Tutorial week 2 :)

*Reference material : Lecture notes 1 and relevant text book chapters*

Question 1
Define "scientific research" in your own words by answering the following: What does research mean? What does research hope to achieve? Why do we need scientific research?

( As much as possible, use your own words and description to explain your understanding.)

• scientific research is public
• work must include information on sampling methods, measurements, data and gathering procedures.
• research is to find out something and discover the truth behind a new topic
• to prove and achieve accurate/trustable information
• to avoid misleading information to the audience.

Question 2
List the 4 non-scientific sources of knowledge as introduced in Lecture 1, giving 2 examples for each of these methods of knowing.

a. agreement reality (something which is agreed by everyone whether it is proven or not)
  Example:

• ghost
• myth

b. experiential reality ( something that u experienced )
  Example:

• driving a car and banging a tree can cause the broken of the leg.
• ice skating can cause knee dislocation.

c.tradition ( its fixed long time ago )
  Example:

• wearing black colour clothing is not allowed during chinese new year
• sweeping the floor is not allowed on the first day of chinese new year

d. authority (knowledge/experience in something)
  Example: 

• information from the textbook
• information of a lecturer

Question 3
One of the foundation of science inquiry states that social science researchers are interested in groups, aggregates or collection, but not individuals.

What kind of groups can you think of that mass media researchers would be interested in when conducting their research?

a. young adults
b. children

What kind of topics do you think mass media researchers would be interested to research on with these groups?

a. why do young adults use facebook?
b. why do people prefer animated movies than real actors and actress movies?

Question 4
Define variables and their attributes.

Give four (4) possible attributes for each of the following variables:

i. Racial groups

• chinese
• malay
• indian
• iban

ii. Education level

• kindergarten
• primary school
• secondary school
• college/university

iii. Number of magazines a teenager buy in a month

• none
• 1
• 2
• 3

iv. Agreement/Attitude towards violence on TV

• They might follow their the actions in the programme
• disagree with the actions
• agree with the actions
• scared and paranoid of the surroundings

v. Types of smartphone in the market today

• touch screen
• wide screen
• thin
• camera

The End.....

By,

Tan Jia Xuan (Angeline)

(0309954)