Thinking+Like+a+Researcher+-+Sam+&+Armando

__Section 1:__ Variables: Frequency of weekly video game usage (interval level data) - vidgamep9qf Sensation seeking scale (total all responses, then apply median-level split) - sensep16q1 Media usage rating (rate the 8 responses based on a high- and low-stimuli condition) - mediausep16qA View on smoking (total all responses, then apply median-level split) - smokingp17q7 and smokingp17q8

__Section 2:__ Hypothesis 1: Students who score highly on the sensation seeking scale are more likely to spend time playing video games in a normal week. This question can be explored using two components of the data gathered in this survey - Question F on page 9 and Question 1 on page 16. Determining why young people are drawn to digital media, such as video games, can provide us with useful information about young people in general, psychographics, and the level of risk taking involved in these actions.

Hypothesis 2: Students who score low on the sensation seeking scale are more likely to choose to spend their time consuming low-stimuli media, such as newspapers or magazines. This question can help apply psychographics to the question of surveillance activities such as viewing media pertaining to current events. This question can be explored using data gathered in Question 1 on page 16, as well as data gathered from the media usage question at the top of page 16. This question can also help to insure internal reliability in our scale.

Hypothesis 3: Students who score highly on the sensation seeking scale are more likely to view smoking positively with regards to the questions pertaining to cigarette usage and popular perceptions of smoking. This hypothesis is interesting because it can help researchers, parents, and health professionals to determine what type of personalities are likely to lead to smoking or positive views on smoking. This data can be explored by correlating the sensation seeking scale with the median index created from responses to questions 7 and 8 on page 17.

__Research Methods__ "These deﬁnitions seem much too stringent for the practical purpose of this chapter, which is teaching young people to be reasonably effective in public domains. Indeed, as Stephen Coleman notes in this volume, idealized standards of public communication have two serious drawbacks. They impose norms that people are supposed to internalize and use for self-regulation, at some cost to their spontaneity, diversity, and freedom. And they teach a style of political engagement that would be na¨ve and ineffective “in any real political party, trade union, or local council.” Hence my looser deﬁnition of a public voice as any style or tone that has a chance of persuading any other people (outside of one’s intimate circle) about shared matters, issues, or problems." (Levine, 2008, p.121)

Levine discusses the concept of an informal public voice versus the more formalized, Habermasian type of public voice that exists in the ideal public sphere. However, the question remains as to how students think about these same issues, particularly with respect to democracy and civic engagement. Through an election period, we would use a longitudinal study to examine how students view their own position within democracy and the power that they have as citizens.

Students would be interviewed and surveyed using a precise instrument before the election period - likely a full year or more before the actual election date given the United States' current political organization. We would then gather data during the period of the election and campaigning, both in terms of interviews and surveys. And finally, we would repeat this process 3 months after the election. Based on this data, we would hope to make some conclusions about the students assessment of their own involvement, their assessment of the potential impact that they can have as citizens and participants, and their own beliefs about the functioning of the American electoral process and their role in it. In addition, we would evaluate the students, during the interview process, and place them in two groups - those who believe in the more idealized version of public discourse, and those who believe that we experience the looser form.

Questions would deal with a number of topics, such as assessment of political involvement and affiliation, style of participation or discourse, assessment of the public versus private nature of the media tools used (such as Facebook, blogs, etc), frequency of usage of these tools, and general demographic information. Interviewing would follow these same questions, but allow for more respondent-lead discussion, and the potential for ideas to come across that we have not addressed in the surveys.

Survey data can be used to measure the frequency of the various participatory styles that we have established. Additionally, any change in that frequency can be measured, both in terms of the group as a whole, and in terms of individual respondents. Interview data can be coded and analyzed on all of these levels as well to hopefully achieve a more full understanding of the students.