Transcript Social Science Research

Intro to Social Science &
History of Media Effects
What is Social Science Research?
Research = An attempt to discover
something
 Social Science = An examination of how
people interact with objects in their
environment
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◦ Testing theory
Basic methodology
Hypothesis
Experiment
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Conclusion
Aristotle
384 BCE – 322 BCE
Giovanni Benedetti
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Performed the
ball drop
experiment
Ways of Knowing
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We “know” lots of things. How do we know:
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It’s hot outside
Veggies are good for you
Opposites attract
Smoking causes cancer
Everyday Ways of Knowing
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Tenacity/Tradition
◦ It’s always been true
 You eat Turkey on Thanksgiving
◦ Tied to prior held beliefs
◦ Beliefs are hard to change
◦ What if knowledge has changed but beliefs
haven’t?
 The Earth is 6000 years old
 Humans can’t affect the climate
Everyday Ways of Knowing
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Authority
◦ Someone (who should know) says so
 Doctor diagnosis
 Mommy says so
◦ What if that person is wrong?
◦ Again, hard to change and may not
consider new information
Everyday Ways of Knowing
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Intuition or Logic
◦ Truth is self-evident
 Common sense
◦ What if two individuals’ common sense
tell them different things?
 Politics
 Religion
Problems with “Everyday” Ways
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Filters how we process info
◦ False premise; Illogical reasoning
◦ Selective observation; expectations
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Everyday ways of knowing can even lead
to conflicting ideas about “truth”
◦ Absence makes the heart grow fonder
◦ Out of sight, out of mind
Scientific Method
The 4th “way of knowing”
 Requires systematic analysis
 Always open to new information
◦ Nothing is ever “proven” with science
 Tests questions of fact, not questions of value
◦ How do customers react to this
advertisement?
◦ Is it ethical to try to get people to buy things?
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Differences between hard and social
sciences
Hard sciences deal with the inanimate or
nonhumans, like elements and forces and
animals
 Social science deals with people
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Methodologies
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Observation
◦ Reduce variables as much as possible
Methodologies
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Surveys
◦ Administer questionnaires to research
subjects
◦ Be careful with wording the questions
◦ Be careful of question order
Surveys
◦ Be careful with wording the questions
◦ Be careful of question order
Methodologies
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Focus groups
◦ Small panel of people who discuss what the
researcher interested in
◦ Problems with maintaining focus
◦ Danger of one person dominating discussion
Methodologies
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Content analysis
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Counting things to get statistics
Sample size must be large enough
Time consuming
Must specifically define what you’re looking
for
What are Media Effects?
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Media effects approach
◦ focus on audiences (vs. media system)
 Try to reduce variables
◦ specification of influence (vs. uses)
◦ attribution of influence to media
Types of Outcomes in Effects Research
Behavioral – Buying a product
 Attitudinal – creating a favorable attitude
towards a political candidate (affect)
 Cognitive – Candidate XX is stupid (belief)
 Physiological – jumping from a scene in a scary
movie
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Effects can be complicated: Effects of
Violent TV on Males and Females’
Aggression
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males
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females
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Eras of Media Effects I
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Magic bullet / uniform effects
◦ Also know as Direct Effects
◦ Pre-1945
◦ Focus on war propaganda
Eras of Media Effects II
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Limited (or Indirect) effects
◦ Late 1940s to early 1970s research showed
little impact of media on attitudes and
behaviors
 Two-Step Flow: media --> opinion leader --> publicl.
Study)
Two-Step Flow
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Some argued this was still an example of
strong media effects
Eras of Media Effects III
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Powerful effects in limited areas
◦ Early 1970s to present
◦ Move to focus on cognitions and perceptions
◦ Focus becomes not if there are media effects,
but when they are most likely to occur
 Conditional effects