Dr. Bolt

Final Posting

2009-04-29T12:15:00.002-04:00

Hello class,

Can you believe this is our last blog posting? Remember, there will be no class this Thursday, April 30th. Below is information we covered in chapters 7 and 13.

Experiment

3 Factors for Causation

Control

Attribute Variable

Random Assignment

Pretest

Double-blind procedure

Intervening variables

Suppressor

Reinforcer

Lurking

Types of experimental design

Chi square

T-test

independent samples

paired samples

ANOVA

post-hoc comparisons

In class, we discussed the difference between an independent samples t-test and a paired samples. For posting this week, I would like you to develop a line of research that uses a t-test. Give me an example of both an independent samples and paired sample.

Individual Meetings

2009-04-09T11:41:00.002-04:00

Good work in the last three classes. Lots of material but good stuff. This week we covered;

True Score and Error Score

Internal Validity

Measurement Reliability

Multiple Administration

Internal Consistency

Measurement Validity

Content Validity

Face validity

Criterion Validity

Construct Validity

Good Treatment

Environmental Influences

History

Sleeper

Sensitization

Hawthorne Effect

Selection

Self-selection Bias

Regression Effect

Ceiling and floor Effect

Mortality (Attrition)

Evaluation Apprehension

Researcher Personal Attribute Effect

Researcher Unintentional Expectancy Effect

Researcher Observational Bias

Observer Drift

Observer Bias

Halo Effect

External Validity

Sampling

Simple Random

Systematic

Stratified

Cluster

Convenience

Volunteer

Purposive

Quota

Network (Snowball)

Ecological Validity

Replicate Findings

Constructing Scales

Next Class (April 14) we will have individual meetings. I want you to bring your SPSS project and I will give you advice on how to improve any stakes. Each of you will be alloted a five minute time frame. For this week's posting, I would like you to select you time. This way you don't have to sit around all class. Lets start with 5:30 and go in 5 minute intervals until 6:30 (i.e. 5:30, 5:35, 5:40, etc.). Please post your name and select a time not chosen by another student.

Thursday, April 2.

2009-04-04T13:50:00.002-04:00

Hello class,

This week's blog posting is an easy one. On class Tuesday, I handed out your SPSS assignment. I forgot to record who had which data set. So, for this week's posting, I would like you to write the 2 variables that you were given for the assignment. They are hand written on the top of the paper. Remember to post your name.

2009-03-14T19:31:00.002-04:00

Hello class, I hope you are all studying for the second exam and preparing for a much deserved spring break. Here is what we discussed this week;

3 ways variables can be related

Correlations

Critical Values

Spurious Relationships

Central Limits Theorem

Kurtosis & Skewness

Confidence Interval

Null Hypothesis

Type I & Type II errors

Remember, we are taking Tuesday off to study extra hard for the exam that is on Thursday. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

March 4, 2007

2009-03-06T17:03:00.003-05:00

Hello Class,
This week we spent some time dealing with descriptive statistics and some inferential statistics. This week week we discussed;

Measures of Central Tendency
Mean
Median
Mode
Measures of Dispersion
Range
Standard Deviation
The Normal Curve
.34
.14
.02

In class we discussed how sometimes it is better to discuss the median or mode of data instead of the mean. For example, when discussing the average college graduates' income, we might want to discuss the median because outliers (such as professional athletes) would skew the mean. Can you think of other examples where we would want to discuss the median or mode instead of the mean?

February 26, 2009

2009-02-25T13:53:00.001-05:00

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

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

2009-02-05T15:48:00.003-05:00

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.

January 30

2009-01-31T13:15:00.001-05:00

Hey class,

This week in class we discussed;

Characteristics of Research

What all Communication Scholars have in Common

The Model of Research

Paradigms

Basic vs. Applied Research

Theories

Building

Evaluating

For posting this week, let's continue to work on our conceptual and operational definitions. I would like you to pose a question of a relationship between two variables. Then give conceptual and operational definitions for both variables.

Ex- Due to the problem solving needed in modern video games, gamers are more likely to excel in mathematical skills than non gamers.

Variable 1- Gamers

Conceptual- Individuals who engage in the act of playing electronically simulated games

Operational- Individuals who admit to playing an average of 5 or more hours a week of video games on any platform

Variable 2- Mathematical skills

Conceptual- The comprehension of the logical nature and structure of geometry, logic, probability, algebra, and statistics.

Operational- Any individual who scored above 650 on the mathematics section of the SAT or 19 on the ACT's

January 22

2009-01-22T18:47:00.004-05:00

Good work in class today. I really enjoyed our class discussions on "what is wrong with this study." Today in Class, we discussed;

Characteristics of Bad Research

Different Epistemologies

Personal Experience

Intuition

Authority

Tradition, Custom, & Faith

Magic, Superstition, & Mysticism

Two different types of Research

Proprietary

Scholarly

Research

For this weeks posting, I would like you to select one of the above Epistemologies and give an example from your own life. In class, I used the example of personal experience and my belief that everybody is Catholic. Try to come up with your own unique experience. Remember to leave your name after your posting so I can give you credit.

Welcome

2009-01-13T19:05:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Dr. Bolt's Blog. I know I'm not officially a doctor yet but I figured I should get the domain name before somebody else :) This blog is dedicated to the students of Communication Research Methods. Together, we will use this forum to grow in our understanding of the scientific method implemented in quantitative research methods. I welcome you all and look forward to meeting with you.

November 28

2007-11-29T11:57:00.000-05:00

Wow, it feels like forever since I posted on the blog. Can you believe next week is it? This semester just flew bye. Here are the important topics we discussed in Chapters 5 and 13,

Observed measurement is comprised of true scores and error scores

Error scores are comprised of random error and measurement error

Internal v. External validity

Measurement reliability

Multiple administrations (test-retest)

Internal consistency (Split-half/ intercoder reliability)

Measurement validity

Content validity (Face, criterion, predictive, and construct)

Manipulation checks

Controlling the environment (History, sleeper, snsitization)

Hawthorne effect

Selection (self-selection bias, regression effect, ceiling and floor effects)

Mortality (maturation v. intersubject bias)

Evaluation apprehension / social desirability bias

Researcher personal attribute effect

Researcher unintentional expectancy effect

Researcher observational bias (observer drift, observer bias, halo effect)

Sampling (simple random, systematic, stratified, cluster)

(convenience, volunteer, purposive, quota, network)

Ecological validity

Chi Square

One-way v. two-way

(Expected values)

T-test

Independent samples v. Paired samples

Question for thought:

In lecture, we discussed Environmental influences (History, sleeper, and sensitization). For posting, select one of these and give an example. For example, in graduate school I have experienced many all-nighters (studying all night without sleep). This lack of sleep should make the individual tired, slow, and cranky. However, many individuals (including myself) at 7am are wired and extremely energetic. This would appear that lack of sleep increases energy. This is actually a sleeper effect. Although at 7am the individual may be bouncing off the walls, by 2pm they crash. The lack of sleep catches up with them and they later show the true effects of no sleep.

Talk about coincidence, use an example of sleep to illustrate a sleeper effect. :)

Individual Meetings

2007-10-31T16:58:00.000-04:00

Hello class, I'm looking forward to grading your Exams. Look on Vista sometime Friday morning for your grade.
Please use this blog to sign up for your individual meetings. Instead of class on Monday, I would like to meet with you all individually for no more than 10 minutes in my office (D207 MSP). Please bring with you as much of your research project as you can complete. Times for meetings will be Monday from 10am- 6pm and Tuesday from 12noon- 5pm. Sign up in 10 minute increments (i.e. 10:00, 10:10, 10:20, etc.). Please read the postings before yours to make sure nobody else has selected the time slot (click on comments).

Jeffrey

Sample Exam Questions

2007-10-29T18:40:00.000-04:00

Here are a few example questions that contain some math.

1.) A researcher is examining body weight. In her class, the mean body weight is 140 lbs. The Standard deviation is 10lbs. Between what two weights could the research find 68% of her data?

2.) From the information above, between what two points could the researcher find 48% of weights below the average?

3.) On a seven-point Likert scale measuring compliance gaining ability, the mean score was 5.2 with a standard deviation of .4. Between what two scores could you find 68% of the data?

4.) Using the data from the above question, between what two scores could you expect to find 2% of the data above the mean?

5.) In a study, you know the contact rate is 60%, cooperation rate is 40%, and the eligibility rate is 60%. If you know you need 288, what is the estimated response rate?

6.) The contact rate is 10%, cooperation rate is 40%, and the eligibility rate is 80%. If you know you need 1000, what is the estimated response rate?

Answers
1.) 130 & 150
2.) 120 & 140
3.) 4.8 & 5.6
4.) 6.0 & 6.4
5.) 2,000
6.) 31,250

October 17, 2007

2007-10-17T21:29:00.000-04:00

Hello all, its been some time since I've posted a blog. Following is a list of topics we have covered since the last posting.

Cross sectional v. longitudinal (Trend, Cohort, and Panel) Surveys
Designing Questions for Surveys (Phrasing Questions)
Samples (Simple Random, Systematic, and Stratified)
Descriptive v. Inferential Statistics
Measures of Central Tendency (Mode, Median, Mean)
Range
Standard Deviation
Relationships between variables (Unrelated, Linear, Nonlinear)
Correlations (Strength, direction)
Spurious Relationships
Central Limits Theorem
Kurtosis and Skewness
Confidence Level
Confidence Interval

Question for thought: In class today we discussed spurious relationships. I'd like you to come up with one of your own. For example, There is a relationship between number of firefighters and property damage. The more firefighters, the more property they damage. The third intervening variable is size of the fire. A larger fire requires more firefighters and a larger fire causes more damage.

October 3, 2007

2007-10-03T20:14:00.000-04:00

Good work in class today. I'm glad to see how quickly we jumped back into new material. Remember to finish up those surveys for class if you have not yet already. Here is what we covered today;
Survey Research (Political Polls, Market Research, & Evaluation Research)
Element, Target Population, Sampling Frame, & Sample
3 Deficiencies in a sample frame
Ecological Fallacy
Estimating Response Rate (Locatability, Cooperation, & Eligibility)

I know we discussed sampling in class and had an group activity, but I really want to make sure everybody understands. So, for posting, develop a line of research. Then, define the element, the target population and the sampling frame.

Wednesday, September 19

2007-09-19T20:06:00.000-04:00

Good work in class this week all. We covered some challenging material and got through it. I really like how some of the class discussion is going. We can all learn from each other. Here is what we covered this week.

Conceptual v. Operational Definitions
Operational definitions as Adequate, Accurate, and Clear
Quantitative v. Qualitative Measurement
Levels of Measurement (Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio)
Types of Scales (Thurston, Likert, Rank Order, Check List, & Semantic Differential)
Measurement Methods (Self Reports, Others, & Behavioral Acts)
Measurement Techniques (Questionnaires, Interviews, & Observation)
Question Order Effects
Modes of Administration

Question for posting: I would like you to pick a topic you would like to study and develop two questions. One question should be measured at the nominal or ordinal level and the other question should be measured at the interval or ratio level. For example;

I am interested in the public opinion toward O.J. Simpson. Question 1.) Do you think the juice committed the crime in Las Vegas (yes) or (no). This is a nominal question. Question 2.) How long of a sentence do you think the juice will receive if he is convicted (number of years). This is a ratio question.

Don't forget to type out your practice questions for Monday

Monday, September 17

2007-09-17T20:11:00.000-04:00

Hello class. Don't worry about posting today. I was going to have you post questions for each level of measurement, but I think we ran into some trouble with that today. Lets look over our notes and start of class Wednesday with some questions.

Wednesday, September 12

2007-09-12T20:22:00.000-04:00

Great work in class today. I appreciate the questions and interaction. Here is what we covered this week.

Basic v. Applied Research
Deductive v. Inductive Theory Building
Evaluating Theories (Explanation, Predict, Control, Heuristic, Communicative, & Inspiration)
The Process of Basic Communication Research
Hypothesis v. Research Question
Independent Variable v. Dependent Variable
Types of Questions we Ask (Definition, Fact, Value, & Policy)

Question for thought: I would like you to select two related variables you would be interested in studying. I would then like you to develop a Research Question and a Hypothesis between those variables. Also, identify the independent and dependent variables.

For Example, I am interested in studying the relationship between cities people live in and watching post-season baseball. A Research question would be, "Is there a relationship between the size of a city somebody lives in and the amount of post-season baseball they watch?" A Hypothesis would be, "Cities that have a professional baseball team in the post-season will watch more games than cities' whose professional baseball team did not make the post-season." The IV is city (size or team making the playoffs v. not making the playoffs) and the DV is number of post season games watched.

2007-09-05T18:39:00.000-04:00

Two weeks down, way to go! This week in class (aka today) we discussed;

The Characteristics of Research
What All Communication Scholars have in Common
The Model of Communication Research
Different Paradigms (Naturalists v. Positivists)

For Posting; I want you to develop a research question and discuss how both positivists and naturalists might study the same question. For example;

I want to study the influence of slasher films (sweet horror movies) on males aggressive behavior. The Positivists would use an experiment. They would bring men into a lab and let half of them watch hours of slasher films and the other half to watch stand up comedy. Then I would allow all of them to pick different video games to play. If slasher films do influence violence, then those who watched those movies should pick more violent video games to play than those who watched the comedians.
The naturalist would visit fan webpages of slasher films and attempt to chat with individuals. They would ask questions about their aggressive feelings after watching films. Because naturalists believe in multiple realities, an experiment would not work because you need to understand the reality of each individual.

I know this a tough one gang, give it a shot. As long as effort is there, full credit.

August 29, 2007

2007-08-29T20:28:00.000-04:00

Great work in class today. I'm really impressed on how well you all did on the "what's wrong with this research" exercise. You already seem to be critical thinkers, and this will help with the material covered in this semester. As a re-cap, here is what we covered today;

Faulty research presented in the mass media
Epistemologies (Personal Experience, Intuition, Authority, Tradition-Custom-Faith, & Magic-Superstition)
Two different types of research (Propriety & Scholarly)

Question for thought (remember to type your name after your response);
For posting, I want you to think about the different epistemologies we learned. Give me an example of how you learned something incorrectly because of using an epistemology.
For example: I once learned through authority that the mayor of Cheektowaga (my home town) lived in this huge mansion on Clinton St. My older brother was a figure of authority, and he told me so. When I grew older, I learned the building was actually an art museum that people can rent out for private parties. I further learned that Cheektowaga does not even have a mayor. I believed my older brother through authority and was incorrect.

Jeffrey Bolt

Monday, August 27

2007-08-27T11:13:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Research Methods. I'm looking forward to a new semester with a new group of students. Please feel free to email with any questions you may have.

Question For Posting: Please write your name so I can see you have been here. Click on leave a comment, type in your name, then post.

Individual Meetings

2007-08-02T11:58:00.000-04:00

Please sign up for your individual meeting on Monday, August 6. Select a time between 9am and 1pm. Each meeting will last no longer than 10 minutes so sign up on the tens (i.e. 9:00, 9:10, 9:20, 9:30, etc.). Make sure nobody has previously selected your time.

July, 31, 2007

2007-07-31T11:58:00.000-04:00

Good work getting right back into the swing of things. I really enjoyed the questions in today's class (I'm not a mind reader so if something is confusing, PLEASE ask). Here is what we covered;

3 Types of Survey Research (Political, Market, & Evaluation)
Basic Concepts of Sampling (Element, Target Population, Survey Population, Sampling Frame, and Sample)
3 Types of Deficiencies in a sample frame (Foreign, Duplicate, and Missing Elements)
Response Rate (including Locatability, Cooperation, and Eligibility Rate)
Longitudinal Designs (Trend, Cohort, and Panel)
Phrasing Questions

Question for thought;
Let us review our basic concepts of sampling. For posting, select a topic of interest and include a target population, survey population, sampling frame, and a final sample.
For example,
I am interested in Golfer's prejudices/ stereotypes of other golfers.
Target Population- Ohio Golfers
Survey Population- 8 North East Ohio Private Clubs Members
Sampling Frame- Membership list from Barrington, Sebring, Twin Lakes, Union, Avon Oaks, Spring Valley, Canterbury, and Shaker Heights
Sample- n = 250 golfers

July 24

2007-07-24T11:51:00.000-04:00

Great effort this week class. I really like how the group exercises are going and you are attempting to work with the material. Some of you need to work on getting up a tad earlier, I'd hate for you to loose points at the end of the semester for always arriving late to class. Here is what we discussed this week.

Conceptual v. Operational definitions
Conceptual Fit
Good Operational definitions (Adequate, Accurate, and Clear)
Quantitative v. Qualitative Measures
Triangulation
Levels of Measurements (Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, & Ratio)
Unidimensional v. Multidimensional Variables
Types of Scales (Thurston, Likert, Rank Order, Check List, & Semantic Differential)
Measurement Methods (Self Reports, Other's Reports, & Behavioral Acts)
Questionnaires, Interviews, and Observations
Coding Schemes
Modes of Administration

In class we talked about open ended and close ended questions. For posting, develop a topic and create an open ended and close ended question. Be sure that your close ended question is mutually exclusive, equivalent, and exhaustive... to the best of your ability.

Example:
I am interested in how students get to school.
Open ended: How do you get to school?
Close ended: Please circle the choice that best represents how you typically get to school
A.) Drive a car
B.) Walk/ Ride a bike/ skateboard/ etc.
C.) Mass Transportation (i.e. Bus)
D.) Ride in a car with a friend or family member

July 17

2007-07-19T15:19:00.000-04:00

Good work this week with the material. Here is a list of what we covered.

G. R. Miller's listing of why we study Communication
Basic and Applied Research
Theory Building (Deductive and Inductive)
Evaluating Theories (Scope, Validity, Simplicity, Focusing, Observational, Falsification, Control, Heuristic, Communicative, Inspiration)
Process of Research
Hypothesis v. Research Questions
Independent v. Dependent Variable
Types of Questions we ask (Definition, Fact, Value, & Policy)

Question for Thought
Select a topic of interest to you that you would research. Creat a question of definition, fact, value, and policy for your research topic. For example, I am interested in individuals use of online news.
Question of Definition- What is a weblog?
Question of Fact- Do individuals read online new more in the morning or the evening?
Question of Value- Are online newspapers less reliable?
Question of Policy- Should newspapers charge subscription fees for online readers?

July 17, 2007

2007-07-17T13:01:00.000-04:00

Good work in class today all. I know a lot of the material we covered was boring and tiresome, but as we continue this semester, much of what we discussed today will come back. It's like laying the foundation of a house, its hard work that nobody sees, but you need it more than anything. Following is a list of what we have covered so far;

Bad research in popular press
3 Types of information (retrieval, processing, and new info)
Epistemologies (Personal Experience, Intuition, Authority, Tradition-Custom-Faith, Superstition)
2 Types of Research (Propriety v. Scholarly)
6 Characteristics of Research
What all Communication Scholars Have in Common
5 Phase Model of Communication Research
2 Major Paradigms (Positivists & Naturalists)

For discussion, lets have everybody select an epistemology and give an example of a truth they learned through that particular epistemology. For example, I believe that when conducting a statistical t-test, one should always use a two-tailed test. My advisor at MSU told me that. I don't know why, but he is the editor of measurement and analysis (the highest research methods honor), so I believe so through Authority.
Jeffrey B.

Monday, July 16

2007-07-15T19:02:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Research Methods. This blog will be used throughout the semester to aid in your learning. Remember to sign your name when you post.

Wednesday, April 25

2007-04-27T11:45:00.000-04:00

Congrats on completing the final week of the semester. Next week we have the review and then the final exam. You should be working on your final paper this weekend. This week in class we covered the following;
ANOVA (Analysis of Variance)
Post-hoc comparisons

Research Ethics
Tenure
Internal Review Board; Free choice, privacy, and benefit not harm
Ethics with research results

For this week's posting, just post you name. As long as I see you posted a comment that has your name on it, I'll give you credit. Its the end of the semester and you all deserve a break. I'll see you on Monday

Wednesday, April 18th

2007-04-18T17:03:00.000-04:00

Good work this week class. We got caught up today and are right on track with the syllabus. Here is what we covered this week;

Experiments
Factors for causation (Casual order, covary, no intervening)
Control
Attribute variables
Random assignment
Pretests
Double blind procedure
Confounding variables (suppressor, reinforcer, lurking)
Types of experimental designs (One group posttest only, one group pretest-posttest, pretest-posttest control group, Solomon 4 Group design)

Chi square
t-test

In class we discussed the difference between independent samples and paired samples t-test. For posting, I would like you to come up with an independent samples t-test and then a similar paired samples t-test. (In class, we used the example of a training film at a car dealership. An independent samples t-test would give half the participants the training video and compare their sales productivity after the video to a control group that did not receive the video. If the group who watched the video had higher productivity, then the video is successful.A paired samples example would be to measure sales individuals' productivity, show them all the training film, and then measure their productivity again. If their was an increase, the video is successful.

Wednesday, April 11th

2007-04-12T20:08:00.000-04:00

Good work in class this week. I'm looking forward to reading your research assignments and should have grades posted by Friday evening. Here is a review of chapter 5.
Every score is made up of random error and measurement error
Potential threats to Internal Validity
How the research is conducted
Multiple Administration
Internal Consistency
Measurement Validity
Content validity (face, criterion, construct)
Good treatment
Environmental influences
Effects due to research participants
Hawthorne Effect
Selection (self selection, regression effect, ceiling and floor effect)
Mortality
Evaluation apprehension
Effects due to researchers
Research personal attribute effect
Researcher unintentional expectancy effect
Researcher Observational Bias (observer Drift, observer bias, halo effect)
Potential threats to external validity
Sampling
Random sample (simple, systematic, stratified, cluster)
Nonrandom sample (convenience, volunteer, purposive, quota, network sample)
Ecological validity
Replicate findings
Constructing Scales

Question for thought:
Think of a research question where a nonrandom sample would be needed. Describe the study, the nonrandom sample, and why this sampling would be needed.

Individual Meetings

2007-03-19T17:47:00.000-04:00

Hello all, Please sign up for you individual meeting on Monday, April 2nd. Times will start from 2 pm until 6 pm. Please sign up in ten minute intervals (2:00. 2:10, 2:20 etc.). Make sure nobody has already selected you time before posting. See you soon.

March 7, 2007

2007-03-07T15:27:00.000-05:00

Hello all, we covered lots of material this week. Following is a list of the material we covered;
1.) The three ways 2 variables can be related;
Unrelated
Linear
Nonlinear
2.) Correlations
r values indicate direction and strength
rules of thumb for strengths
determining if the correlation is significant
no causation with correlations
3.) Spurious relationships
4.) Two purposes of inferential statistics (estimation and significance testing)
5.) Kurtosis and Skewness
6.) Standard error of the mean
7.) Confidence Level and Confidence Interval
8.) Significance testing of the null hypothesis
9.) Type I & II errors

Question for thought:
In class, we discussed spurious relationships. For discussion, come up with your own. Describe a relationship that appears to exist between two variables and then describe a third variable that really explains the relationship.

Wednesday, February 28

2007-02-28T17:03:00.000-05:00

Good job with standard deviation today. This is a tough concept and not that much fun but it sounds like your grasping the material. This week in class, we discussed;

Designing questions for surveys
Types of samples
a.) simple random
b.) systematic sample
c.) simple stratified sample
d.) proportional stratified sample
Sampling from periodicity
Descriptive v. Inferential statistics
a.) mean
b.) median
c.) mode
Range/ Variance/ Standard Deviation
Normal Distribution
Standard scores
Frequency tables/ histograms

Last week, we talked about two different types of studies, Longitudinal and Cross sectional. Think of a study where you would need to conduct a longitudinal study. For posting, describe the study and explain why a cross-sectional design would not work. Also, which type of longitudinal design would you use and why (Trend, Cohort, Panel)?

February 21

2007-02-21T20:04:00.000-05:00

Good work this week rebounding from the unexpected day off. I look forward to grading your tests and should have results posted on vista before Saturday. This week, we covered,
Different types of Survey research,
Key terms in sampling
Deficiencies in a sample frame
How to determine a response rate
Longitudinal studies

For posting this week, I would like you to come up with a hypothetical research project. State either a hypothesis or research question. Then, I want you to walk through the sampling procedure. State what your target population would be, a survey population, and finally your sampling frame.

February 7

2007-02-07T17:09:00.000-05:00

Tough week class. We covered a lot of material that will be influential all semester long. Please use the blog postings as your study guide. If it was posted on the blog, it must be important.
Here is what was covered this week.
Conceptual vs. Operational definitions
Quantitative vs. Qualitative measurement
Levels of Measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, & ratio)
Unidimensional vs. Multidimensional
Types of Scales
Thurston
Likert-type
Rank Order
Check List
Semantic Differential
Measurement Methods
Self Reports
Other's Reports
Behavioral Acts
Measurement Techniques
Questionnaires
Interviews (Open ended vs. Close ended)
Strategies on Questionnaires and Interviews
Question Order Effects

Question for thought;
In class, I mentioned how the research should drive the measurement method you use. For your posting, select a research question that would best be answered through self reports and give another example that would be best measure by either other's reports or behavioral acts. Be sure to explain why this method is better than others.

Wednesday, January 31

2007-01-31T15:35:00.000-05:00

Good work this week. I know the class is moving slow and may by repetitive from your other comm classes, but I assure you new exiting information is on the horizon. This week we covered the following;

1.) Applied vs. Basic Communication Research
2.) What a Theory is
3.) Evaluating Theories Explain
Predict
Control
Heuristic
Communicative
Inspiration
4.) Operationalization
5.) Hypothesis vs. Research Question
6.) IV vs. DV
7.) Types of Questions Definition
Fact
Value
Policy
8.) Theory Building (Inductive vs. Deductive)

Question for thought;
On Monday I gave an example of a theory I created to help explain a common situation. For posting, describe a theory of your own. It does not have to be a good theory, but it should not be a real published communication theory. In addition, critique your own theory on two of the possible six principles we discussed.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

2007-01-24T17:38:00.000-05:00

Great first week class. Both group assignments were done very well and I appreciate the discourse beginning. So far this week we have covered;

Different epistemologies
Personal experience
Intuition
Authority
Appeals to tradition, custom, and faith
Magic, superstition, and mysticism
Research
6 Characteristics of research
What all communication scholars have in common
Model of communication research
2 competing research paradigms
G. R. Miller’s reasons for studying communication

Question for thought?
Monday we discussed several different epistemologies. The problem with everyday ways of knowing occurs when we should question what is assumed to be true, but do not because we accept things simply at face value. Think about an instance when you (or a friend or society at large) have believed something that later was found to be incorrect. For your posting, describe this instance and list the epistemology you used.
*Remember to include your name after posting anonymously. You may have to preview your post first. (I have posted an example)

January 17, 2007

2007-01-17T01:33:00.000-05:00

Welcome To Research Methods
Spring 2007

October 26- 31

2006-11-01T13:16:00.000-05:00

Here is the last list for study guide materials before the second exam.
1.) Types of Survey Designs (Cross sectional v. Longitudinal)
2.) Question Construction on Surveys
3.) Determining the sample size needed
4.) Standard error/ Margin of Error
5.) Chi Square

Tuesday, October 25th

2006-10-24T18:33:00.000-04:00

Hello all, Following is a recap of last Thursday's class.
1.) Modes of Administration
2.) Types of non-probability sampling
3.) Types of (probability) sampling methods
4.) Deficiencies in a sample frame
5.) Sampling from periodicity
6.) Some Basic Concepts

For discussion, I would like you to walk through the basic concepts we discussed in sampling. First, come up with a research question or hypothesis. Then, state what is your (a) target population, (b) your survey population, and (c) what you would use for your sampling frame.

October 10- 17

2006-10-18T15:26:00.000-04:00

First, grades for the class research project are posted online.
It's been some time, but here is a review of what we have been covering in class;
1.) Spurious Relationships
2.) Critical value tables
3.) significantt Testing
4.) Independent Samples t-test
5.) Between samples t-test
6.) Errors in hypothesis testing
7.) Alternative hypothesis
8.) Anova

For posting this week, I would like you to develop a hypothesis that can be tested from ANOVA. Make sure you have two independent variables that you suspect may have an interaction effect on your dependent variable.

Individual Meetings

2006-10-08T14:25:00.000-04:00

Hello Class, we will use this blog posting to sign-up for individual meetings. In lieu of class on Thursday, I would like to meet with everybody individually to go over the research project assignment. Please come with your assignment completed. Each meeting should not exceed 10 minutes. Times available for meetings will be on Wednesday (11 am- 6pm), and Thursday (10 am - 8pm). In your postings, please indicate your name, section number, and time you would like to meet. Be sure to check that another student has not already selected that time slot (first come fist serve). Sign up for sessions on the 10s (i.e. 10:00, 10:10, 10:20, 10:30, etc.). See everybody Tuesday.

2006-09-21T17:09:00.000-04:00

First, in regards to the last blog posting, I'm not sure if everybody hit the nail on the head, so to speak. An example I came up with concerned outliers. Remember in the beginning of the semester when I mentioned how the average salary of the comm grad is very high, something like $60,000. This is a product of using the mean to calculate the average salary. This number is inflated because of the communication department producing extremely high salary careers such as professional athletes and actors. The median would give us a much more accurate account of something like $35,000.
Today, we discussed correlation. Correlation is a statistical test that requires two continuous variables to determine if their is a relationship between the two. For discussion, I want you to come up with your own possible correlations. Pick one variable, and detail how it would be positively correlated with a second variable, and negatively correlated with a third. Explain why you think this is so.

Tuesday, September 19

2006-09-19T17:08:00.001-04:00

In the past two days, we have discussed many of the ground-work that will be utilized later when discussing advanced statistics. We talked about;
1.) Nonparametric and parametric data
2.) Descriptive and inferential statistics
3.) Frequency Distribution
4.) Measures of Central Tendency
5.) Graphic distribution of data
6.) Standard deviation and variance

Question for thought- Generally, when describing the data, we use the mean as our measure of central tendency. For your post, give an example where the mode or median may explain the data better. Explain the variable you are investigating, and give the circumstances why the mean may not tell you information you could obtain from the median or mode.

Tuesday, September 19

2006-09-19T17:08:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, September 12

2006-09-12T20:01:00.000-04:00

In class today, we discussed reliability and validity. Remember, reliability is a necessary but not sufficient condition to have validity of an instrument.
Reliability was discussed in;
1.) Test-retest method
2.) Split half
3.) Internal Consistency
4.) Coder reliability
5.) Reliability in interviews.
Validity was discussed in;
1.) Content (face) validity
2.) Predictive (criterion) validity
3.) Construct Validity

In class today, we discussed how GRE tests have predictive validity for GPA scores in graduate school. For discussion, list a measurement that is known to have good predictive validity. List the instrument and what it predicts.

Thursday, September 7

2006-09-07T18:09:00.000-04:00

Fun class today ya'll, I really liked how you worked through your research questions. Today, we concentrated on levels of measurement and types of error.
1.) Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio level data.
2.) Instrument, Application, and Random error.

For blogging this weekend, I want you to think of a variable that can be measured two different ways. Give examples of how the same variable can be measured on the nominal, ordinal, interval, or ration level.

Tuesday, September 5

2006-09-05T22:39:00.000-04:00

Good work in class today with looking deep into research results and thinking through what went wrong in the study. Not too much was discussed today, but what we did talk about is very important. Today, we went over different types of measurement on questionnaires;
1.) Open ended questions
2.) Multiple choice questions
3.) Thurston scale
4.) Likert- type scale
5.) Rank order questions
6.) Check list
7.) Semantic differential
For today's' question for thought, I would like you to create a research question, and discuss how one type of measurement would be helpful to answer the question. In addition, I would like you to describe how one other type of measurement would not be the best measurement technique.

Thursday, August 31

2006-08-31T22:49:00.000-04:00

Good work in class today. I know it was a long and dull lecture, but the material covered today will carry through for the entire semester. The highlights of the class were;
1.) What all communication scholars have in common
2.) Types of questions we ask,
Definition
Fact
Value
Policy
3.) Different epistemology
Tenacity
Authority
A priori
Science
4.) Running list of what Science is
5.) 4 Purposes of Science
6.) 6 steps in the scientific method

Question for discussion,
Let us suppose Ohio was considering lowering the drinking age to 19 (Darn Canadians). This is a question of policy. In order to answer this question the best we can, what are some questions of definition, fact, and policy we should ask? Work off your classmates' comments to create a discussion. In addition to commenting and writing your name, mark your section number on your posting (12:30 class = 1, 3:45 = 2). Have a great first weekend back.

August 29

2006-08-29T02:35:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Research Methods
Fall 2006

July 17

2006-07-17T22:25:00.000-04:00

Good class today. The highlights from today were,
1.) Simple experimental Design
2.) 2 Types of Independent Variables
3.) Control and confounding Variables
4.) 3 Types of Experimental Design (Pretest- Posttest w/ control, Posttest only, & Soloman 4 group)
5.) Types of Internal Validity
6.) Types of External Validity
7.) Types of Confounding Variables

Rather than a topic for discussion, Lets use this posting to sign up for a meeting, next Monday, July 24. If you remember from class, rather than formally meeting in class, we will meet individually throughout the day to discuss your final paper. Please, post a time you would like to meet (between noon and 8 pm) and make sure you give 20min between meetings. Email me with any questions. See you Monday.

July 10 & 12

2006-07-13T16:48:00.000-04:00

Good work this week class. First, your SPSS assignments have been graded and are posted on Vista. Many of you did very well but some missed the mark a bit, but I'm going to give you an opportunity to make back some of the points you lost. For review, this week we covered,
1.) ANOVA (Analysis of Variance)
-Main Effect
-Interaction Effect
- Post-hoc test
2.) Modes of Administration for surveys
3.) Non-probability vs. Probability sample
4.) Deficiencies in sample frame
5.) Different types of Sampling
6.) contributors to response rate
7.) Types of Survey designs
8.) Constructing Questions for surveys
9.) Margin of error

Question for thought,
Usually, when taking a survey, the instrument asks for demographic data (age, gender, income, etc.), even when this information has no bearing (say, my horror film viewing habits and aggressive nature is the study). Why then, do you think demographic information is still asked?

Monday, July 3

2006-07-03T14:47:00.000-04:00

No Class today! "Enjoy your country's Independence day by blowing part of it up." Be safe class and try to find some time to study before the midterm on Wednesday. Email me if you have any questions.

Monday, June 26

2006-06-27T01:06:00.000-04:00

Hey class, I know we sped through a lot today, but the good news is no new material before the midterm. Today, the major topics were,

1) Spurious relationships
2) Interpreting correlations
3) Null vs. Alternative hypothesis
4) t- tests
5) significant levels and testing
6) Type I and Type II errors

*Important note*
I forgot to mention today, but Wednesday is going to be our review before the exam. I have an assignment for you. For class, type out 3 or 4 multiple choice questions (with answer) that you think could be on the exam. If you write a good one, you may just see it again next week. In addition, the review will only be as good as you make it. I will answer any questions or go over any material you ask, but you have to ask. I will not prepare any formal review. Finally, write me an email ASAP about what day off you want next week.

Question for thought. Today I stressed how a correlation does not show causality. What about a t-test? Explain your reasoning.

June 21

2006-06-22T15:02:00.000-04:00

Nice class assignment gang. I especially liked how you began to argue through the "Grey" area, noticing how certain variables can be measured on multiple levels depending upon the researcher. The main topics covered in class were,
1) Classifications of variables/ statistics (parametric, inferential, continuous vs. nonparametric, descriptive, categorical)
2) Frequency distribution
3) Measures of central tendency
4) Graphic distribution of data
5) Standard deviation & Variance
6) The normal curve (central limit theorem)
7) CORRELATION

In class, I made the comment that in order to conduct a correlation, we need two continuous variables. Think through this idea, and explain in your own words why this must be so.

Monday, June 19

2006-06-20T10:18:00.000-04:00

Good examples in class today with the different levels of measurement & way to go Matt with the bullseye reliability/validity example. To review, the key topics of the day were:
1.) Levels of measurement
2.) Random factors and Systematic factors make up measurement
3.) Types of Error
4.) Different ways to check reliability
5.) Different types of validity

Question for thought- In class, when we discussed the test- retest method for reliability, I mentioned how it is not used very often. Think of a situation with a questionnaire when you think this method would be practical.

Wednesday, June 14

2006-06-15T16:29:00.000-04:00

Great job in class today. I really like how you interacted in the break-out session and creatively worked out the problems with the seven studies. To recap, the main points in lecture were;
1.) 4 purposes of science
2.) 6 steps in the scientific model
3.) Different types of questions we use in research

For discussion, I would like you to think about theory in research. Why is it important? It would be much easier to measure and relate two variables and not spend so much time having to remember hundreds of theories, and after all, theories are never proven and often times found later to be incorrect. So why bother?

Monday, June 11

2006-06-12T23:25:00.000-04:00

Hello class. Good work today, the examples you gave were right on and I'm looking forward to the semester. To refresh, the three major topics covered in lecture today were;
1) What communication scholars have in common
2) Types of questions we ask
3) Different epistemology

Following is a question that I would like you to comment on. Please respond by posting a comment.

We discussed today that science should be free of bias or objective. Do you think this can ever be achieved? Why or why not?

2006-06-11T21:09:00.000-04:00

Welcome To Research Methods