February 26, 2009

Hey Class,

 Good work getting all caught up this week. There was a lot of material covered this week but I think we got the important material. We covered;

Survey Research 

Political Polls

Market Research

Evaluation Research

Sampling

Deficiencies in a Sample Frame

Foreign

Missing

Duplicates

Response Rate

Locatability

Cooperation

Eligibility

Longitudinal Designs

Trend

Cohort

Panel

Phrasing Questions

Simple Random Sample

Systematic Sample

Stratified Sample

Descriptive Statistics

Measures of Central Tendency

Mean 

Median

Mode

Measures of Dispersion

Range

Variance

SD

Visual Displays

On Monday, we discussed Sampling. For this weeks posting, I would like you to develop a research question or hypothesis. From that question, give 1) a target population, 2) Survey Population, and 3) The Sample Frame

February 5

Good work this week class. I know we had to work hard to cover the large amount of material but I like the interaction and discussions were developing. This week (and perhaps next Monday) we covered;

  The Process of Basic Communication Research

  Hypotheses vs. Research Questions

  Independent vs. Dependent Variables

  Types of Questions we Ask'

       Definition

       Fact

       Value

       Policy

  Operationalization (again :)

       Adequate

       Accurate

       Clear

  Conceptual Fit 

  Measurement

  Level of Measurement

       Nominal

       Ordinal

       Interval

       Ratio

  Scales

       Thurston

        Likert

       Rank-Order

       Check-list

       Semantic Differential

  Measurement Methods

       Self-Reports

       Others' Reports

  Measurement Techniques

  Modes of Administration

Am I crazy or is that a lot of gum? Any-who, for this weeks posting I would like you to think about the different types of questions we ask. I would like all of you to select an are of research and develop a question of definition, fact, value, & policy.

  For example, I am interested in studying motivations for using MP3 players. A question of definition would be, what is an MP3 player. A question of fact would be, do more than 50% of Kent State students own an MP3 player? A question of value would be, is it rude to walk into a classroom with your MP3 player on? A question of policy would be, should MP3 players be allowed to be worn during Kent State examinations?

  Enjoy the warm weather (along with rain) we are supposed to get this weekend.