Category Archives: Chapter 1
Health Care Myths and Randomized Trials
Once people have health insurance, they are going to be less likely to go to the emergency room for acute health problems and will instead see doctors in their offices and use more preventive care services. Right? Well, it seems … Continue reading
Research That Matters, Testing That Counts
How many students would vote to have more tests in their classes? It’s hard to imagine that adding more tests would increase instructor popularity, but new research indicates that when testing is done in the right way, it can increase … Continue reading
Secret photographing of classes at Harvard??
Maybe you missed it, but it has been big news in the Boston area: classes were secretly photographed in spring 2014 as part of a Harvard University research project about classroom attendance. About 2,000 students in 10 lecture halls were … Continue reading
So much to do, So little time to do it
I often feel this way as I plan my research methods class and think about activities to assign. Of course, I’ve sort of created the problem in Investigating the Social World by including far more exercises and other activities for … Continue reading
Privacy? Are We Losing It?
Privacy is precious for many reasons, but it is rapidly being lost in online interaction. Houston journalist Kate Murphy points out in a New York Times article that research shows that privacy is associated with higher self-esteem and creativity, as … Continue reading
A new social world in the 21st century?
A recent Boston Globe article on “online personas” was motivated by a tragic case of child neglect in Blackstone, Massachusetts. A woman who was ostensibly living with two school aged children and their father in a small home, while maintaining a cheery … Continue reading
Internet and Society
Lee Rainie and the Pew Research Center Internet Project add regularly to our knowledge about the ways that the Internet is changing our social world. There are many examples in Chapter 1 of Investigating of their findings. Now, Rainie and … Continue reading
Researching in a Social World 