The basics of Social Science Research Lecture 2 Dr. Jordy Gosselt Department of Communication Science

Today Basics of Empirical Research: From research question to method Research question(s) Literature review Operationalization Research method Sampling Research training: 2nd questionnaire Sample projects Cyber Crime (M. Junger) Next Research lecture: Operationalization of method (how to make questions / answers) [Bha2012] Bhattacherjee, A. (2012). Social Science Research. Principles, Methods, and Practices. Tampa, Florida: University of South Florida. PDF http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=oa_textbooks

Research process Research question(s) Literature review Operationalization Research method Sampling = Research proposal

Attitudes toward online shopping Research question(s) Specific but not too narrow Open question: what, why, how, when, to what extent etc. Avoid yes/no questions Interesting to you BUT also to your audience Possible to answer Perceived usefulness Attitudes toward online shopping Perceived ease of use

RQ: “Do computer games have bad influence?” Example RQ (I) RQ: “Do computer games have bad influence?” Yes/no question Better: e.g. „to what extent“ What is meant by computer games? Better: e.g. „first-person shooter games“ What is meant by „bad“? Better: „aggressive behavior“ or be even more specific Influence on? Better: „influence on children aged between 10 and 14“

Example RQ (II) To what extent do first-person shooter games influence aggressive behavior of children aged between 10 and 14? What kind of character traits are most likely to cause people to commit cybercrime? How does news propagate and influence users?

Example RQ (II) To what extent do first-person shooter games influence aggressive behavior of children aged between 10 and 14? What kind of character traits are most likely to cause people to commit cybercrime? How does news propagate and influence users?

Research process Research question(s) Literature review Operationalization Research method Sampling = Research proposal

Literature review (I) Literature available? How many papers? (search terms) Read abstracts (Still) interesting? New and relevant? Use reference list of articles found Adjust Research Question?

Literature review (II) Web of Science ScienceDirect Google Scholar Scopus IEEE JSTOR PsycINFO SpringerLink

Literature review (III)

Literature review (IV)

Literature review (V)

Research process Research question(s) Literature review Operationalization Research method Sampling = Research proposal

Operationalization: Classification of variables RQ: To what extent do first-person shooter games influence aggressive behavior of children aged between 10 and 14? Influence of variable A on B, C & D Physical aggression Playing a FPS game Verbal aggression A: Independent variable Symbolic aggression B, C, D: Dependent variables

Operationalization: Classification of variables Concept e.g. usability of mobile apps Concept e.g. usability of mobile apps Construct 1 e.g. demographics Construct 1 e.g. demographics Construct 2 e.g. user experience Construct 2 e.g. user experience Construct 3 Construct 3 Concept: An abstract explanation or description of observed phenomena. This is not measurable. Construct: Construct is an abstract definition or description that explains the concept in more detail. It refers to the characteristic that will be measured. Here, user experience is not directly measurable but by the means of variables Variables: Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are defined as variables of user experience. These variables are measurable by means of scale So, for the description of your research problem and/or research question, you will start with defining a concept…maybe you can already think about a construct and variables? But this is also for the upcoming weeks and the writing of your research proposal Variable: age Variable: gender etc. Variable: Perceived usefulness Variable: Perceived ease of use etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

Operationalization: Classification of variables Concept: Aggressive behavior Construct 1: Physical aggression Construct 2: Verbal aggression Construct 3: Symbolic aggression fighting etc. etc. shouting etc. etc. gesture etc. etc. Variables (next lecture: are there existing scales you can use?)

Research process Research question(s) Literature review Operationalization Research method Sampling = Research proposal

Research method: Which one is best? RQ: What kind of character traits are most likely to cause people to commit cybercrime? RQ: To what extent do first-person shooter games influence aggressive behavior of children aged between 10 and 14? RQ: What do news consumers consider fake news?

Research method: Quantitative research Quantitative e.g. survey / experimental design (or qualitative e.g. interviews) Method should fit your RQ! By asking each respondent the same questions we can compare their responses and calculate statistics (Means, Standard Deviations, etc.) Standardization (hopefully) promotes objectivity NOT because standardized questionnaires produce superior information (far from it) BUT (web-based) questionnaires can quickly get you lots of data that are suitable for statistical analysis Variable Perceived usefulness consisting of 3 items

Research method: Reliability vs Validity Reliability: extent to which a measurement tool gives consistent results (If someone else had conducted the research, the findings should be the same) Validity: extent to which a measurement tool measures what it is supposed to measure In order to be valid an instrument has to be reliable Standardization of questions: - will increase the reliability of your findings (more replicable) - can decrease the validity of your findings (do we measure what we want to measure?)

Research method: Reliability vs Validity Test-retest reliability Consistency over time  e.g. pre-test or pre and post measurement Inter-coder/observer reliability Agreement between two or more coders (qualitative research)  Cohens Kappa Internal consistency reliability = loading of items  Cronbach’s Alpha Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Construct Item 4 Item 5 Item 6

Research method: Reliability vs Validity internal validity: change in dependent variable is caused by independent variable = causality. In other words: can the outcome be attributed to causes other than the designed interventions? ensure a proper experimental design external validity: the findings can be generalized beyond the context of the own research broad and divers sample construct validity: does your instrument measure the construct(s) carefully define your construct and develop valid instrument or use existing instrument(s) Type of campaign: Green High Tech

Research process Research question(s) Literature review Operationalization Research method Sampling = Research proposal

Sampling Who will be asked to participate? How, how many, how often, when? Random sample or otherwise? (e.g. convenience sample) Random sample: probability to be selected known for every member of the population (not necessarily equal) In case of experiment: randomization per condition Type of campaign: Green High Tech How to select a sample from the chosen unit of analysis/population? How to approach/find your participants? RQ: Effect of type of campaign and channel on reputation UT Dependent variable: reputation UT Independent variables: type of campaign and channel Online Channel: Offline

Sampling Practical reasons Surveys among entire populations not always feasible, necessary or desirable e.g., all university students, all clients of a company Conclusions about the entire population can be made, if you have drawn a random sample Google: Sample size calculator How to select a sample from the chosen unit of analysis/population? How to approach/find your participants?

Sampling Does random sampling guarantee representativeness? No! A sample will always deviate somewhat from the population because of random error, but … If a sample is drawn through random selection we can estimate the sampling error, which … Allows us to draw conclusions about the population If you notice that the sample deviates from the population (e.g. overrepresentation of males), corrections can be made (sample weights) How to select a sample from the chosen unit of analysis/population? How to approach/find your participants?

Research process Research question(s) Literature review Operationalization Research method Sampling = Research proposal

To sum up: Define RQ(s) based on literature Define your concept(s), construct(s) and variable(s) Determine how to examine your RQ(s) The research method must fit your RQ(s) Define your target group and sampling method Start writing your proposal Have a look at the ethical committee process Make use of the clinics! Clinics are a requirement to be able to submit your proposal!! Incomplete teams?

Now: fill in questionnaire; Deadline: March 5, 11.59 pm https://utwentebs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_55el4MuT3XIhxgF I understand the purpose and nature of this study and I am participating voluntarily. I understand that I can withdraw from the study at any time, without any penalty or consequences. Herewith, I confirm that I am 18 years or older. Clinics are a requirement to be able to submit your proposal!! Incomplete teams?