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?"
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Qualitative Research and Ethics
For the past couple of weeks our class focused on qualitative research. Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research is not searching for numbers or statistics. This type of research is, instead, used to gain insight into people's attitudes and behaviors.
In relation to the focus of my blog, ethics, there are some aspects of qualitative research that some might argue pushes the boundaries of honoring those ethics. In previous blogs I had talked about how some focus groups can violate research ethics due to lack of information given to the participants. In another blog I addressed some ethical dilemmas that unobtrustive research holds. This blog will focus on if or if not giving incentives for participating in a focus group is ethical.
As stated, the purpose of qualitative research is to understand people's attitudes and behaviors. With that said, if a company conducts a focus group about a new product they are launching wouldn't giving an incentive alter the participants attitudes and behaviors towards that product? It could almost be looked at as a bribe- and as we know bribes are unethical.
Lets take a look at the example we had in class last week, the King of the Hill youtube clip. The moderator almost used the $50 as a way to not only get participants to come but also to make them favor the product when it was clear that the majority of the volunteers did not care to be there or about the product, just the money.
Now, I am not saying that giving incentives is completely unethical. In fact, in some cases I think it is necessary. For instance, if a company is trying to research the minds of college kids, more likely than not they will get more respondents if they offer an incentive. However, if the incentive is used as a way to get people to favor a product or an idea then there are ethics that have been violated.
In relation to the focus of my blog, ethics, there are some aspects of qualitative research that some might argue pushes the boundaries of honoring those ethics. In previous blogs I had talked about how some focus groups can violate research ethics due to lack of information given to the participants. In another blog I addressed some ethical dilemmas that unobtrustive research holds. This blog will focus on if or if not giving incentives for participating in a focus group is ethical.
As stated, the purpose of qualitative research is to understand people's attitudes and behaviors. With that said, if a company conducts a focus group about a new product they are launching wouldn't giving an incentive alter the participants attitudes and behaviors towards that product? It could almost be looked at as a bribe- and as we know bribes are unethical.
Lets take a look at the example we had in class last week, the King of the Hill youtube clip. The moderator almost used the $50 as a way to not only get participants to come but also to make them favor the product when it was clear that the majority of the volunteers did not care to be there or about the product, just the money.
Now, I am not saying that giving incentives is completely unethical. In fact, in some cases I think it is necessary. For instance, if a company is trying to research the minds of college kids, more likely than not they will get more respondents if they offer an incentive. However, if the incentive is used as a way to get people to favor a product or an idea then there are ethics that have been violated.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Classmates' Unobtrusive Research Blogs
Last week we were assigned to create a blog about unobtrusive research. For me, unobtrusive research has been one of the most interesting subjects we have learned this semester so far. It gives researchers a chance to play the detective they always admire on Law and Order- a change to investigate the "crime" scene and solve the "mystery" (answer research questions).
What I found even more interesting was reading my classmates blogs about my favorite topic. Since my blog focuses on ethics, last week I discussed the debate of whether conducting unobtrusive research was unethical or not. So it was exciting to see how unobtrusive research was discussed using other topics.
The first blog that I want to comment on is Devon's Blog. In this blog Devon talked about how unobtrusive research is relevant to social media via celebrity Twitter updates. Social media is a tool that can be used to market a product, create relationships with customers, and more. However, I never thought of it as a tool to conduct research. Devon's blog was a perfect example of how social media can be used to conduct unobtrusive research and it opened my eyes to the possibilities this type of research has.
The second blog I want to comment on is Kevin's Blog. Kevin's blog focused on how unobtrusive is relevant to fitness and the supplement industry. It was useful to see how a specific industry would use this type of research. In his blog, Kevin discussed how the fitness and supplement industry uses both social media and different stores as outlets to perform unobtrusive research.
Discussing unobtrusive research through an ethical standpoint and reading my classmates blogs who discussed the topic in a different way helped me gain a much better understanding of this type of research.
What I found even more interesting was reading my classmates blogs about my favorite topic. Since my blog focuses on ethics, last week I discussed the debate of whether conducting unobtrusive research was unethical or not. So it was exciting to see how unobtrusive research was discussed using other topics.
The first blog that I want to comment on is Devon's Blog. In this blog Devon talked about how unobtrusive research is relevant to social media via celebrity Twitter updates. Social media is a tool that can be used to market a product, create relationships with customers, and more. However, I never thought of it as a tool to conduct research. Devon's blog was a perfect example of how social media can be used to conduct unobtrusive research and it opened my eyes to the possibilities this type of research has.
The second blog I want to comment on is Kevin's Blog. Kevin's blog focused on how unobtrusive is relevant to fitness and the supplement industry. It was useful to see how a specific industry would use this type of research. In his blog, Kevin discussed how the fitness and supplement industry uses both social media and different stores as outlets to perform unobtrusive research.
Discussing unobtrusive research through an ethical standpoint and reading my classmates blogs who discussed the topic in a different way helped me gain a much better understanding of this type of research.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Unobtrusive Research and Ethics
This week we learned about unobtrusive research. In this type of research the subjects do not know anyone is watching them. According to the guidelines of ethics in research there must be a voluntary participation. So one could conclude that unobtrusive research is unethical right?
Although unobtrusive research might not follow one of the guidelines to ethics in research that does not necessarily make unobtrusive research as a whole unethical. For instance, when performing the assignment this week we had to figure out which door to the School of Communications was used most. One of the ways I figured it out was observing people as they walked in an out of the doors. I was hidden and the subjects did not see me nor know that they were being watched. Some might argue that performing that research was unethical because the subjects were unaware hence an invasion of privacy but I do not think most of the people would mind being part of a study of opening up a door therefore I do not feel I violated any type of ethics.
However, there are some cases in which I feel the ethical boundary is pushed a little. Studies that are done to research a sensitive subject like racism and there is a hidden camera recording people about how they feel about the issue might be crossing the line of ethics. Unlike the door study the participants might not be fully OK with them being secretly taped for a study on racism.
So I do not think unobtrusive research is unethical but there is a fine line and when it is crossed there is a violation of ethics in research. But, what is the alternative? If researchers need to know how people feel about racism, is there another way to find out an accurate answer not using unobtrusive research?
Although unobtrusive research might not follow one of the guidelines to ethics in research that does not necessarily make unobtrusive research as a whole unethical. For instance, when performing the assignment this week we had to figure out which door to the School of Communications was used most. One of the ways I figured it out was observing people as they walked in an out of the doors. I was hidden and the subjects did not see me nor know that they were being watched. Some might argue that performing that research was unethical because the subjects were unaware hence an invasion of privacy but I do not think most of the people would mind being part of a study of opening up a door therefore I do not feel I violated any type of ethics.
However, there are some cases in which I feel the ethical boundary is pushed a little. Studies that are done to research a sensitive subject like racism and there is a hidden camera recording people about how they feel about the issue might be crossing the line of ethics. Unlike the door study the participants might not be fully OK with them being secretly taped for a study on racism.
So I do not think unobtrusive research is unethical but there is a fine line and when it is crossed there is a violation of ethics in research. But, what is the alternative? If researchers need to know how people feel about racism, is there another way to find out an accurate answer not using unobtrusive research?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
My Classmates Blogs
The first blog I chose to talk about was Mallory's Blog, labeled "Research Results." In this blog Mallory talks about research in NHL. She was very surprised to find that the NHL actually conducts a regular research and frankly I am too. I think it is very interesting that research that has intent to change things is conducted in an already extremely established organization. And like Mallory, I find it disappointing that the two articles she read about did not state what is done with the research.
The second blog I chose to talk about is Jordana's Blog. Jordana's blog focuses on the American Cancer Society. As a volunteer of the American Cancer Society and someone who has lost many loved ones to cancer, I found this blog extremely interesting. In this particular blog, Jordana addresses research that the American Cancer Society conducts in particular, The Cancer Fact and Figure Report. Among other things, this report consists of statistics and like Jordana I was shocked at some of the numbers and I'm sure many other people would be too.
This type of research that the American Cancer Society conducts is extremely important to what they do. Releasing some of these shocking numbers to the public would definitely create awareness to the public, but more importantly to cancer. I'm sure everyone is already aware that cancer is a big problem but I don't think they realize how big it actually is and this type of research can force them to come to that realization. Creating awareness would then hopefully create action among many people.
The second blog I chose to talk about is Jordana's Blog. Jordana's blog focuses on the American Cancer Society. As a volunteer of the American Cancer Society and someone who has lost many loved ones to cancer, I found this blog extremely interesting. In this particular blog, Jordana addresses research that the American Cancer Society conducts in particular, The Cancer Fact and Figure Report. Among other things, this report consists of statistics and like Jordana I was shocked at some of the numbers and I'm sure many other people would be too.
This type of research that the American Cancer Society conducts is extremely important to what they do. Releasing some of these shocking numbers to the public would definitely create awareness to the public, but more importantly to cancer. I'm sure everyone is already aware that cancer is a big problem but I don't think they realize how big it actually is and this type of research can force them to come to that realization. Creating awareness would then hopefully create action among many people.
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