Theory Methodology and Human Development
Analyze a selected topic from a social scientific perspective by doing the following
Explain the significance of a suitable question, which you have formulated, for social scientific analysis.
The impact that video games, as a form of media entertainment, have been a matter of concern for politicians, parents, and legislators. However, the results generated from the scholarly literature are not in agreement; researchers continue to disagree about the impact that video games have on people.
Analyze three research problems (i.e., subordinate questions) that will help answer the social scientific question that you have formulated.
For purposes of this research, a quantitative research design is utilized.
Question #
What is the relationship of playing video games to increased levels of obesity?
Justification:
Walsh, Gentile, Walsh, & Bennett (2006, p. 2) found that "children who spend more time playing video games are heavier, and are more likely to be classified as overweight or obese."
Rideout, Roberts, and Foehr (2004) found that the average child in America between the ages of 8 and 18 years of age spends nearly 7 hours per day with some form of electronic media, with video game playing constituting almost 2 full hours per day.
Question # 2:
What is the relationship of playing video games to increased levels of aggression?
Justification:
Peng, Liu, & Mou (2008) suggest that, while many quantitative research studies (Anderson & Bushman, 2001; Sherry, 2001) have found statistically significant correlations between the playing violent video games and aggressive behaviors the claimed causal relationship is tentative at best.
Question # 3:
Are some video games more addictive than others? If so, which games are more addictive than others?
Justification:
Skoric, Teo, and Neo (2009) note that all addictive behaviors are associated with uncontrollable urges that are often in tandem with loss of control, usage preoccupation, and an overwhelming desire to continue the behavior, despite negative consequences.
Yee (2006) notes that "hardcore" video game players tend to be younger and have emotional problems, including low self-esteem. When such a player compounds "hardcore" game playing with feelings of deficient self-worth, Yee (2006) argues, players tend to supplement this...
Gaming addicts sometimes play for ten, fifteen, or twenty hours straight in a single gaming session, every day."
The negative consequences of video game playing, though tenuous, are well documented in the scholarly literature and are of concern to politicians, parents, teachers and video game programmers.
Explain the social scientific analysis required for each of the three research problems.
All of these research questions will involve a Non-experimental, Quantitative research design. For this quantitative research, surveys will be administered to a cohort of video game players in an effort to determine if causal connections are present.
Trochim (2010) observes that survey research has become one of the most important measurement tools to social science researchers. For these research questions, a survey questionnaire is appropriate. The benefits of using a questionnaire-based survey are several; they allow the researcher to tailor-fit questions for research participants, allow for flexibility for research participant responses and are relatively low cost compared to other forms of social science research measurements.
Using procedures designed for sampling, survey responses from a given group or cohort can be generalized to a larger population, thereby allowing researchers to make predictions and hypotheses about human behaviors and events.
Consider the extent to which your chosen topic question can be examined by the application of the scientific method by doing the following:
Discuss the scientific method as understood in the natural or physical sciences.
The scientific method in the natural and physical sciences refers collectively to the set of techniques and procedures utilized for investigating and researching phenomena in an effort to ascertain knowledge about a given issue or to build upon previous bodies of knowledge. However, for an inquiry method to be considered "scientific" it must be quantifiable, empirical, observable or otherwise measurable. Thus, through a rigorous design of observable techniques or through a carefully designed experiment, the scientific method allows researchers to develop, apply and test given hypotheses.
While differing procedures exist…
