A taste of science

Today's Schedule

• 6th Week Class Review and Quiz Info

• 4th assignment: Scientific Questions

• How To Find A Question to Ask

• How To Find a Scientific Journal Article

• How To Revise Your Question

• What's Next

Class review

#4 Assig.: Scientific Questions

• Due: Monday, Feb. 24th, 7:00 a.m.

• Submission: Upload to (the magic) Canvas

Four Components:

1. Ask a question about media and give a brief background about why you came to this question;

2. Find a scientific study. Recap the study and discuss the conclusions you take away from this study as they relate to the question you just asked. Be sure to cite the author(s) correctly;

3. Discuss how your original questions changed in light of the evidence you just found;

4. Reference.

More information

How to find a scientific question to ask:

• Messanger (creator of information)

• Message (information content)

• Audience (receivers of information)

Messanger

• Do women post more photos in social media than men?

• Do broadcasters in big cities put more advertisements in their programs than those in rurual areas?

• Do people post more pictures on Instagram than on Facebook?

• Do celebrities post more pictures in social media than ordinary folks?

• Do Chinese women post more selfies than American women?

• Does posting more selfies in social media make people feel happier?

• Do young people tweet more than old people?

• Do narcissistic people post more selfies in social media?

• Do people use social media more in Summer than in Winter?

• ...

Message (content)

• Are there more cartoons on Hulu than on Netflix?

• Are there more selfies posted on Instagram than on Twitter?

• Do celebrities' tweets contain more words than those of ordinary folks'?

• What are the main differences between men's tweets and women's tweets?

• What are the main differences between American women's selfies and Chinese women's selfies?

• Are movies in developed countries more violent than those in developing countries?

• ...

The audience

• Do people feel happier when they use social media more?

• Will people feel happier or sadder after consuming their friends' smilling selfies on Facebook?

• Will people become violent after watching violent content on TV?

• Are there any gender/racial/age differences in the effect of violent contents on TV?

• ...

How to find a scientific journal article?

1. Web of Science through IU library

2. Google Schohlar

Search by key words. For example:

Question: Does posting more selfies in social media make people feel happier?

Search "selfies, social media, happier" on Google Scholar.

• Let me take a selfie: Exploring the psychological effects of posting and viewing selfies and groupies on social media

  However, neither selfie nor groupie posting behavior was associated with self-esteem or life satisfaction.

How to recap the study and discuss the results as they relate to your question?

Recap:

• The purpose of the study

• Methods used

• Findings

Example

The study by Wang, Yang, and Haigh (2017) looked at the relationship between selfie posting (and viewing), self-esteem, and life satisfactions. They did an online survey on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk where 275 people participated. They found that frequent selfie viewing decreased self-esteem and life satisfaction. Selfie posting, on the other hand, was associated with neither self-esteem nor life satisfaction.

How to cite a journal article correctly (APA)?

Good sources: Mendeley, PSU and the APA guide on Canvas

• One author: Galilei (1640) concluded that life sucks. Or: Life sucks (Galilei, 1640)

• Two authors: However, Newton and Leibniz (1700) argued this might not be the case. Or: This might not be the case (Newton & Leibniz, 1700)

• Three to five authors: Later, Marx, Einstein, and Maxwell (1879) did a study supporting that life sometimes sucks but sometimes doesn't. (When you are citing for the first time) Or: Life sometimes sucks but sometimes doesn't (Marx, Einstein, & Maxwell, 1879).

  • Further cites can be shortened: Later, Marx et al. (1879) did ... Or: Later, it was found that ... (Marx et al., 1879)

• Six or more authors: Feynman et al. (1980) found that life is wonderful. Or: Life is wonderful (Feynman et al., 1980)

Reference basics

Family name, Initial. (Time). Article Title. Journal name, Issue (Number), Page numbers.

Wang, R., Yang, F., & Haigh, M. M. (2017). Let me take a selfie: Exploring the psychological effects of posting and viewing selfies and groupies on social media. Telematics and Informatics, 34 (4), 274-283.

Too Complicated for you?

Use Google Scholar.

How does your questions change?

• A new question emerged because of new information?

• A different aspect because it is answered by the article?

Wang et al. (2017) found that selfie posting was not related to life satisfaction, but I wondered whether it was because of the season. I wanted to find out whether posting selfies in Winter will make people feel happier but not in Summer.

Revised question: Does season have an affect on whether posting selfies make people feel happier?

Recap:

1. What's your question? Why do you ask this question?

2. Find a scientific study relating to your question and talk about it: Purpose, Methods, and Results of the study. Do cite correctly.

3. How does your question change?

4. Reference. Format correctly.

Example

What's next

• 7th Week topic: Media Technology & Culture

• Monday (2/17):

• Wednesday (2/19): normal class

• Read before Monday class: Baym(2010)

• Assignment coming soon: Analyzing an app (on class discussion next Friday)

• I will be out of town next Friday (Feb. 28th). Millika (Morning) and Josh (Afternoon) will lead the Friday discussions.

Midterm exam coming soon, Wednesday class (March 4th, 2020)

How to prepare:

• Class review and quizzes

• quizzes answers?

• Readings

Be prepared, otherwise ...