Running Head: INTERNET COMMUNICATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Internet Communication and Quality of Life Reading Research Assignment Michael C. Whitfield Central Washington University

INTERNET COMMUNICATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE Internet Communication and Quality of Life Reading Research Assignment

What topic of area did you choose? The area of study that I decided to conduct research on, was whether or not the Internet could affect the quality of life in an individual. I wanted to find out whether or not the Internet could have an adverse affect on an individuals daily life in their communication patterns and their quality of life. What key words did you use to find the article? While searching the school database I used two keywords in the search engine to help me refine my results. I used the terms Internet and communication for the search and was able to find the type of article I was looking for in only moments. What is the correct APA (6th edition) citation for the article you choose? Lee, P., Leung, L., Lo, V., Xiong, C., & Wu, T. (2011). Internet Communication Versus Face-to-face Interaction in Quality of Life. Social Indicators Research, 100(3), 375-389. What is the research topic of your article? The main research topic in this article was to find out what role the Internet played in the quality of life with individuals from four Chinese cities; Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, and Wuhan. The study was also done to find some of the differences between computermediated-messaging and communication through face-to-face networking. The authors of this study wanted to find out if one of these forms of communication was better than the other. How do you know it is a research study?

INTERNET COMMUNICATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE I know that the authors of this journal entry had conducted different surveys in the diverse cities of China. This journal entry is a valid research study primarily because of the original research the authors conducted as well as incorporating other studies and research into their findings. What is the purpose statement? The purpose statement of the study that takes place in this journal entry is to find out what role the Internet plays in the quality of life. What is/are the Research Question(s) and/or Hypothesis (ese)?

The research question that I have found in this study, is whether Internet communication serves, like face-to-face interactions, to enhance quality of life (Lee, Leung, Lo, Xiong, & Wu, 2011). The hypothesis to the question I have found, is that the use of the Internet for interpersonal communication can improve quality of life among Internet users, just like face-to-face communication in everyday life (Lee et al., 2011).

Is it/are they clearly stated? The research question as well as the hypothesis were stated in a very clear manner. Both the research question as well as the hypothesis for this article were in the very beginning of this article in the abstract. What are the key concepts or variables being examined in this article? In what section of the article did you find this information? The key concepts as well as the variables seemed to be spread throughout the entire article. Many of the variables that were involved in this research, were that of the many different people that took place in this study. The demographics of the people in the cities listed had a large role in the variables of this research. These demographics are shown in

INTERNET COMMUNICATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE

the area of Results and Discussion portion of this paper. Some other variables that took place in this research was whether or not the surveys and data collected was completely accurate or not, and whether or not there was relevancy in what they had collected. Some of the key concepts that were involved in this article could be considered in the concepts of relationship between people of varying differences. Some of the concepts that were tested were that of, whether or not the study group of participants were affected in a positive or negative way throughout the study with whether or not their quality of life had been improved or if it had diminished since the beginning of the study. The authors also used the concepts of displacement in an area of their findings. They used the concept of time displacement in order to explain the decline of participants communicating with friends and family. The second concept they used for this was called, displacement of strong ties. With this term, the authors used it to compare the Internet to other activities of a similar nature; similar to watching TV, listening to music, and other forms of entertainment which seem to stimulate a type of withdrawal from their normal social behaviors. What is the method of data collection? What section of the article was this information located in? The main method of data collection for the research that took place in this article was predominantly through surveys the authors had collected from the multitude of demographics in the four Chinese cities. During the article, there was also mention of the use of data collected by other people in similar areas of interest. There is not one particular place in which these studies were cited in the article, as they were cited continuously throughout this paper in multiple areas.

INTERNET COMMUNICATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE What are the main points and findings of this research study? Indicate the section of this article this information was located in? The authors of this paper realized that this study had its limitations and that a number of factors were not taken into account when this study was taking place. The authors

specified that many different variables could have changed the results in which they came to their conclusion. The authors concluded, that mediated communication, in whatever form, can only approximate to daily life interactions which are unique in their own right (Lee et al., 2011). This finding, at least in my opinion, means that their study was somewhat inconclusive. It seems that the study in question, did not include relevant variables in which to have reasonable findings. This conclusion to their study was found in the very end of this journal entry. What claim is this article making? The principal claim in which this article was making, is that communicating through a computer mediated fashion, will have an effect on your daily life as an individual, and will affect your quality of life in a unique way only to you. I feel as though this study was inconclusive in their findings, if they could only vaguely conclude what could have been guessed at the beginning of this research. How did you decide this was the studys claim? Where did you find this information? I came to the conclusion that this was the studys claim because this is what the reaction to the study that the authors had. This is what they said that they believed once the research and the statistics were evaluated. I found this information in the conclusion of this article. The statement that in this paper, the authors said, that they believed, made me think that this was their findings of their research as well as their claim to the study.

INTERNET COMMUNICATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE

What are other key or interesting pieces of information you found in the article that might be relevant to you if you were going to research this topic? I found this article as a whole to be very interesting. I have been curious for some time about whether or not computer-mediated-messaging is a valid or prudent change from face-to-face interaction, and this article was somewhat disappointing to me. The article in question, as well as the study, was formulated quite well, but the results of the actual data was somewhat disappointing. Disappointing in the fact that the results of the studies were inconclusive and that the results varied from person to person. But the fact that the authors had these type of results actually makes more even more curious of the matter, and have possibly made this topic even more interesting to me. More interesting to me in a way that I would be delving into a study that has not been full researched before. What is one thing you learned about research after doing this assignment? From completing this assignment, I have come to know many things about research that I hadnt known before. I have learned how to pick apart and analyze the different parts that make up a research paper. I am now able to find the purpose statement of a given article, the different claims that a given article may have, as well as finding the different variables and concepts in the journal or article. The main thing that I have undoubtedly learned, is that not all research studies will have the results that were hoped for, and that regardless of whether the hypothesis is verified or not, the research as well as the studies done, will have given some type of new information or insight into the topic of study, and therefore bringing new information into whatever field of study an individual researcher may be involved in.