Directions
Using the guidelines in Chapter 8: Nonreactive Measures propose a research proposal that relies on a non-reactive measurement system that relates to your research topic or question.
[NOTE: This will be a little awkward because it will appear that you are being asked to create another research proposal. You do not have to add this to your current research proposal.
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This assignment is designed to give you practice. Also, multiple research designs add more value to the exploration of a topic.]
Then in the format of an APA style essay answer or do the following:
- Describe your research question or hypothesis and the non-reactive measure you chose.
- Justify why the non-reactive measure you chose is appropriate for answering this question.
- Describe how you are going to conduct this research including
How you would collect the data/ artifacts
How you would ensure the data’s validity
Describe the limitations of your chosen method
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Research with Nonreactive Measures
Chapter 8
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Analyzing Physical Evidence for Clues about Social Life
Non-reactive research = research techniques in which the people in the study are unaware that someone is gathering information or using it for research purposes.
Four types of non-reactive research:
Physical evidence analysis
Content analysis
Existing statistics analysis
Secondary data analysis
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Analyzing Physical Evidence for Clues about Social Life
Unobtrusive measures = non-reactive research measures that do not intrude or disturb a person, so they are unaware of them.
Limitations of Physical Evidence
physical evidence measures are indirect
possible privacy violation
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Revealing the Content Buried within Communication Messages
Content Analysis
Content analysis = A non-reactive technique for studying communication messages.
Text = In content analysis it means anything written, visual, or spoken in a communication medium.
Content analysis is useful for
Large volumes of text
Topics studied “at a distance”
Content difficult to see with casual observation
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Revealing the Content Buried within Communication Messages
How to Measure and Code in Content Analysis
Coding System = In content analysis a set of instructions or rules stating how text was systematically measured and converted into variables.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Revealing the Content Buried within Communication Messages
How to Measure and Code in Content Analysis
What do you measure?
Direction
Frequency
Intensity
Space
Prominence
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Revealing the Content Buried within Communication Messages
How to Measure and Code in Content Analysis
Coding, Validity, and Reliability
Manifest coding = Content analysis coding in which you record information about the visible, surface content in a text.
Latent coding = Coding in content analysis in which you look for the underlying, implicit meaning in the content of a text.
Intercoder reliability = A measure of measurement consistency in content analysis when you have multiple coders.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Revealing the Content Buried within Communication Messages
How to Measure and Code in Content Analysis
Coding, Validity, and Reliability
Content Analysis with Visual Material
visual material communicates indirectly
visual images often contain mixed messages and operate at multiple levels of meaning
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Revealing the Content Buried within Communication Messages
How to Conduct Content Analysis Research
Step 1. Formulate a Research Question
Step 2. Identify the Text to Analyze
Step 3. Decide on Units of Analysis
Step 4. Draw a Sample
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Revealing the Content Buried within Communication Messages
How to Conduct Content Analysis Research (cont)
Step 5. Create a Coding System
Step 6. Construct and Refine Categories
Step 7. Code the Data onto Recording Sheets.
Step 8. Data Analysis
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Revealing the Content Buried within Communication Messages
Limitations of Content Analysis
content analysis cannot:
determine the truthfulness of an assertion
evaluate aesthetic qualities
interpret content significance
reveal the intentions of the text’s creators
determine the influence of a message on its receivers
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Mining Existing Statistical Sources to Answer New Questions
Social Indicator = Any measure of social conditions or well-being that can used be used in policy decisions.
Locating Data
many diverse sources
Statistical Abstract of the United States
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Mining Existing Statistical Sources to Answer New Questions
Verifying Data Quality
Existing statistics can be limited by
Missing Data
Reliability
Validity
Topic Knowledge
Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness = when statistical information is reported in a way that gives a false impression of its precision.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Mining Existing Statistical Sources to Answer New Questions
Verifying Data Quality (cont)
Existing statistics can be limited by
Ecological Fallacy = mistaken interpretations that occur when you use data for a higher or bigger unit of analysis to examine a relationship among units at a lower or small unit of analysis
Creative Thinking About Variables of Interest
Standardization of Data
Standardization = adjusting a measure by dividing it by a common base to make comparisons are possible.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Answering New Questions Using Survey Data Collected by Others
Secondary Sources
General Social Survey = A large-scale survey with many questions of a large national sample of adult Americans conducted almost every year. Data from it are made available to researchers at low or no cost.
Limitations of Secondary Data Sources
May lack data for your research question
Validity
Topic knowledge
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Answering New Questions Using Survey Data Collected by Others
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Conducting Ethical NonReactive Research
Protect people’s privacy
Protect confidentiality of data
