulate the independent variable; 5) select and assign subjects to experimental conditions; 6) conduct a pilot study; 7) administer the experiment; and, 8) analyze and interpret the results.

The chapter also explains how to control confounding variables, and several suggestions are provided (randomization, matching, and including the confounding variables in the design) to experimental researchers in order to ensure the internal validity of their research.

There are a variety of experimental designs, such as pretest-posttest control group design, posttest-only control group design, Solomon four-group design, as well as factorial studies and the repeated-measures design. In cases when the researcher does not have the luxury of randomly assigning subjects to experimental conditions, researchers should use quasi-experimental designs: 1) pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design, and 2) interrupted time series design.

The next part of the chapter discusses the strengths and weaknesses of field experiments. Although field experiments provided greater evidence of external validity, it is much harder for researchers to control extraneous variables in a field setting.

Finally, the Internet offers new possibilities for experimental research. Internet experiments enable researchers to achieve large sample sizes and a geographically diverse sample but they suffer from a lack of control and problems of validity.

Exercises

1. Ask the students to design a research project investing the potential effects of watching horror movies. How do they define and measure “effects?” How many groups would they use to conduct the study? What types of ethical conflicts might there be with this type of study? What would they expect to find?

2. Show the film, “Milgram’s Obedience Study” and discuss the ethical issues in experimental research.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not one of the advantages of the experiment?

a)  Experiment help establish cause and effect

b)  In a laboratory situation, researchers can control over the environment

c)  The cost of an experiment can be low when compared to other research method

d)  Results can be generalized to real-life situations

To control confounding variables in experimental research, researchers can use several techniques. Which one is appropriate to control this problem?

a)  Randomization

b)  Using field experiment

c)  Observing subjects all the time

d)  Including another variable in the design

Which of the following is the drawback of the Solomon four group design?

a)  Lack of randomization

b)  Limited range of independent variables that can be tested

c)  The design needs more time to conduct

d)  Not appropriate for younger subjects

If the researcher thinks that the order of presentation of the independent variables in a repeated-measures design will be a problem, what substitute design can be used?

a)  Latin square design

b)  Solomon four-group design

c)  Factorial studies

d)  Pretest/treatment/posttest design

What type of study does this notation describe: R X O2?

a)  Posttest only

b)  Pretest only

c)  Pretest-posttest

d)  Solomon pretest only

What type of study does this notation describe: R O1 X O2?

a)  Posttest only

b)  Pretest only

c)  Pretest-posttest

d)  Latin Square posttest only

Which of the following is a disadvantage of an online experiment?

a) large sample size

b) experimenter bias

c) self-selection of sample

d) geographically diverse sample

True/False

The cost of an experiment can be high when compared to other research methods. (F) A factorial design for a study must have at least two factors or independent variables. (T) The advantage of the repeated-measures design is that fewer subjects are necessary because each subject participates in all conditions. (T) Field experiments can be inexpensive. (T) In field experiments, researchers can control all the intervening variables. (F)

Fill in the Blank

To counteract researcher bias, some researchers use the (double-blind) technique, in which neither subjects nor researchers know whether a given subject belongs to the control group. Research studies involving the simultaneous analysis of two or more independent variables are called (factorial designs). The definition of (carryover effects) is that the effects of one manipulation may still be present when the next manipulation is presented. (Reactivity) is the influence a subject’s awareness has on being measured or observed.

Short Answer

Discuss advantages and disadvantages of field experiments. If you conduct experiment to explain the relationship between viewing violent TV programs and children’s aggressive behaviors, what techniques (laboratory vs. field experiment) are you going to use? Why?

Chapter 10 - Introduction to Statistics

Overview

This chapter introduces some of the more common descriptive and inferential statistics used by mass media researchers. Statistics are mathematical methods to collect, organize, summarize, and analyze data. Statistics provide valid and reliable results only when the data collection and research methods follow established scientific procedures. With the development of the computer, the science of statistics has changed dramatically.

This chapter describes basic statistical procedures: descriptive statistics, sample distribution, and data transformation. In descriptive statistics, the chapter presents the concept of data distribution, frequency distribution, cumulative frequency, histogram, bar chart, frequency polygon, normal curve, and skewness. Furthermore, this section describes summary mmary statistics make data more manageable by measuring two basic tendencies of distributions: 1) central tendency; and 2) dispersion (variability). These statistics make it easier for researchers to understand data.

Central tendency statistics provide information about the grouping of numbers in a distribution by giving a single number that characterizes the entire distribution. Using the mode, median, and mean, researchers can figure out a typical score of a distribution. In addition, dispersion measures describe the way scores are spread out about a central point. Using range, variance, and standard deviation, allows researchers to understand the characteristics of the data.