Assignment:
Introduction
More and more people are coming to realize that they are leaving a very large amount of data laying around as they go through their day. This did not used to be an issue, but now we are such an interconnected society these bits of information are starting to be collected by companies and governments.
Researchers can use these bits of information to discover things about you and how you live. This is called nonreactive measurement, and is different than the other research we have covered so far because most of the time the "participant" does not know the data is being collected. One example is researchers will go through trash to discover what people eat. Another example is when researchers recorded the number of condoms at a water treatment plant to measure the effectiveness of a safe sex campaign.
Initial Post Instructions
For your initial post, think about all the data you leave lying around as you go through your day. Stop and take a look in your trash, refrigerator, and home. If an experimenter was recording you what could they say about your life style? Also, take a look at your communications like email, texts, and other messages. What do your communications say about you and your point of view? Would you be comfortable with all this data being recorded? Why or why not? Does this issue worry you?
Secondary Post Instructions
When replying to your fellow students compare and contrast the ways you leave data around. What are some insights you can provide to the student related to his or her data trail?
Writing Requirements
1. In addition to one initial post, respond to at least two peers.
2. Initial Post Length: minimum of 250 words
3. Secondary Post Length: minimum of 200 words per post
4. Using APA format, incorporate appropriate in-text citation(s) referring to the academic concept with corresponding references page for the initial post.
Assessment
Meeting the minimum number of postings does not guarantee an A; you must present an in-depth discussion of high quality, integrate sources to support your assertions, and refer to peers' comments in your secondary posts to build on concepts.
Course Learning Outcome(s):
1. Understand the language of research.
2. Evaluate the validity of how concepts are measured
3. Develop verbal and written communication skills
4. Critically evaluate research, being able to differentiate shoddy research from good research
5. Be able to evaluate programming, therapies, policy, etc.