The first blog I have decided to comment on is Jessica's Blog. In this blog she discussed how a professional baseball team used surveys. The Chicago Cubs, Jessica stated, sent out a survey to fans in hopes to gain better insight of what they can do to make their experience at the Cubs stadium a better one. This to me is very smart. Not only is it a good Research method but it is also a great PR tactic. By sending out the surveys, yes they will get a better insight of way to improve but they are also letting the fans know that their opinion is important. Fans will feel appreciated and that is great PR. If this is something that the Chicago Cubs do on a regular basis then it is easy to see why despite their loosing streak they still have many consistent fans.
The second blog I have decided to comment on is Andrew's Blog. Like Jessica's blog, he talks about surveys being used in Major League Baseball. However, where Andrew's blog differs is surveys being used as a voting mechanism. In his blog, Andrew explains how surveys are handed out at numerous baseball teams so that fans can vote for their favorite players. The surveys are then tallied and the player with the most votes at a given position is selected to the All-Star team. Like the survey the Cubs sent out, it will give baseball fans a sense of value.
It was interesting to read my classmates blogs to see different ways surveys can be used. When learning about surveys I initially thought of a corporation trying to market a product, and then using a survey to find out what people think about them. As that is true, Jessica's and Andrew's blogs made me realize that the purpose of surveys is not limited to a business trying to sell a product but can be applied to many other different situations.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Experimental Research and Ethics
Experimental research is very important in the world of Public Relations. There are often times where research methods such as surveys or focus groups cannot be used and experimental research is the best way to find the answer.
However, when looking at ethics and experimental research some might argue there could be a problem. Because there is a lot of information that is kept from the participants a line of ethics could easily be crossed. Let's again take a look at the Tuskegee experiment where participants who had syphilis were being studied and wrongfully being denied drugs (without their knowledge) that could cure their disease.
Cases like this show the gaps that experimental research has. Unless there is a system in place where every experiment conducted is regularly monitor it is very easy for people to practice unethical behavior.
However, when looking at ethics and experimental research some might argue there could be a problem. Because there is a lot of information that is kept from the participants a line of ethics could easily be crossed. Let's again take a look at the Tuskegee experiment where participants who had syphilis were being studied and wrongfully being denied drugs (without their knowledge) that could cure their disease.
Cases like this show the gaps that experimental research has. Unless there is a system in place where every experiment conducted is regularly monitor it is very easy for people to practice unethical behavior.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Surveys: Could We Survey Ethics?
As we have learned, surveys are the most used form of quantitative research. The reason why is because you can ask specific questions, get a lot of responses, they are easy to analyze and, you can have your respondents be geographically and demographically diverse.
Surveys have been conducted to research a variety of things. However, thinking about my blog focus I wonder if they would be the best method to research and analyze ethics. There is still a large part to peoples ethics that research is still unsure of. Yes, we have a general idea of the ethics of people from specific geographics and demographics but there are still many questions about individuals' ethics.
Would a survey be the best way to fill this information gap? Could sending out a survey to diverse people all over the world about their individual ethics answer all the questions we have about it? I would say no, this would not be the best method. I do not think people would answer the questions honestly and instead put what they think they would do not what they would actually do. For instance, if one of the survey questions was, "Would you hold the door for an elderly woman who is a couple steps behind you even though you are late for your meeting?", majority of the respondents would probably say yes. However, if it were a real situation, majority of the respondents would not actually do so.
My point is that surveys are a great research method, but they will only be effective if they are used correctly. You must look at the question you are trying to answer and ask yourself, "would surveys be the best way to get my answer?"
Surveys have been conducted to research a variety of things. However, thinking about my blog focus I wonder if they would be the best method to research and analyze ethics. There is still a large part to peoples ethics that research is still unsure of. Yes, we have a general idea of the ethics of people from specific geographics and demographics but there are still many questions about individuals' ethics.
Would a survey be the best way to fill this information gap? Could sending out a survey to diverse people all over the world about their individual ethics answer all the questions we have about it? I would say no, this would not be the best method. I do not think people would answer the questions honestly and instead put what they think they would do not what they would actually do. For instance, if one of the survey questions was, "Would you hold the door for an elderly woman who is a couple steps behind you even though you are late for your meeting?", majority of the respondents would probably say yes. However, if it were a real situation, majority of the respondents would not actually do so.
My point is that surveys are a great research method, but they will only be effective if they are used correctly. You must look at the question you are trying to answer and ask yourself, "would surveys be the best way to get my answer?"
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