INFO 370 - L04 - October 11, 2004
Notes By: Prins, Fortier, Egaas

Project Ideas
    > Novice computer users expectations of software --CA
    > Gap between technical and non-technical people --Irvin
    > Collaborative Work; Geographically distant professionals & their interaction --Mel
    > IP law vs. IP practice --Brian
    > Online social iteration --Aaron
    > Characteristics of online trading --Peiwen
    > SPAM --Aaron
    > Social interaction in online multiplayer games --Anthony
    > Marketing vs. Privacy --Laila
    > Differences between company perception and customer perception of websites --Aaron
    > Social characteristics of tech savvy vs. non tech savvy --Dan
    > Uses of data-mining marketing/ethics/legality --Tristan
    > Evolution of RSS syndication (loss of advertising/relations) --Ryan
    > Effectiveness of online advertising --Trevor
    > Consumer preferences value vs. latest gear --John
    > How people react to design --Irvin
    > Bandwidth savings through new web technologies --Aaron

Conceptualization and Operationalization
Conceptualization:
    Concept - A mental image; abstract idea
        > Information anxiety
            * symptoms
            * heart rate
            * interview them
            * :)
    Variable - A property associated with the concept that can vary
        > Stress level
        > Level of Internet Access
        > Digital divide

Operationalization:
    > Defining a concept in empirical terms
    > Specifying the procedure for identifying value of a variable for a given case
    > Example: Level of Internet Access
        > Do you have access to the Internet?
        > Do you have access to the Internet at home?
        > Do you have a broadband connection?

Indicators:
    > An empirical observation that can be taken as evidence of particular attributes of a variable
        > Marital Status: "Are you married?" (Y,N)
        > Educational level: "What was the last grade you completed?" (HS, B, G)
        > Internet usage: # of minutes spend online
        > Coffee Addiction: # of times you come 5 minutes late to class holding a latte
    > The compassion of INFO 370 students
        > Feeling of deep sorry for living things stricken by misfortune
        > Strong desire to alleviate the pain of living things
    > Indicators
        > Cry when people die in movies
        > Get ill when passing car accidents
        > Feel sad when the local possum stops coming for food
    > How many indicators should we use?
    > How do we develop indicators?
        > Measures developed in previous studies
        > Observation, unstructured interviews
        > Informants, experts
    > Exclusive
    > Exhaustive
    
Evaluating Indicators
    > Validity
        > Do the indicators measure the concept that we think they are measuring?
        > Is educational level a valid indicator of social status?
    > Reliability
        > Consistency

Descending the Ladder of Abstraction
    Concept > Variables > Indicators <> Validity & Reliability

How would you measure it?
    > What is the recreational Internet use?
    > What is computer literacy?
    > What is an online community?
    > What is Internet access?
    > How much access do you need to cross the digital divide?
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