Assignment for Tues. 10-13

1) Using an ordinal or nominal scale (reviewed in class), prepare one sample question from each of the four variables defined in class on Tues. . 10-6. The definitions you developed are in the attached ppt. slide. Bring these to class on Thursday 10-13

Variables_Tues

2) Reminder: bring a one-paragraph summary of  your proposed research topic and the research methodology you are considering.

5 thoughts on “Assignment for Tues. 10-13

  1. Paul Nembhard

    Paul Nembhard

    My research question is “In what ways do Reality TV depict a different personality than the participants real one?” I’ve been really interested in Reality TV for a long time and I’ve had my fair share of being consumed by some popular shows like Flavor of Love, Real Chance of Love, Black Ink Crew etc. As much as I’ve watched these shows intensely in the beginning, mainly for entertainment, I was never truly convinced that they were actually reality. Being an art student especially opened my eyes on film production, directing and even acting. This made it easier for me to spot out some edited plots, and unnatural dialogues from some of these shows. My research will be digging deeper into finding out the truth behind reality TV, whether they are staged or not. I also want to find out why it is still so dominant in American media. Since there are tons of studies and information about this topic, my research will be analytical. Although my opinion on this matter might change in the end, I’m confident that my opinion can eventually become a fact.

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  2. Dayna

    The main question to research would be: What does having a “title” on a person change?

    My partner and I decided to research whether or not there could be intimacy between two people without having titles. (Ex: Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Buddy, Wife, etc.) Research will be done to understand whether or not people feel a need to have titles or can they simply be companions without. By intimacy, we not only mean sex, but someone whom they can be completely comfortable with and close to. And if not, why must there be titles? We want to answer what is it that makes us want and need these titles. In addition to, how these titles can negatively affect the two people. We also want to find out, whether or not a title makes everything better. This research will be done by doing focus groups in which we hear opinions from both men and women who are both in and not in committed relationships. As well as people who are possibly with someone which whom they are intimate with, but not in a committed relationship. Overall leading to answering the main question, what does having a “title” on a person change?

    Reply
    1. Sean MacDonald Post author

      Great. Will your focus group be composed of a random group of students at City Tech? from others?
      Also important to define meaning of “title” in the orientation to the focus group and think about main and followup
      questions (probes) for your group; as we saw in the focus group exercise, some people respond more readily to
      follow-up questions than to the initial question.

      Reply
  3. jin

    My research topic is “what kind of skills makes an Architect success?” There are so many architecture students in City Tech, but most of them don’t have architecture related working experiences, they are confused because there are so many choices in front of them. So knowing what kind of skills will apply to future job become important, it can help students motivate themselves to study. Since I’m working on Architecture Company I can bring those questions to my colleagues, also my professors, they might be willing to help and give some suggestions. I can use focus group research method by asking questions and record they answers, then analyze it to get the most useful skills needed in architecture field.
    – Jin Chen

    Reply
    1. Sean MacDonald Post author

      Jin,
      Your topic sounds interesting and your focus on the question of what kinds of skills students will need is fine and certainly manageable.
      The focus group would work well for this, and it’s good that you will get the perspectives of both colleagues in the profession and professors
      of Architecture. Think about some key central questions you may want to ask (and follow up questions or probes); once you have the data in
      your recordings you can apply a similar methodology to the one we went through in class, noting how many times a reference to a
      particular variable (i.e., training, communication, etc.) is mentioned. This will give you some very useful information for your project.

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