Publisher Description

The "new media" -- interactive videodiscs, telecommunications, computers, VCRs, teletext systems, and more -- present researchers with new challenges when it comes to studying practical applications or theoretical effects. This valuable volume aids researchers in first recognizing the special qualities of interactivity, demassification, and asynchroneity that the new media have created and to instruct professional researchers and students in alternative research methods, multiple methods, and the triangulation of results. For the first time, a variety of methods are examined as they apply to new media research, including mathematical modeling, controlled experiments, quasiexperiments, surveys, longitudinal studies, field studies, archival and secondary research, futures research and forecasting, content analysis, case studies, and focus groups.
Whether the problem to be researched is as focused as considering the cost-benefit for a school wishing to adopt computers in the classroom or as wide-ranging as determining the effects of video games on child socialization, this up-to-date and thorough guide alerts researchers to the pitfalls of traditional methodology and offers a firm foundation upon which they can build reliable, accurate projects able to produce sound results.

Author Biography

Frederick Williams is Mary Gibbs Jones Centennial Professor at the Center for Research on Communication, Technology & Society of the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of The New Communications, among other books.

Table of Contents

Contents

Preface

PART I. Perspectives on Research on the New Media

1. Distinctions in the Study of New Media

The New Media

New Media -- Components and Combinations

Telecommunications

Computing

New Service Applications

Special Qualities of New Media

Three Dimensions

Some Distinctions of New Media Research

The Research Challenge

Summary

2 Trends in the Study of New Media

The Influence of Communication Media on Research

The Media and Research Traditions

The Sequence of Media

Children and Media

Communication Theories and Media

The Direction of Communication Research

Paths Not Taken

Communication Policy Analysis

Expanding the Study of Media Technologies

Summary

3. Choosing among Alternative Research Designs

Conflicts Over Research Methods

Conventional Approaches

Mathematical Modeling

Controlled Experiments

Quasi-experiments

Surveys

Longitudinal Studies

Field Studies

Archival and Secondary Resarch

Futures Research and Forecasting

Content Analysis

Case Studies

Focus Groups

Assumptions and Criticisms of Conventional and Positivist Approaches

Alternative to Conventional Research Methods and Designs

Sources and Rationales

Interpretive Approach

Contextualism

Action Research

Criteria for Choosing Among Designs and Methods

A Triangulation Example in the Study of Word Processing

Summary

Notes

PART II. Problems and Solutions for Research

4. Validity, Reliability, and Sampling

Requirements of Research Designs

A Case Study of Teletext Research

Elements of Research Design

Validity

Reliability

Sampling

Studying the New Media Over Time

Need for a Temporal Perspective

Choices in Over-time Research

Problems in Studying New Media Over Time

Summary

Notes

5. Adoption of New Media

The Importance of Interactivity

What Is the Diffusion Paradigm?

The Critical Mass in the Adoption of Interactive Media

Adoption of Computer-Mediated Communication Systems

Implications of the Critical Mass Concept for Research Methods

Forecasting the Diffusion of New Media

An Emphasis on Prediction

The Failure of Videodisc Players

Centers of Forecasting Research

How Accurate Are Forecasts?

How Is the Rate of Adoption Forecast?

Why Are Certain Forecasting Methods More Accurate?

Can 2 Million French People Be Wrong?

Summary

6. Using Computer-Monitored Data

Automating Data Collection

Characteristics of Computer-Monitored Data

Advantages for Validity and Reliability

Comparing Computer-Monitored Data to Self-Report Data

Research Uses of Computer-Monitored Data

Monitoring and Initiating

Types of Data and Research Design Elements

An Example Showing a Combination of Uses

Retesting the Erie County Study with Computer-Monitored Surveys

Merging Computer-Monitored Data with Questionnaire Data

Data Combinations

Problems

Merging the Data

Results

Summary

7. Strategies for Studying Cases

Why Do a Case Study?

What Defines a Case Study?

Microcomputers in the Schools: A Case Study Example

Background and Problem

Method

Results

General Steps for Designing a Case Study

1. Specify the Need for a Case Study

2. Define the Unit of Analysis

3. Plan Data-Gathering and Analyses

4. Carry Out the Research Plan

Summary

8. Implementing Formative Evaluation

A "Developmental" Approach

Characteristics of Formative Evaluation

Background

Evaluation as a Research Focus

Formative as Against Summative Evaluation

Practical Benefits

Uses with New Media

Steps in Formative Evaluation

1. Define Objectives

2. Select the Scope of the Research

3. Select Data-Gathering Methods

4. Analyze Results and Provide Feedback

Formative Evaluation as Mass Communications Research

Summary

9. Evaluating Costs and Benefits

Return on Investment

Methods for Costs Analyses

Types of Analyses

Applications to New Media

Major Steps in a Cost Analysis

1. Define the Problem

2. Select the Analysis Method

3. Gather Data

4. Conduct Analysis and Draw Conclusions

Beyond Cost Analyses

Summary

10. Measuring Productivity

Going Beyond Costs and Benefits

Productivity as Efficiency Ratios

Basic Production Ratios

Ratios of Revenues Relative to Personnel or Technology

Return-on-Investment Ratios

Ratios Relative to Value Added

More on the Value-Added Concept

Examples of Productivity Analyses

Basic Cost-Benefit Analysis

Value Added

Capital-Labor Trade-off

New Media as Strategic Investment

Selecting Options

Gaining Competitive Advantage

Summary

PART III. New Considerations

11. New Theoretical Approaches

The Need for New Theory

The Networks and New Media

Network Paradigm, Data, Measures, and Methods

Influence of Networks on Adoption of Computer Systems

Interaction and Involvement

The Nature of Interactivity

Psychological Involvement and Interactive Videodiscs

Social Involvement and Parasocial Interaction

Summary

12. Issues of Ethics and Ideology

Human Costs and Benfits

Research with Human Subjects

Background

The Belmont Report

Institutional General Assurance

Practical Notes

Privacy as an Example of an Ethical Issue

Making Private Information Public

Personal PrivacyProtecting Privacy in Research

Equity as an Example of an Ethical Issue

Summary

Appendix: On-line Data-base Services

References

Index

Long Description

The "new media" -- interactive videodiscs, telecommunications, computers, VCRs, teletext systems, and more -- present researchers with new challenges when it comes to studying practical applications or theoretical effects. This valuable volume aids researchers in first recognizing the special qualities of interactivity, demassification, and asynchroneity that the new media have created and to instruct professional researchers and students in alternative research methods, multiple methods, and the triangulation of results. For the first time, a variety of methods are examined as they apply to new media research, including mathematical modeling, controlled experiments, quasiexperiments, surveys, longitudinal studies, field studies, archival and secondary research, futures research and forecasting, content analysis, case studies, and focus groups.Whether the problem to be researched is as focused as considering the cost-benefit for a school wishing to adopt computers in the classroom or as wide-ranging as determining the effects of video games on child socialization, this up-to-date and thorough guide alerts researchers to the pitfalls of traditional methodology and offers a firm foundation upon which they can build reliable, accurate projects able to produce sound results.

Excerpt from Book

Chapter 1 Distinctions in the Study of New Media The New Media One mark of communication research of the last twenty or so years has been the growth of interest in the adoption, implementation, and effects of new communication technologies, and in new versions of older technologies. Of course, "technology" itself is not a new concept to human communication. It relates distantly even to those tools our ancestors used to expand their communications beyond their naturally endowed capabilities. The stones our ancestors used to scratch their marks on rocks, the fires they used for signaling, or the sticks they used for counting were all early technologies of a sort. More advanced tools, and more technological inventions, were writing, the printing press, papermaking, the telegraph, photography, the telephone, and broadcasting. Indeed, much of the history of human communication is marked by the "science of the practical" -- that is, the uses of technologies to extend our communication capabilities. When we refer in this book to the "new media," we mainly mean those media technologies, mostly electronic and digital, that are undergoing expansion in our times. The key technologies underlying the new media include microelectronics, computers, and telecommunications networks. A medium might be as singularly "new" as interactive videodiscs, yet there are many examples where "new" represents an extension of an older medium -- for example, the computer-switched telephone network, the teletext system that uses part of a television signal, and the teleconferencing system that mixes voice, data, and image. Table 1-1 provides a summary of many of the traditional levels of communications and their expansion through new media. As shown in Table 1-1, the new media facilitate all levels -- from intrapersonal to mass -- of the communication process. Technologies such as microelectronics expand the capabilities of existing communications systems, often making these systems less expensive, more reliable, more portable, and allowing content to be more independent of physical contact than such traditional channels as letters or face-to-face conversations. Computer technologies allow users to process communication by altering the structure of interactions and by editing, storing, and retrieving content. Telecommunications networks allow users in diverse locations to communicate with each other and to expand their social structure to include others whom they had not known before. These new capabilities allow for changes in human communication behaviors on intra- and inter-personal levels, in groups, organizations, and in mass audience contexts. They raise questions about the potential of new media, about how they are adopted and implemented, what their effects may be in both immediate and long-range contexts, and, above all, about the larger social questions concerning their benefits to humanity. It is therefore important that we expand our capabilities for studying the new media just as the technologies themselves have expanded. In this first chapter, we discuss major distinctions of new media and associated distinctions of research in this area. New Media -- Components and Combinations Telecommunications One major area of development is in the transmission of human messages through telecommunications systems. These technologies are, either singularly or as a part of other systems, contributing to new possibilities for human interaction. Some are newer than others, but all are currently an important part of new media. Optical transmission systems involve the modulation of light waves as a communications carrier. Two common forms are the highly focused "laser" beams and the optical fibers that serve as communications channels. Optical systems have the potential to be far less expensive than traditional telecommunications systems. They have a large signal capacity and are freer of interference than electrical or electronic systems. Much of the planned expansion of the public switched (telephone) network will use optical fiber technology. Communications satellites are broadcast relay stations that, because of their position above the earth, can disseminate signals over a wider area than a land-based station. When in an orbit matching the movement of the earth''s surface (called a "geosynchronous" orbit), earth stations can easily "lock on" to the satellite and need not incorporate expensive tracking mechanisms. As satellites become able to broadcast increasingly powerful signals, earth stations can be reduced in size, making satellite communication much less expensive and more widely available. Coaxial cable allows for the simultaneous transmission of many individual messages, including moving video images, which require large bandwidths. Cable is known for its application in the distribution of television signals to homes. However, modern cable has many enhancements; these include two-way or interactive transmission; simultaneous delivery of voice, data, and images; and applications ranging from security systems to remote reading of home electric or gas meters. Microwave relay systems allow for the line-of-sight transmission of many simultaneous voice, data, and image signals from tower to tower. As a substitute for wired telecommunication systems, these relay stations have greatly reduced the cost of building telecommunications networks. Cellular mobile telecommunication systems include a network of low-power broadcast grids where every cell has a different frequency so that many callers can share the overall network. As callers travel from one cell to another, their communication channel is automatically shifted to one of the different frequencies. Local area networks are dedicated communication networks often used to link individuals in a building, buildings in a complex, or the geographically separated units of a single company or organization. These networks typically bypass the local telephone network. A major application is an integrated communication network in modern office buildings, a system sometimes referred to as "shared tenant services." Value-added common carrier networks use various combinations of the preceding transmission channels to provide reliable, less-expensive telecommunications service. "Value added" refers to the offering of processing capabilities such as storage and forwarding of messages at a later time, least-cost routing, error-checking, and detailed accounting records. A particularly significant characteristic of such networks is their use of packet-switching, which breaks up a message into small packets; sends each one along the fastest, cheapest, or most reliable route; and reassembles the packets at the destination computer. One of the most important contemporary trends in telecommunications is the digitalization of signals. When in digital form, signals can transfer voice, data, and image information easily in the same network. Digital signals can include their own "routing" instructions. There is a move toward a world standard in digital networks; this standard is called the integrated systems digital network -- ISDN for short. Computing The computer is as much a communication technology as it is computational in that it facilitates the movement, storage, and reproduction of messages. But whereas communication technologies typically only change the energy form of messages for purposes of transmission, computers can change the messages themselves. In this respect we can think of a computer receiving messages as "programs" to act on other messages as "data." But even more applicable to communication research is that computers are integral parts of most modern telecommunications systems. Some of the world''s most sophisticated computers serve as "switches" for major communications networks. Moreover, miniaturized computerlike components enable the operation of most transmission and receiver technologies, ranging from telephones to television sets. Some contemporary computer concepts and designs are as follows: Microprocessors integrate all the circuits necessary for the basic computing operation on one miniature medium, which is called a chip. These chips are the basis for computerized functions in various types of equipment, such as those mentioned above. When microprocessors are combined with data input-output and memory devices, the combination represents the essentials of a microcomputer. Personal computers are the popular models of microcomputers now found in homes, schools, and offices, often selling for under $5,000. Currently, they are single-user-oriented, but they are increasingly being designed for simultaneous multiple users and multiple tasks. Minicomputers have a greater computation capacity and speed than personal computers, can often run several programs simultaneously, and serve multiple users connected through multiple terminals attached to a local area or value-added network. Minicomputers sell in the $10,000 to $500,000 range. Mainframe computers are the traditional computers found in large installations and originally affordable only by large businesses, government, and the military. These computers serve many simultaneous users ("time-sharing") and usually cost millions of dollars. Many of the capabilities of the older mainframes are now provided by minicomputers. Supercomputers are the high-speed mainframe computers originally used for military and scientific purposes but are now coming into wider use in business and design applications.

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