Basic Structure of Research

1
Basic Structure of Research

• Research question
• Operationalize study
• Run subjects
• Look at data
• Present to world!!!

2
Research Questions

• What is the one-way, causal relationship between
• X1 and Y1, Y2, , Yn
• (variable) (variables)
• X2 and Y1, Y2, Yk, Yn1, Yn2
• (variable) (variables)

3
What are X1 and X2

• Manipulate one and only one thing
• 2 or 3 levels each
• Different kinds of something
• With vs. without something
• Independently manipulable
• Randomly assigned
• Balance is o.k.
• Each person gets only one level of each X

4
What are the Ys?

• Must vary
• Continuous or Dichotomous
• Continuous
• On a scale of 1-10
• How many times did they smile?
• How much did they bid?
• What was the score of the game?
• Dichotomous
• Vote for one of A or B
• Did you win or lose?
• Yes/No questions

5
Where do Ys come from?

• Questionnaire
• Web
• Paper and pencil
• Telephone

6
Where do Ys come from? (cont.)

• Observation
• What do people do with the interface?
• Performance
• Engagement
• What do people cognize?
• Memory
• Learning
• What do people say?
• How many words?
• How many adjectives?
• How do people look?
• Smiles

7
Where do Ys come from? (cont.)

• From my lab group!
• Tons of examples

8
How many Ys?

• The more, the merrier
• Smush items together
• More error-free
• More stable
• At least one non-attitudinal item is important

9
Operationalizing the Study

• Instantiate the Xs
• Pick framing
• Buying
• Learning
• Disclosure
• Entertainment
• Collaboration
• Assessment
• Competition

10
Operationalizing the Study (cont.)

• Pick context
• E-Commerce
• Desert Survival
• Prisoners dilemma
• Trivia contest
• Critic
• Search
• Voting
• Survey

11
Operationalizing the Study (cont.)

• Pick modality
• Web
• Phone
• Lab
• These four (instntiation, frmaing, context,
  modality) are determined iteratively

12
Running Subjects

• Subject criteria
• Only women?
• Balance

13
Look at Data

• Simple statistics (we will help)
• Less than a day

14
Present the Research!

• Standard format
• Millions of friends and admirers