Previously your wrote a proposal to conduct an observational study, leveraging found digital data to answer a research question of your own interest. This week we have explored how asking questions can yield valuable information about human attitudes and behavior, as well as digitally enhanced methods for conducting surveys.
In a short paper (1200-1500 words), propose a research study based on a question you find interesting and explain how you would use data collected through a digitally-enhanced survey to answer your question. You should (briefly) state your topic of interest and the specific question you seek to answer in this research project. Next, identify the basic structure and format of the survey and the key questions you would include.
The bulk of your proposal should be a critical assessment of why you believe this project will be a good example of digital research. This includes:
- A clearly stated research question
- A clearly stated plan for using digitally-enhanced survey data to answer your question
- A justification for how your proposed research design takes advantage of digitally-enhanced survey methods
- What about the survey makes it digitally-enhanced?
- How would a survey be better than an observational study using found data?
- What are potential sources of error in your survey, and how will you minimize that error?
A suggestion for your research question: use the same question from your observational study paper. Then you can compare and contrast the benefits and drawbacks of implementing a survey design vs. an observational study.
See here for instructions on submitting course assignments.
Submit your paper as a Markdown document (.md).
Submit your pull request before class on Monday, October 23 (11:30 am). Late submissions will receive a 1 point (out of 10 points) deduction.