¶ … Operational Definitions in order carry research, researchers define variables terms actual procedures measure manipulate . Operational definitions provide details procedures needed measure a variable written precisely, increase
Variables and operational definitions
The independent variables for the topic social media and technology are availability of technology, social media access, and availability of internet. Technology availability is vital for someone to access and use social media. Without technology, the subjects would have to rely on traditional methods for communication, and the results would differ from those who have technology access. The popularity of social media sites available is independent since it determines the level of access and usage. Internet availability is critical because without internet connectivity it would not be possible to connect on social media with others. The dependent variables are sense of community, and enjoyment. Subjects who have access to social media and technology are bale to connect with their peers and community easily. The subjects will also gain enjoyment, as they will be fulfilled when they can connect and interact with others using technology and social media. Enjoyment is measured on the ordinal scale as one either gets enjoyment, or they do not. Technology availability,...
Popularity of social media sites will be tested individually by making only one site available at a time. Technology and internet availability are operationally defined as either available or not. The researcher could also reduce the internet speed to measure adaptiveness of subjects. The rationale behind the definitions is that the study aims at establishing the link between social media and technology. The operational definitions given have the capability to affect the reliability of the study since the independent variable can be manipulated in different ways to achieve different or same results (Rucker, Preacher, Tormala, & Petty, 2011). Validity is established because the results of the study can be adapted to other settings, which would provide external validity. Internal validity would be achieved by measuring the dependent variables based on the independent variables. This would provide an precise measurement of the cause and effect.
Non-experimental and experimental methods
Experimental techniques allow for the direct manipulation of independent variables in order to test their effect on the dependent variable (Cozby & Bates, 2011).…
