Does the use of texting and social networking sites affect the level of comfort with face-to-face communication amongst teens?
-
Recent Posts
-
Archives
-
Meta
Does the use of texting and social networking sites affect the level of comfort with face-to-face communication amongst teens?
The topic itself is an interesting topic to research but the way that you phrased the question allows you to answer it with a “yes” or a “no.” Maybe starting the question with “how” instead of “does” would make it a better research question. Also, I feel like texting and social networking sites are two different areas you could explore so it might be a good idea to just choose one of the two.
I think that this is an interesting topic, and I agree with Carrie in that it’s probably better if you choose either texting or social neworking to be more specific and narrow down your topic. However, I think the wording is fine. Even if your question can be answered with a yes or no, you still have to follow your answer with an explanation and justification for your answer so it really doesn’t matter whether you start it with how or does.
I feel that your question is very focused and solid becuase it has to do with a very narrow subject, which in a way, is a good thing, becuase you know the exact question that you wish to have answered. One thing that you could change about your research question, however, to possibly make it better, would be to rephrase it somehow so that it wouldn’t be considered as a “yes” or “no” question; you could do this possibly by adding descriptors to your question (i.e. what, how, etc.). Another worry of mine about this question is how you will be able to measure that which is in question here, “comfortability.” How do you plan on assessing and researching something like that? If you could find a way, that would be great for your question. Overall, it is an interesting topic and a good question that might be made better with a few minor refinements.
I’m a little concerned by the phrase “level of comfort.” What exactly does that mean? Is there a way to quantify and measure that? What behaviors do you have in mind in face-to-face communication that you think might be affected in some way by teen use of texting or social networks? Also, I think social networking and texting are too big enough areas of research that you would be well advised to consider focusing on just one.
You might try rewording this question a completely different way (try to use all new words) to see if the language gets more precise.