GlobalMedia: Music, MTV & Global Media: Global Media, Music & the Future (U3-P5) Sp13

Global Media, Music and the Future

Crother's Emerging Developments especially relevant to music

• The global demand for other American products, like clothing styles and brands, restaurants and sports, is also likely to grow over time.
• Social networking will continue to be a platform for the spread of information, products, cultural styles, and political and social change around the world.
• The YouTube-ification of entertainment is likely to expand.
• Challenges to American movies, music, and television programs will arise for a variety of economic, political, and cultural reasons, leading to new alliances seeking to limit the effects of American popular culture within their communities.
• Increased exposure to American popular culture will encourage the development of hybrid forms that have value to local cultures.
• Just as other cultures can adopt and integrate American programming, American culture can adapt and integrate entertainment forms originated elsewhere.
• Pop cultural interchanges can create economic and cultural bonds among people that may not be represented by political institutions.
• American popular culture may facilitate the emergence of a global culture, at least to a limited extent.
• Cultural integration is more likely within and among components of the Global North than it is within and among the Global South, thereby deepening the gap between north and south.
• Resistance to the spread of American popular culture, whether organized by states or by citizens, is likely to be hard.
• Nothing is inevitable about globalization and American popular culture.

Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

GlobalMedia: Music, MTV & Global Media: Measuring the Spread of American Music (U3-P4) Sp13

So, if American music contains American values and if said music may cause changes in the cultures of other countries, then just how widespread is American music?

How would you measure how widespread?  What evidence would you give?

Ways to Assess the Preeminence of American Music in World Entertainment

1. "A review of the top-selling albums of all time suggests the dominance of American music, for example. As of November 2011, there were twenty-seven albums that had sold at least fifteen million copies worldwide, and sixteen were the product of undeniably American acts. The Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits is tied with Michael Jackson’s Thriller for the number one selling album of all time, at twenty-nine million sales."
2. "Similar evidence for American music prominence can be found in considering the individual artists and groups in terms of their certified global record sales. The most successful musical act of all time, for example, is not American: it is The Beatles, with 177 million album sales in their history."  However most other top selling artists and groups are American.
3. "The dominance of American rock, country, and hip-hop is perhaps most evident in the direct linkage of music and television created in 1981 with the formation of the cable network MTV, Music Television. In their endless search for venues... An idea this profitable was sure to spread, and spread it did. Just ten years after its creation, MTV was available in 201 million households in seventy-seven countries ranging from Australia to Brazil to Hong Kong. MTV Europe grew from 3 million households in 1988 to 14 million in 1991 and then 37 million in 1992."

How else would you measure the spread of American music?  What evidence would you give?



Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

GlobalMedia: Music, MTV & Global Media: American Culture in Country, Rock and Hip-Hop (U3-P3) Sp13

According to Crothers the first step in understanding the effects that American popular culture artifacts may have on other cultures is to identify the American cultural values in the artifacts.

What is the culture hidden in the popular music genres. Crothers covers three prominent American music genres: country, rock and hip-hop and also identifies the cultural values in the music.


Do you agree with Crothers' analysis?

Country Music

"Country has long prided itself on reflecting the lives of real people, particularly working-class, rural Americans. Country’s topics have chronicled the struggles of the individual as he or she tries to make it in a dead-end job, in a difficult marriage, or even through addiction to drugs or alcohol."


"Additionally, country regularly sings the virtues of hard work, traditional love, the glory of a loving family, and unabashed patriotism. The real America, country seems to say, is the America in which people struggle but take responsibility for their personal fates. Americans fight for their honor and dignity as ends all their own."


Rock Music

"At its heart were energy, excitement, and rebellion. Rock musicians tapped into their fans’ adolescent dreams".

"Rock, after all, expresses rebellion, energy, and individualism—as do teenagers. The causality seemed self-evident: children who were once compliant and sweet."


Hip-Hop Music

"If country celebrated traditional values and patriotism, and rock and roll energized the ambitions of a generation to change the world, hip-hop expressed the anger and frustration of a long-repressed community that had many grievances in what it described as a racist America."

"Hip-hop also reflected a raw form of street sexuality in which suggestive language was common. Other performers offered explicit accounts of their sexual desires and fantasies."




Do you agree with Crothers' analysis?  What would you change or add?  Support your argument.

So, if we can agree that "hidden" in the music are certain American cultural values, then so what?  Why is that important?  What's this have to do with the effects thing discussed earlier?




Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

GlobalMedia: Music, MTV & Global Media: Crothers' Key Concepts (U3-P2) Sp13

Crother's Key Concepts

In Crothers' 2012 book, Globalization and American Popular Culture, the author explores the "ways that American movies, music, and television programs shape and are shaped by contemporary globalization."


It is important for Americans to study this topic because "it is through these artifacts (and many others) that the rest of the world sees American values and lifestyles."  Or put put more poetically: "[W]hat people are likely to see of America and what they are likely to know about America will be filtered through the lens of American popular culture."

So, it is through these artifacts that the world understands American culture.  However, this is not the only reason it is important to study this topic.

More importantly, what effect do these American cultural artifacts have on the cultures other countries?

In the book Crothers defines culture as "the root values, ideas, assumptions, behaviors, and attitudes that members of particular communities generally share in an unexamined, automatic way."

"Among the many things that cultures teach their members are normative standards of evaluation—of dress, food, behavior, attitudes, ideas, and many other things."


---

Early on in the book Crothers covers some additional key concepts: popular culture, globalization and fragmegration.

Crothers discusses popular culture, but does not give a succinct definition, so we go to another source for our definition here:

pop[ular] culture:  "commercial culture based on popular taste: fashion, music, and the iconography of pop culture offered the perfect medium for profit (Oxford Dictionary).

With this given definition, how would you describe American popular culture?
Make special note of music.


---

Similarly, for a succinct definition of globablization, we will need to head to an outside source.

globalization: "the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale" (Oxford Dictionary).

"A combination of economic, political, and cultural factors promote globalization by
(1) making it possible to create new and increased ties among people, social networks, and ideas that span traditional nation-state boundaries;
(2) linking people in new ways, making it possible for work or travel or shopping or other activities to take place twenty-four hours a day around the world;
(3) advancing the speed of communication and the expectation of instantaneous contact, in effect making global events and issues local ones as well; and
(4) shaping and reshaping individuals’ ideas and identities as they are exposed to this increasingly complex world" (Crothers, 2012).

---
Crothers draws on James Rosenau's work.

Rosenau coined the term fragmegration "to describe the integration-fragmentation dynamic that shapes globalization today. Fragmentation and integration occur at the same time, profoundly shaping the dynamics of globalization."

At the same time the process of globalization brings the world together and pushes it apart.
Really?  How?  Explain.

How does music fit in here?



Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

GlobalMedia: Music, MTV & Global Media: Mr. Worldwide (U3-P1) Sp13

Pitbull - International Love ft. Chris Brown


"I've been to countries and cities I can't pronounce
And the places on the globe I didn't know existed
In Romania, she pulled me to the side and told me
'Pit, you can have me and my sister'

In Lebanon, yeah, the women are bomb
And in Greece, you've guessed it, the women are sweet
Spinned [Been?] all around the world but I ain't gon' lie
There's nothing like Miami's heat"

Just how worldly is Mr. Worldwide?   Planet Pit World Tour
Just how international was International Love?  The song

How widespread is American music in other countries around the world?
Would you consider Pitbull's music American music?


Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

ResearchMethods: Topics, RQs & H's: Directionality with RQs & Hs (U3-P4) Sp13

What is meant by directionality in RQs?

• Non-directional wording:
• e.g., There is a relationship between the IV & DV.
• No positive or negative relationship between IV and DV stated, just that there is a relationship.
• Directional wording:
• e.g., As the IV increases the DV decreases.
• A positive or negative relationship between IV and DV is given.

Now, let's test some comprehension of directionality and other material covered recently.

Give me an example RQ or H for each of the following four descriptions.

1. RQ, Ordered IV, Non-directional
2. H, Nominal IV, Non-directional or “two-tailed”*
3. RQ, Ordered IV, Directional or "one-tailed"*
4. H, Nominal IV, Directional

Which of the following examples fit the above four descriptions?

• What is the relationship between age and Intercultural Sensitivity**?
• Intercultural Sensitivity is greater for Chinese than U.S. Americans.
• There is a difference in IC Sensitivity between men and women.
• Is there a positive relationship between age and intercultural sensitivity?

* “One tail, two tail, red tail, blue tail” – Dr. Seuss

“Two-tailed” same as non-directional
“One-tailed” same as directional

"I hope they never lose their sense of wonder and discovery." Who said that? What was he talking about? How's that fit with the Critical Thinker's Creed?




Directionality and "tails" will surface again later in discussion of some statistics.



** Think of intercultural sensitivity as the opposite of prejudice. Think of it as a score that somebody would get on a survey that measures intercultural sensitivity.





Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

ResearchMethods: Topics, RQs & H's: IVs, DVs, CVs & RQs (U3-P4) Sp13

Earlier we defined...

Research question (RQ): "An interrogative statement exploring the relationship between two or more constructs [concepts, variables, etc.]" (Stewart, 2002, p. 173).

More specifically, we could say an RQ is a question that asks about the influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

We didn't change anything.  We just added some further detail.  We just named the variables.

So what are independent variables, etc.?

• Dependent variable (DV): the variable that is being influenced by another variable.
• The value of the DV is dependent on the value of the IV.
• Independent variable (IV): the variable that is doing the influencing.
• Confounding variable: a variable that may also explain what is being studied, but is not a main focus of the study.

Example: Does violence in video games (IV) cause violent behavior in children (DV)?

What would that RQ look like if you diagrammed it?

How does the CV work in here?  Can you think of a CV for the above RQ?



Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

ResearchMethods: Topics, RQs & H's: Research Questions & Hs (U3-P2) [VID] Sp13

Research question (RQ): "An interrogative statement exploring the relationship between two or more constructs [concepts, variables, etc.]" (Stewart, 2002, p. 173).

In short, is there a relationship between one variable and another?

In the past I asked students to offer research questions the had a serious interest in answering.  Do the student examples below fit the definition?  Any problems you spot with the examples?

• "Does visual stimuli, or auditory stimuli, in advertisements positively affect a consumers buying behavior, meaning will the consumer be inclined to buy if a stimulating message is communicated across one of the two communication channels."
• "Is there a positive (or a negative) relationship between the amount of violence communicated in cartoons?"
• "Is there an increase in female orgasms in relationships related to the increase in communication?"

What are the types of variables?

• A variable is any concept that takes on two or more values.
• Two types:
• Nominal: Categories
• e.g., gender, profession, race, nationality, etc.
• Ordered: Takes on numerical values
• e.g., age, IQ, a prejudice score, time in conversation, etc.

What's the difference you spot between nominal and ordered?

Note: We'll add other types later, but this will work for now.




Could you generate some RQs based on the variables listed under nominal and ordered?

More importantly, based on the research topic that you identified earlier, what are some possible RQs you could ask?

When thinking of media-oriented RQs make sure of the following:

• RQs are questions that can be answered using research methodologies. (Remember: Ways of knowing?)
• RQs are related to media.  At least one variable/concept should be related to media.

Now, that we've got a grasp on an RQ, what is exactly is an H?  They are related, right?

Hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variable (the dependent and independent variables).
Null hypothesis is a statement that says there is no relationship between the research variables.

How are RQs and Hs similar?  How are they different?


Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

ResearchMethods: Topics, RQs & H's: Research Topics (U3-P1) [VID] Sp13

Media Research Topics

What media research topics do you find interesting?
Are they meaningful? Helpful?
What topic areas within media do you want to understand better?


What are the criteria for selecting research topics?

• Basic or Applied
• Scope
• Depth.

The importance of identifying and defining concepts relevant in research?

Let's say you are interested in humor in the media as a research topic.

Example: Developing conceptual definitions of humor
A possible conceptual definition of humor: “Messages that violate expectancies for the purpose of play.”

Watch a few comedians on Comedy Central see how the definition works or doesn't.

Or check out the video below.  Does humor help this video?  Does humor help make a video popular on Youtube.




Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

"A Pep Talk from Kid President to You" (My New Fav YouTube Video) [VID]

I just added this video as a favorite on my YouTube channel.



Originally uploaded to YouTube by soulpancake.

See Video: A Pep Talk from Kid President to You

Description: "We all need a little encouragement every now and then. Kid President, knowing this, has put together a video you can play each morning as you wake up or to share with your friend who needs a kick in the right direction. Take a moment and spread some encouragement. "It's everybody's duty to give the world a reason to dance." Also, by popular demand, we present the: NOT COOL, ROBERT FROST t-shirt: http://www.cafepress.com/kidpresident Featuring the song "Households" by Sleeping At Last - http://sleepingatlast.com with additional music by our pal Skewby - http://somethingaboutskewby.com Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/iamkidpresident Be a friend on Facebook: http://facebook.com/kidpresident Send an email: kid@kidpresident.com For Press Inquiries, contact: YTpress@soulpancake.com Created by Kid President and Brad Montague Special thanks to Robert Frost, that dude from Journey and the movie Space Jam. Subscribe to our youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=SoulPancake Buy our book! http://book.soulpancake.com Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/SoulPancake Tweet us at: http://twitter.com/SoulPancake"



Subscribe to my YouTube Channel.

Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog. See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

Time Card: 1/20-1/26 - Only 43 hours - 4 Day Work Week & Sick

Time Card: 1/20/2013 - 1/26/2013

Only 43 hours this past week.  4 day work week and not feeling well.

Below is a record of the work that I've done over this past week, mainly in the areas of research, teaching and service. I usually average about 50 to 55 hours per week. Unlike the summer, most of my time during the fall and spring semesters is spent on teaching and service. If you are interested in how I keep track of this information and why, please let me know. 

  

Date
Day
Task
Client
Total
Work unit notes
01/20/2013
Sun
ResMisc
RESEARCH
00:44

01/21/2013
Mon
Misc EmlTodoScd
MISC
03:56

01/22/2013
Tue
Misc EmlTodoScd
MISC
04:31

01/22/2013
Tue
MCM450
TEACHING
01:38

01/22/2013
Tue
JRN290
TEACHING
01:38

01/23/2013
Wed
Misc EmlTodoScd
MISC
04:29

01/24/2013
Thu
ResMisc
RESEARCH
00:44

01/24/2013
Thu
Misc EmlTodoScd
MISC
01:03

01/24/2013
Thu
MCM450
TEACHING
01:34

01/24/2013
Thu
JRN290
TEACHING
01:34

01/24/2013
Thu
MCM390
TEACHING
05:26

01/25/2013
Fri
Proj-WhiteHero911
RESEARCH
01:41

01/25/2013
Fri
CrsPrep
TEACHING
01:10

01/25/2013
Fri
Misc EmlTodoScd
MISC
00:31

01/25/2013
Fri
MCM390
TEACHING
01:29

01/25/2013
Fri
Proj-AAMTV
RESEARCH
01:18

01/26/2013
Sat
Misc EmlTodoScd
MISC
01:52

01/26/2013
Sat
Proj-Django
RESEARCH
07:22

TOTAL
42:40

Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

Game Research: WilliamHartPhD spent some time playing Minecraft (XBLA).

WilliamHartPhD spent some time playing Minecraft (XBLA).

Time played: 2 hrs

94 hours total

To see what other games I'm currently playing for research purposes (and fun), check out my Now Playing page on Gamespot or the current activity on my Raptr wall.

If you'd like to know about my videogame research, let me know. I do research on adaptation games (i.e., games adapted from novels or films) and mystery/detective games. I'm working on my own detective game now.

Also see: My Xbox profile | My Steam profile | My Playfire profile | My Gamespot profile

Or see my complete game collection on Gamespot.

If you share some similar interests, let me know.

Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog. See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

Game Research: WilliamHartPhD spent a chunk of time playing Minecraft (XBLA).

WilliamHartPhD spent a chunk of time playing Minecraft (XBLA).

Time played: 2 hrs

92 hours total

To see what other games I'm currently playing for research purposes (and fun), check out my Now Playing page on Gamespot or the current activity on my Raptr wall.

If you'd like to know about my videogame research, let me know. I do research on adaptation games (i.e., games adapted from novels or films) and mystery/detective games. I'm working on my own detective game now.

Also see: My Xbox profile | My Steam profile | My Playfire profile | My Gamespot profile

Or see my complete game collection on Gamespot.

If you share some similar interests, let me know.

Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog. See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

Game Research: WilliamHartPhD spent some time playing Minecraft (XBLA).

WilliamHartPhD spent some time playing Minecraft (XBLA).

Time played: 2 hrs

90 hours total

To see what other games I'm currently playing for research purposes (and fun), check out my Now Playing page on Gamespot or the current activity on my Raptr wall.

If you'd like to know about my videogame research, let me know. I do research on adaptation games (i.e., games adapted from novels or films) and mystery/detective games. I'm working on my own detective game now.

Also see: My Xbox profile | My Steam profile | My Playfire profile | My Gamespot profile

Or see my complete game collection on Gamespot.

If you share some similar interests, let me know.

Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog. See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

ATN:MyStudents: Summer in Cuba?

Interested in a summer study opportunity in Cuba in June?
If interested, let me know.




Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

GlobalMedia: Media Imperialism & the Mindset of "The Burden" (U2-P4) Sp13

Media Imperialism (Anglo-American Dominance)

Imperialism: “the extension or imposition of power, authority, or influence.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online)

Imperialism is justified under “the White Man’s Burden” views. (See 1899 poem by Rudyard Kipling entitled “White Man’s Burden”)

Part of Poem:

"Take up the White Man's burden‑‑
        Send forth the best ye breed‑‑
Go, bind your sons to exile
        To serve your captives' need;
To wait, in heavy harness,
       On fluttered folk and wild‑‑
Your new‑caught sullen peoples,
       Half devil and half child."

This is an example of the imperialistic mindset.

This cartoon from 1903 is a follow-up to the poem and the imperialistic, racist mindset.

To where is the "native" being taken?  For what purpose?

And now...
Media Imperialism: “the imbalance and inequality in flow of mass media materials between developed and developing countries, and its subsequent effect on the developing country’s society and culture”(Araby in Frederick,1994).

Can you develop another definition related more to the definition of imperialism above?

Western (American) Media Imperialism.
Q: What American values can be found in its media products?
A: Individualism, materialism, adventurism, etc.

Effects of Media Imperialism?



Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

GlobalMedia: National Sovereignty and Transborder Data Flow (U2-P3) SP13

Explain the issue of international communication, TDF, and national sovereignty.

Sovereignty: “a country’s right to protect its borders from military aggression; to preserve its natural wealth and resources; and to choose its political, social, economic, and cultural systems without interference by another state”(Frederick, p.121).

TDF (transborder data flow): the flow of banking, insurance, credit and other similar information across national boundaries via mainly computer networks (a.k.a. TBDF).

Some countries “farm” their data management tasks out to other countries (mainly to U.S.). Issues?

Information is Power!!

Photo by Paul Keller

Other examples:
Direct Broadcast Satellites (DBS).... spillover
Remote-sensing satellites used to gather information from the Earth’s surface.

Does one country have the right to gather information about another country via remote-sensing satellites?

A Google Map of Google Maps’ Legal Troubles

Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

GlobalMedia: New World Information & Communication Order (NWICO) (U2-P2) SP13

“New World Information and Communication Order” (NWICO) [a.k.a. NWIO].

• By the early 1970s many nations see the strong need to alleviate/lessen the problems related to international communication (see issues/controversies covered previously). They call for NWICO. They seek a new world policy.
• Controversy about controversies.
• Problem dealt with mainly within UNESCO.
• "UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) – contributes to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations."

‘76-‘78	The Mass Media Declaration calls for “free flow and a wider and more balanced flow of information.”  Declaration was passed, but will to implement was weak.
‘79-‘80	Begins to unravel. Western gov’t & media concerned.  Agreed to MacBride Commission to study world “communication problems.”
‘80-‘83	Western press lobby groups and U.S. press begin to play a stronger role.  Influencing U.S. gov’t.
12/84	U.S. (Reagan administration w/ influence from the Heritage Foundation) withdraws from UNESCO
‘85-	UNESCO’s stance of NWICO wavers.  NWICO dead?  We have a New Order but it is “the order of the advanced industrialized nations” (Mowlana).

UNESCO welcomes back U.S.A. (2002)


Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

GlobalMedia: Important Global Communication Issues (U2-P1) SP13

List major global issues (“controversies”) relevant to an understanding of international communication.

• Communication, TDF, and National Sovereignty^
• Increasing Concentration & Transnationalization
• Deregulation and Privatization
• The “Flow” Controversy
• The “News Values” Controversy (Biases in News)
• Media Imperialism (Anglo-American Dominance)^
• Communication Policies
• Protection and Licensing of Journalists^
• Codes of Ethics for Media Practice
• The Status of Women in INC^
• “New World Information and Communication Order”^

^ To be covered in more detail later.
(Originally based on Frederick, 1993; updated)



Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

GlobalMedia News (Week of 1/20/13)

NOTE: If your computer or browser doesn't show you the above news stories, then see them at Storify.


Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

ResearchMethods: What is Research? (U2-P4) Sp13

Research is:

“Disciplined inquiry...studying something in a planned manner and reporting it so that others can replicate the process” (Frey et al.)

Keywords: planned, reporting and replicate
What do they mean in this context?

Research, as discussed here, is more than "research" done at the library.  Instead of reading through books and online materials for answers that some other researcher has found, you conduct original research on your own to find the answer.  That is, you conduct an experiment or a survey or a textual analysis or some other research method to find the answer.  Somebody is not telling you an answer in a book or report, you are finding the answer to your research question on your own.

Two types: 

• Scholarly 
• conducted to promote public access to new knowledge
• usually conducted by a professor at a university
• Proprietary
• conducted for a specific audience, results not shared
• usually conducted by a researcher at a company

Why are results not shared in proprietary research?
Could you give examples of each of the two types?
Which of the two types of research would you be more likely to do in the future?

How does this discussion of research relate to the earlier discussion of science?

How's this definition of research relate to the Mythbusters clip shown earlier?

Speaking of the Mythbusters, do you recall the previous clip?  Let's now continue the myth-busting.
Start at about 4:15 and end at about 8:55.
(Note: If the YouTube clip is no longer available, then the season 8 episode 6 can be found online on Amazon, Netflix, etc., if you are interested.)




A parting thought, actually a research question.
Research Question: Does watching Mythbusters change viewers' science literacy?
This would be a research question that a media scholar might research.  How?



Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

ResearchMethods: How is Doing Research Like Being a Detective? (U2-P3) [VID] Sp13

Use the previous posts on theory and research and the video below to answer this question.

How is doing research like being a detective?


Theory: an explanation of how something works based on evidence. 
Research: "“Disciplined inquiry...studying something in a planned manner and reporting it so that others can replicate the process” (Frey et al.).

Also note that a researcher does research to test and build theories.

What roles do theory and evidence play in this comparison? 

From: The Mentalist







Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

ResearchMethods: Curiosity, Magic and Theory (U2-P2) [VIDS] Sp13

In the previous post I discussed the Critical Thinker's Creed.

Which one of the traits given in the creed is most important?  Open-mindedness? Creativity? Curiosity? Being knowledgeable?

After some careful thought, I'd have to say the key trait in the creed is curiosity.  Without curiosity, the rest don't matter. If we are not curious about how things work, then what place is there for the others?

So, let's explore curiosity a little more by way of magic. Ever watched a magic trick and became curious.  "How'd they do that?"  When you ask yourself this question you are seeking a theory to explain the trick.

Let's define a theory as an explanation of how something works.  How does that trick work?  Why do people do what they do (what's the process)? Why, if you drop a book, it falls to the floor (how exactly does that work)?  Got theory?

Back to the magic show:
To practice your curiosity muscle, check out this Lance Burton magic trick.  Ask yourself, how'd he do that?




Seriously, stop and think about how he did what he did?  What's your theory/explanation? Figure out some detail.  Write down your explanation.  Draw a diagram.


Did you think it through very carefully?  Go back, if not, and theorize.


And, only once you've carefully thought about a possible explanation, then check out the next video. This is a video that I put together to explain the trick. Or maybe it was real magic?  That's a theory, too.




Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

ResearchMethods: Critical Thinkers and Scientists (U2-P1) Sp13

One way of defining a critical thinker is to identify some of the traits of a critical thinker, a critical thinker's creed, if you will. 

The Critical Thinker’s Creed

• We are Open-minded.
• We seek to understand other viewpoints.
• We are Knowledgeable.
• We offer opinions/claims backed with logic and evidence.
• We are Mentally Active.
• We use our intelligence to confront problems.
• We are Creative.
• We break out of established patterns of thinking and approach situations from innovative directions.
• We are Independent Thinkers.
• We are not afraid to disagree with the group opinion.
• We are Curious.
• We go beyond superficial explanations. We seek deeper understanding.

So, a critical thinker is a person who follows the creed above (or some similar creed)?
Do you follow this creed?

Note: The creed above is based on a section of Chaffee's The Thinker's Way 



===

We could define a scientist as a person who does science, but that begs the question what is science. Below are some possible definitions of science based a presentation by Dr. William McComas (Skeptic Society).

• “Science is what scientists do.”
• So, science is what scientist do.  Scientist are those who do science.   This one isn't so helpful.
• “Science is a method of testing claims and it is not an immutable compendium of absolute truths.”
• This definition works.  Highlights how science is a process, something we do.
• “Science is the quest for knowledge, not the knowledge itself.”
• Again, science is a process, in this case, a quest.

So with these last two definitions of science, then how do we define a scientist? 


I started this blog post with some questions: How should we define these three terms and how are they related?  Are they three different labels for the same thing?  Related, but a little different?  How are they different?

Got some answers?  If so, next...

Now, after thinking about how these three terms relate to one another, ask yourself, how do they relate to you?  Are you a scientist?  A skeptic?  A critical thinker?

And, what does this discussion have to do with related terms like theory and research?



Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.