HBC201: Studies have shown that the use of social media can lessen the effects of loneliness: Research Methods for the Social and Behavioural Sciences, SUSS, Singapore

Question

Studies have shown that the use of social media can lessen the effects of loneliness. Also, the livestreaming function has now been incorporated into various social networking platforms.

Nevertheless, research on the effect of livestream viewing remains limited. A recent study has investigated the influence of livestream viewing on individuals’ wellbeing in Singapore.

Based on the survey data collected, researchers have found that the frequency of livestream viewing moderates the impact of loneliness on individuals’ psychological, social, and emotional well-being.

Read the following article for more information about the study (you can access the article via SUSS library).

Goh, Z. H., Tandoc, E. C., & Ng, B. (2021). “Live” together with you: Livestream views mitigate the effects of loneliness on well-being. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 65(4), 505-524.

Analyse and critique the given study. Apply relevant concepts and information from course materials, the given article, and additional research to answer the following questions.

(a) Suppose your friends said that they could know the effects of livestream viewing based on their personal experiences. Explain to your friends the importance of using social and behavioural science research methods to study this topic (i.e., the influence of livestream viewing on individuals’ well-being) in the context of the given study.

(b) Recognise and appreciate the ethical issues in the context of the given study. Specifically,

• Describe EACH ethical principle in the Belmont Report.
• For EACH ethical principle in the Belmont Report, discuss one action that the researchers have taken (or could have taken) to protect the research participants in the given study.(c) As the researchers have discussed in the given article, this study adopts a crosssectional survey design.
• Discuss at least one benefit and at least one limitation of the cross-sectional design, in comparison with the longitudinal design, in the context of the given study.
• Your classmate said, “Using a cross-sectional design affords better external validity than using a longitudinal panel design.” Discuss whether you agree with this statement and explain your reasoning.(d) Suppose you are to evaluate whether the measure of an individual’s well-being used in this study is adequate or not. Propose TWO methods to collect validity evidence.