SCS200 snhu Week 4 Applied Social Sciences

Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-1 | Page 1 of 3

On this page, Mark continues his research and considers some applications of that research.

Prior Research and Applications

At this point, Mark has narrowed his focus on the social media research project he has started. After a lot of research and reflection, he has decided to focus on investigating the effects of social media habits on well-being.

Mark is struck by the idea that this research might have some really interesting applications. For example, if it is true that a person’s social media habits can influence their well-being, then an educational campaign targeting teenagers might be worthwhile. Mark also wonders if any technology companies have ever created applications that would help people limit how much time they spend logged in to social media platforms. For example, Mark thinks that maybe an app that sent a daily summary of any notifications a user got on Facebook — instead of getting those notifications in real time throughout the day — might help people spend less time online.

Mark decides to spend some time researching existing campaigns or applications with the goal of limiting social media use. His search yields a few applications available for download that either restrict people’s access to their social media sites or to using the Internet at all. These include:

AntiSocial: An application that allows users to select websites they want to block and for how long

SelfControl: An application that allows users to block access to the Internet entirely for a preset amount of time

Cold Turkey: An application that does not block a user’s access to the Internet or to any particular websites but does track and display how one spends his or her time online

Mark wonders who is using these apps. Are busy professionals utilizing them? Do his students know about them or use them? Can parents install these apps for their children? He’s also now more convinced than ever that his research investigation will have an interested audience. Not only is the social science issue very well-researched, but there are real-world applications for the findings. Mark believes he’s building a solid case for the research department‘s next project.

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Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-1 | Page 2 of 3

Exercise: Identifying Applications

For this short answer activity, you will reflect on potential applications of the research project you’re exploring. Type your responses to the questions in the textboxes below. Be sure to respond to each question in 2-3 complete sentences. When you are finished, click “Submit.” This activity is graded.

Module Four Question 1

Mark believes that people who create apps restricting or changing interaction with social media might be interested in his research. Think about the research you’ve collected so far. What are some potential applications for your research? In other words, what are some ways that your research could be used?

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Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-1 | Page 3 of 3

Filling in the Gaps

On this page, you will consider any gaps in the research that you have completed.

Exercise: Short Answer

At this point, you should have a sizeable list of resources related to your social science issue. Examine what you’ve gathered. What gaps exist? Answering the following questions can help guide this research activity to fill in those gaps.

Type your responses to the questions in the textboxes below. Be sure to respond to each question in 2-3 complete sentences. When you are finished, click “Submit.” These responses will be graded. After submitting, you can edit your response by clicking “Edit.”

Module Four Question 2

On the previous page, you identified possible applications of your research. Research whether anyone has investigated or created those applications. Note your findings here.

Soon you will be creating the research question, which is based on a thorough understanding of your social science issue. Are there any questions related to your social science issue that you haven’t supported or explored? Take some time now to check your initial list of questions by returning to Module Two: Exploring Social Science Issues, Learning Block 2-3. Assess whether there are any gaps or unanswered questions.

Module Four Question 3

After reviewing your initial list of questions, are there any that you have yet to answer by searching credible sites and gathering C.R.A.P.P.O. approved sources along the way? Make a note of those questions here, as well as your plan for answering them.

The next activity uses a rich text area. You can tab to the editor body. Press ALT + F10 or fn + option + F10 to get to the toolbar. Press ESC to return to the editor body. A save button is available in the top toolbar all the way to the right and will become visible when it receives focus.

Ready

Project Work

While researching, remember to add any credible resources that you find to your References List, which will be used for both Project One and Two. Return to your locally saved Project One document to include these resources. Include the link to the source, the title of the source, the authors names (if applicable), and the type of resource it is (journal article, news article, chapter in a book, etc.).

Any resources you include should pass the C.R.A.P.P.O. test. Be sure to evaluate each resource by this standard before including it on your list. Click here link to download a copy of The C.R.A.A.P.O. Test Worksheet.

You will submit this work to your instructor for a Progress Check at the end of Module Four, and your work will be graded. Refer to the Module Four Research Investigation Progress Check 2 rubric document in your learning environment to ensure that your response meets all grading criteria.

Tip: Save yourself time later by keeping these organized in alphabetical order by the author’s last name!

Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-2: Choosing Sources

In the previous learning block, you brainstormed potential applications of your research and the parties that may be interested in this research. You also finished gathering resources for your research investigation.

At this stage, both you and Mark have a clear idea about the direction of your research investigations. Mark has identified the key concepts and ideas that he has learned from his investigation, and he is ready to dig through his list to make sure each supports his main points. In this learning block, you will do the same. You will create a list of key findings about your social science issue following your research investigation, and then you will narrow your list of resources to ensure that they support these key findings. Finally, you’ll make notes about why you’ve chosen the resource and explain how it brings value to your research investigation.

Objectives

Organize your current understanding of the social science issue following the research investigation by creating a list of key ideas.

Use the list of key findings to select and describe appropriate supporting resources from those gathered.

Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-2 | Page 1 of 3

On this page, you will learn about some of Mark’s key takeaways from his research investigation. This will prepare you to weed through his list of sources and discard the ones that he no longer needs.

Organizing the Findings

Mark spends some time organizing his findings. He maps out some of the key takeaways he’s discovered.

Mark’s mapped research

Social media and well-being

Habits

More social media use, and use at night, is correlated to poor sleep quality, anxiety, depression.

Many teens report some anxiety from not being able to access social media.

Intent

connecting with friends, checking for likes, bored: not as much evidence that these intentions negatively influence users.

comparison, lurking/monitoring:

“FOMO” (fear of missing out) linked to anxiety

Monitoring, lurking for negative comments linked to anxiety.

Comparing oneself to others, envy, linked to depression

Counterpoint: Social media can promote socialization, connection – can have positive effects!

Interesting: There are downloadable phone apps that help a person limit their social media use.

Takeaway: MORE social media use is correlated to poorer well-being in adolescents DEPENDING ON their intent when using the sites.

Overall, Mark now understands that social media can have a positive or negative influence on adolescents depending on their intentions when using the sites. Social media can be beneficial for some users because they help maintain relationships, especially ones from afar. Further, they provide users positive feedback in the form of social support.

However, people who spend more time on social media lurking and monitoring (viewing others’ profiles without posting or commenting) reported having higher anxiety. Adolescents reported that this anxiety came from a fear that friends were hanging out without them, that they might miss the online conversation, or that others might be saying negative things about them.

Further, more social media use correlates to depression but only when users are “surveilling” others’ posts and feeling envious.

In thinking about presenting these findings to his university research department, Mark knows that he will need to reference the credible works that have led him to these conclusions. He has a few resources that he is certain he will use. The first is the article, “#Being Thirteen: Social Media and the Hidden World of Young Adolescents’ Peer Culture” (Underwood, 2015). This article provides much of the information about teens’ intentions behind their habits when using social media sites. Another study — “Facebook Use, Envy, and Depression Among College Students: Is Facebooking Depressing?” — helped Mark find information on social media users’ envy (Tandoc et al., 2015).

Mark’s list includes several other resources that, while credible, are no longer relevant since he has organized his findings and narrowed his focus. He will need to cull through this list and remove any that are not pertinent to the message that he will deliver during his pitch to the department leaders.

Project One: Research Investigation Work

Like Mark, you’ve reached a good point in your research investigation to stop and evaluate the resources you have gathered. Take this time to organize your findings from your research investigation. Consider the main ideas and facts have you discovered about your social science issue, then answer the project prompts below.

Open your locally saved Project One document. Expand on the following Project One response, which you initially answered at the end of Module Two. Summarize your findings in 3-4 complete sentences:

I. A. Describe the issue in the social sciences that you have selected to investigate. Why is this issue significant?

Not only does organizing your thoughts help you answer the Project One prompt above, but it will also help you identify areas that have not yet been researched by the scientific community—good areas to ask a research question! You will form your research question in Learning Block 4-3.

You will submit this response to this prompt to your instructor for a Progress Check at the end of Module Four, and your response will be graded. Refer to the Module Four Research Investigation Progress Check 2 rubric document in your learning environment to ensure that your response meets all grading criteria.

Project Two: Presentation Work

The information you’ve gathered during the research investigation will help you explain your social science issue to an audience for Project Two: Presentation. Open your locally saved Project Two document. Use your findings to respond to the following prompt:

I. Provide your issue’s research question. In a brief overview, how have the social sciences previously examined your selected issue? Include which social science disciplines have previously been used to research or explain your issue.

Save your response for future submission. You will not be asked to submit this response to your instructor for a Progress Check until the end of Module Six. Your response will be graded at that time. Refer to the Module Six Presentation Progress Check rubric document in your learning environment to ensure that your response meets all grading criteria.

Please note: later in this section you will contribute more information to this prompt when you form your research question.

References icon

Tandoc, E. C., Ferrucci, P., & Duffy, M. (2015). Facebook use, envy, and depression among college students: Is Facebooking depressing? Computers in Human Behavior, 43, 139–146. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.10.053

Underwood, M. (2015). #Being thirteen: Social media and the hidden world of young adolescents’ peer culture. CNN. https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2448422/being-13-report.pdf

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Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-2 | Page 2 of 3

Sorting the Sources

While researching, Mark has compiled a very long list of sources — too long! Organizing his findings has helped him focus his thought process on social media habits and well-being. Now, he needs to identify the resources that support these main findings and discard resources that are no longer relevant.

Mark’s mapped research

Social media and well-being

Habits

More social media use, and use at night, is correlated to poor sleep quality, anxiety, depression.

Many teens report some anxiety from not being able to access social media.

Intent

connecting with friends, checking for likes, bored: not as much evidence that these intentions negatively influence users.

comparison, lurking/monitoring:

“FOMO” (fear of missing out) linked to anxiety

Monitoring, lurking for negative comments linked to anxiety.

Comparing oneself to others, envy, linked to depression

Counterpoint: Social media can promote socialization, connection – can have positive effects!

Interesting: There are downloadable phone apps that help a person limit their social media use.

Takeaway: MORE social media use is correlated to poorer well-being in adolescents DEPENDING ON their intent when using the sites.

Exercise: Short Answer

Use the graphic above to answer the questions below. Evaluate two of Mark’s resources to determine if they should be included or discarded based on whether or not they are relevant to his investigation. Then, explain why you have chosen to include or discard each one.

Clicking “YES” or “NO” will reveal a textbox. Type your responses to the questions in these textboxes. Be sure to respond to each question in 2-3 complete sentences. Click “Submit” to compare your answers to sample responses. These responses will be graded. After submitting, you can edit your response by clicking “Edit.”

“Social networking sites and our lives.”

This source is a 2011 report released by the Pew Research Center. The report examines social media users’ habits and finds:

There is little evidence that people who use social media have smaller social networks, fewer friends, or less meaningful relationships.

Frequent Facebook users were found to have more social support and more close ties.

Should Mark include this source in his list? Choose YES or NO, then give a few short sentences explaining why.

yes_noresponse

“Selfie posting behaviors are associated with narcissism among men.”

This article evaluates whether a person’s score on a scale of narcissism is correlated to the likelihood that they will post “selfies” (or pictures of oneself). The findings include:

Women post more selfies than men.

Women’s scores on the narcissism indicator were not correlated to selfie-posting behavior.

Men’s narcissism scores was positively correlated to selfie-posting behavior.

Should Mark include this source in his list? Choose YES or NO, then give a few short sentences explaining why.

yes_noYES NO

References icon

Hampton, K., Goulet, L. S., & Purcell, K. (2011). Social networking sites and our lives. The Pew Research Center. http://www.pewinternet.org

Sorokowski, P., Sorokowska, A., Oleszkiewicz, A., Frackowiak, T,. Huk, A., & Pisanski, K. (2015). Selfie posting behaviors are associated with narcissism among men. Personality and Individual Differences, 85, 123–127. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Agnieszka_Sor…

Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-2 | Page 3 of 3

Choosing the Sources

On the previous page, you evaluated Mark’s resources to determine whether or not they are relevant to his findings. In this group of exercises, you will do the same for your own list of resources.

Project Work

Choosing the Sources

Open your saved Project One and Project Two documents. Review the main points and key takeaways that you have identified after researching your social science issue.

Now look through the list of resources that you have gathered throughout your investigation. You have already determined that these resources are credible. Review the resources to determine which best support the key findings. Consider the following questions when determining which resources to choose:

What information does this resource provide?

How does it shape my understanding of the social science issue?

Would this resource help provide evidence that the social science issue is important?

Remove any resources that you feel are no longer relevant or useful. Ensure that after you edit this list, you have at least three resources. This work addresses the following prompt:

IV. Provide a reference list that includes all of the social science resources you used to investigate your issue and question. Ensure that your list is formatted according to current APA guidelines.

Please note: In Modules Five and Six, you will do more work with this prompt. You will place your resources into APA formatting in a formalized References List.

Project One: Research Investigation Work

Describing the Sources

Project One requires you to choose three of your resources and describe why you have included them. Keep in mind that while you are not limited to three sources for your investigation, you only need to describe three in this exercise. Identify the three resources that you will describe now.

In your Project One document, provide a description of each source. In your description, include the following information:

Provide identifying information for the resource. Is this a journal article, a chapter in a book, a study, a website, etc.?

What information about your social science issue does this resource provide? Why are you including this source? What makes it useful and relevant to your investigation?

What was your thought process when searching for this source? (For example: Did you find this during your broad or targeted search? Was this mentioned in another source? Did you use a specific combination of keywords to find it? Basically, how did you come across it?)

How does this source differ from the other two sources you have chosen to describe for this prompt? (Think in terms of information that the source gives, as well as the type of source it is, such as an article, study, survey, etc.)

This work addresses the following prompt:

I. B. Describe at least three social science resources that you could use to investigate the issue you selected. Your sources must be relevant to your issue and must be of an academic nature appropriate for the issue. In your description, consider questions such as: What are the similarities and differences in the content of your sources? What makes them appropriate and relevant for investigating your issue? What was your thought process when you were searching for sources? How did you make choices?

You will submit this work to your instructor for a Progress Check at the end of this module, and your work will be graded. Refer to the Research Investigation Progress Check 2 rubric in your learning environment to ensure that your response meets all grading criteria.

You have reached the end of Learning Block 4-2. Click the Next button below to begin Learning Block 4-3.

Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-3: Forming a Research Question

In the last learning block, you summarized the key findings you have learned from your research investigation, and you edited your list of resources to include only those that are relevant to these main findings.

In this learning block, you’ll read about Mark’s thinking when considering how to form a research question. His research has brought him to a fuller understanding of the social science issue, including what new research could benefit the people influenced by this issue. Similarly, your research has brought you to a fuller understanding of your social science issue — you can now be able to identify an area for further research that could benefit the populations and professionals affected by your issue.

In this learning block, you’ll learn how to form a research question. You will identify qualities that make research questions workable versus unworkable. At the end of the learning block, you’ll form your own research question and consider what the next steps would be to investigate that question.

Objectives

Evaluate the research gathered about the social science issue to identify an area for further investigation, and use that identified area to form a research question.

Use the social science perspective to detail the next steps that should be taken to answer the research question.

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Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-3 | Page 1 of 3

On this page, you will learn the definition of a research question and try to come up with a research question for Mark based on his work so far.

What Is a Research Question?

Now that you have located credible resources on your social science issue and spent some time evaluating those resources, it is time to develop your research question*. The research question should look at all the preliminary research that you have done on your social science issue and propose a new question.

That question could target gaps in the current research. The research question could also look to the future of the field and propose a question that would require entirely new research.

For example, consider a social scientist that is examining the social norms related to e-cigarette use in teens. He has researched the negative health effects of e-cigarettes. He has researched the social norms related to teen use of e-cigarettes. He has researched the efficacy of social media campaigns that teach kids about the dangers of alcohol and cigarette use. However, he is not currently aware of any social media campaigns that educate students about the dangers of e-cigarette use. Therefore, he presumes that there are not currently studies determining whether such a campaign could influence their social norms. There is potential here for new research! His research question becomes: How could a social media campaign aimed at educating teens about the health risks of e-cigarettes change their social norms?

Or, consider Mark. He has examined the benefits and drawbacks of using social media, depending on a person’s intention when using these sites. He has identified some apps that can help a person limit his or her social media use, but he has not discovered any studies showing their efficacy. He hasn’t found any research showing ways to influence teens’ habits or intentions when using social media or whether that would have a positive effect on their well-being. Mark has a few potential research questions that he could ask.

A good research question requires analysis and critical thinking. Your question should have more than a simple “yes” or “no” answer. If your question can only be answered by a series of facts, then it is not critical enough.

Critical research questions:

Lead to more questions

Require further analysis of text

Provoke further discussion

Move you outside of your own frame of reference in order to understand issues on a larger scale

Focus on the audience and the message (which you will learn more about in the next learning blocks)

Avoiding Unworkable Research Questions

Remember that not every question can be answered through research. Your audience won’t be interested in reading research papers that answer questions to which they already know the answers. Read each of the unworkable research questions below, then click the writer’s image to see how he or she revises the question into something that can be answered using research. Click the arrows to move on to the next person or back to the previous person.

Expand 4-1 Considering Research Applications

Expand 4-2 Choosing Sources

Toggle Disabled 4-3 Forming a Research Question

What Is a Research Question?

Mark’s Research Question

Exercise: Forming Your Research Question

Expand 4-4 Putting It All Together

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Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-3 | Page 1 of 3

On this page, you will learn the definition of a research question and try to come up with a research question for Mark based on his work so far.

What Is a Research Question?

Now that you have located credible resources on your social science issue and spent some time evaluating those resources, it is time to develop your research question*. The research question should look at all the preliminary research that you have done on your social science issue and propose a new question.

That question could target gaps in the current research. The research question could also look to the future of the field and propose a question that would require entirely new research.

For example, consider a social scientist that is examining the social norms related to e-cigarette use in teens. He has researched the negative health effects of e-cigarettes. He has researched the social norms related to teen use of e-cigarettes. He has researched the efficacy of social media campaigns that teach kids about the dangers of alcohol and cigarette use. However, he is not currently aware of any social media campaigns that educate students about the dangers of e-cigarette use. Therefore, he presumes that there are not currently studies determining whether such a campaign could influence their social norms. There is potential here for new research! His research question becomes: How could a social media campaign aimed at educating teens about the health risks of e-cigarettes change their social norms?

Or, consider Mark. He has examined the benefits and drawbacks of using social media, depending on a person’s intention when using these sites. He has identified some apps that can help a person limit his or her social media use, but he has not discovered any studies showing their efficacy. He hasn’t found any research showing ways to influence teens’ habits or intentions when using social media or whether that would have a positive effect on their well-being. Mark has a few potential research questions that he could ask.

A good research question requires analysis and critical thinking. Your question should have more than a simple “yes” or “no” answer. If your question can only be answered by a series of facts, then it is not critical enough.

Critical research questions:

Lead to more questions

Require further analysis of text

Provoke further discussion

Move you outside of your own frame of reference in order to understand issues on a larger scale

Focus on the audience and the message (which you will learn more about in the next learning blocks)

Avoiding Unworkable Research Questions

Remember that not every question can be answered through research. Your audience won’t be interested in reading research papers that answer questions to which they already know the answers. Read each of the unworkable research questions below, then click the writer’s image to see how he or she revises the question into something that can be answered using research. Click the arrows to move on to the next person or back to the previous person.

Exercise: Short Answer

Module Four Question 6

Write a research question for Mark. Please note, there is no one correct answer.

Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-3 | Page 2 of 3

On this page, you will watch a video to learn more about how Mark arrived at his research question and what additional questions he still has.

Mark’s Research Question

At this point in the research investigation, Mark has come up with his research question. The table below summarizes how the research process allowed Mark to move from a broad topic to a narrower topic, which ultimately led him to his research question.

Broad topic: Social media and happiness

Narrowed topic: How social media habits relate to mental and emotional health in adolescents

Research question: How could phone apps that limit social media engagement influence teens’ habits and intentions?

The following video details Mark’s discovery of his research question and his next steps.

Up next is a media element.

Mark’s Research Question

Now that Mark has selected the credible sources that will provide the backbone for his research investigation, he is ready to come up with his research question. In coming up with a research question, Mark asks himself the following:

What do I want to learn more about?

What would others want to learn more about?

Who would benefit from the research findings?

Who could best help in addressing the issue?

Mark’s search for sources opened the floodgates of additional questions related to social media habits that Mark is interested in answering. However, he keeps coming back to his daughter Julia. How does her social media usage affect her state of mind and emotional health? He believes that her intentions while using social media are contributing to her anxiety. She is definitely monitoring others’ posts, and she compares herself to others. Mark isn’t sure how to change her attitude while using her social media sites, but he wonders whether using social media less, or even differently, would help lessen her anxious behaviors. He wonders if she would consider using one of those apps he discovered. Suddenly, Mark realizes he has his research question:

How could phone applications that limit social media engagement influence teens’ habits and intentions?

Mark knows that he is not alone in wanting an answer to this question. With technology and social media being such a huge part of adolescent culture, he reasons that many parents of teenagers must be wondering the same thing. In fact, anyone working with teens–high school teachers, for instance–would likely be interested in his findings.

Mark’s research question leads him to ask some additional questions that would dictate the next steps in his investigation. He must now consider the following:

Which apps will he use for his investigation?

Based on the research, can he make a prediction about how those apps will influence teens’ habits and intentions? What is his hypothesis of the outcome?

How will he recruit and select participants for his research?

How might he be able to measure any changes in habits and intentions?

Based on the outcome, who would be most interested in the findings?

Mark looks forward to continuing his investigation; he feels that the applications of this research will be helpful to parents and teens everywhere. Further, he is excited to have a workable research question to submit to his university research department. He is sure they’ll approve the idea.

Expand 4-1 Considering Research Applications

Expand 4-2 Choosing Sources

Toggle Disabled 4-3 Forming a Research Question

What Is a Research Question?

Mark’s Research Question

Exercise: Forming Your Research Question

Expand 4-4 Putting It All Together

Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-3 | Page 3 of 3

Forming Your Research Question

On the previous page, you watched Mark explain how he arrived at his research question*. Now it is your turn to develop your research question. The following questions will prompt you to state your research question and to help you discern who the audience* or interested parties of your investigation could be.

Project One: Research Investigation Work

Return to your saved Project One document. At this point you have a good understanding of your social science issue and the existing research in the field. From a social science perspective, what questions about this issue remain unanswered? What further research do you feel is necessary to be done on your social science issue? In other words, what aspects of your social science issue have yet to be explored by social scientists?

After considering this, answer the following prompts:

III. A. Based on your investigation, develop a research question related to the issue you selected. In other words, what would you like to know more about?

III. B. Explain how a social scientist would go about investigating the research question you developed. In other words, what would the next steps be if a social scientist were to continue researching your question?

You will submit this response to this prompt to your instructor for a Progress Check at the end of Module Four, and your response will be graded. Refer to the Module Four Research Investigation Progress Check 2 rubric document in your learning environment to ensure that your response meets all grading criteria.

Project Two: Presentation Work

Revisit the section of your saved Project Two document in which you responded to the following prompt:

I. Provide your issue’s research question. In a brief overview, how have the social sciences previously examined your selected issue? Include which social science disciplines have previously been used to research or explain your issue.

Incorporate your research question into this response. Describe how your research investigation and evaluation of credible sources led you to form this research question.

Save your response for future submission. You will not be asked to submit this response to your instructor for a Progress Check until the end of Module Six. Your response will be graded at that time. Refer to the Module Six Presentation Progress Check rubric document in your learning environment to ensure that your response meets all grading criteria.

Please note: you will do more work to complete this prompt in Modules Five and Six when you tailor this message to an appropriate audience.

Project Work

Considering the Audience

As you’ve seen, more than one person or group could be interested in the outcome of social science research. Further, the interested parties may change depending on what area is being investigated. For example, Mark’s research will focus specifically on teenagers, so he reasons that their parents might be interested in the outcome. However, if he were to focus his research on the elderly, this audience would obviously no longer be applicable.

In the next modules, both Project One and Project Two require you to choose an audience based on your research investigation. While you will ultimately choose only one audience, consider all the people who might be interested in your research. Examine your research question and identify three potential audiences. Include this in your Project One document so that your instructor can provide you feedback at the next progress check.

This work will help you complete the following Project One prompt:

II. A. Identify an audience that would be interested in your issue. For example, who would benefit most from hearing your message? Or who could best help in addressing the issue?

You will submit this response to this prompt to your instructor for a Progress Check at the end of Module Four, and your response will be graded. Refer to the Module Four Research Investigation Progress Check 2 rubric document in your learning environment to ensure that your response meets all grading criteria.

Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-4: Putting It All Together

At this point, Mark has developed his research question and is starting to think ahead to the future. He has identified several interested parties for his research, including people who would be interested in the answer to his research question. He has thought about who could benefit from the outcome of his research question. He’s even brainstormed a few applications of his research. Mark gives his final thoughts on his investigation in this learning block.

You have done this work alongside Mark every step of the way. In this learning block, we aggregated the responses you completed pertaining to Project One. You will have time in this learning block to edit these responses, download them, and work on integrating them into your Project One paper. Then, you will submit your written work thus far to your instructor. This is not a final submission; this is a chance for your instructor to see the work you have done toward Project One and offer you feedback. At the end of this learning block, we look forward into the next module and discuss the next steps of your research investigation.

Objectives

Review and edit the Project One work completed during Modules Three and Four for transitions, clarity, and thoroughness in answering the Project One critical elements.

Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-4 | Page 1 of 4

On this page, you will consider Mark’s thoughts as he wraps up this portion of his research investigation.

Mark’s Final Thoughts

Mark’s research investigation began with a simple question born out of his concern for his daughter. What effect did her social media habits have on her mood and behavior? Mark’s quest for an answer to this question was an eye-opening, informative experience. As he searched for articles and studies on the social media habits of adolescents, he was excited to find that there is a significant amount of research on this topic. However, there are many more questions related to this social science issue yet to be answered. Mark’s research question, which he hopes will be approved as a project for his university research department, is just one step toward mapping the issue more completely.

Mark’s experience locating and evaluating credible resources has helped him form a well-rounded understanding of the social science issue. Further, his work finding credible sources that support his research question have him feeling confident that his university colleagues will see the value in his research proposal. Finally, he is excited to approach his wife and Julia with the suggestion of using an app that could help curb social media use, and as a result, potentially Julia’s anxiety. Mark’s research investigation has been a positive experience, and he is interested to see where further work in these areas will take him and his family personally and professionally.

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Research Investigation Progress Check 2

In this assignment, you will review the work you’ve completed on your Project One Research Investigation throughout the first four modules and prepare to submit your work to your instructor for a progress check.

Open your locally saved version of your Project One work now. Review the parts of the research investigation that you have completed thus far. Make sure your work answers the prompt as completely as possible. Take a moment now to improve your responses by editing for clarity and tone, and incorporating any instructor feedback you received on your Research Investigation Progress Check 1, submitted at the end of Module Two. Make sure your work is in complete sentences. Refer to the Module Four Research Investigation Progress Check 2 guideline and rubric document located in your learning environment to ensure that your work meets all the submission requirements and grading criteria.

These are the responses Project One: Research Investigation prompts that you should have worked on:

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I. A. Describe the issue in the social sciences that you have selected to investigate. Why is this issue significant?

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I. B. Describe at least three social science resources that you could use to investigate the issue you selected. Your sources must be relevant to your issue and must be of an academic nature appropriate for the issue. In your description, consider questions such as: What are the similarities and differences in the content of your sources? What makes them appropriate and relevant for investigating your issue? What was your thought process when you were searching for sources? How did you make choices?

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III. A. Based on your investigation, develop a research question related to the issue you selected. In other words, what would you like to know more about?

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III. B. Explain how a social scientist would go about investigating the research question you developed. In other words, what would the next steps be if a social scientist were to continue researching your question?

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IV. Provide a reference list that includes all of the social science resources you used to investigate your issue and question. Ensure that your list is formatted according to current APA guidelines.

Once you are confident your submission is complete, save this document a final time and submit it to your instructor by clicking on the assignment “4-1 Research Investigation Progress Check 2” within Module Four in your learning environment, then uploading your attachments and submitting your work.

Cohort SCS-200-R3198-OL-TRAD-UG.23EW3

Module Four: Performing the Research Investigation, continued | Learning Block 4-4 | Page 3 of 4

Module Four Short Responses

Throughout Module Four, you have done a significant amount of work related to the social sciences. This work has helped build your knowledge about credible sources and the research investigation. It has also helped you complete large portions of work related to Project One and Project Two.

Review your answers to each response. Check for errors and incomplete answers. If you have not completed any of these questions, do this now. When you are finished reviewing and editing, follow the instructions at the bottom of the page to download your work and submit it to your instructor.

Module Four Question 1

Mark believes that people who create apps restricting or changing interaction with social media might be interested in his research. Think about the research you’ve collected so far. What are some potential applications for your research? In other words, what are some ways that your research could be used?

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