There are examples of empirical research being discussed in the media every day. For example, people with blue eyes stay married longer or drinking a glass of milk daily will help one live longer. Phrases like, "increased risk," "more likely to," and "related to" are used to describe how behavior is correlated to other behaviors. A phrase like "X causes Y" (e.g. smoking causes increased risk of cancer) tends to indicate a cause and effect result from a controlled experimental study.
For this assignment include the following: Find an example of research or a research finding being discussed in the media (internet, talk show, news or newspaper, or social media). Briefly describe what was reported.
Assume the role of a scientist that has been tasked with studying this topic. Outline how you would study the topic using the scientific method.
Identify the type of research methods you could use to study this topic (correlational, experimental, observation, survey, etc).
Make sure to consider the type of information you need to gather, and explain how the method you selected will work best. For example, if we were to use the scenario above, would it be better to study how milk affects longevity with a survey or by observing people? In that case a survey would allow us to collect the data we need to study the topic.
What are some of the pros of the method you chose? What are some of the limitations, challenges, and/or problems inherent in the method you selected?