Research Critique of "How Social Is Social TV?" Article Paper Example

Introduction

In this paper, the title of the research article under critique is "How ''social'' is Social TV? The influence of social motives and expected outcomes on the usage of Social TV applications." The authors of the research are Nicole C. Kramer; Stephan Winter; Brenda Benninghoff; and, Christine Gallus. The focus of the paper is on the increasing popularity of social television applications and its influence on social motives and outcomes.

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The researchers tested the hypothesis about how social gratifications and social motives influence the way social TV is used and the frequency of usage.

Strengths of the Research Study

The researchers in this article used a simple, clear and precise language which can clearly understand. This makes the article to be relatively easy to analyze. This is one of the major strengths of the study as it allows the readers of the study to comprehend the findings and the recommendations of the paper.

The use of such language in a research paper makes the texts more engaging; this is because the readers are not confused about the message that the researchers are putting across. Through such a language, the readers are also able to have a clear picture of the purpose of the research. In explaining the meaning of different aspects which they tackle in the research paper, the researchers use examples which offer a vivid elaboration of the particular aspect.

The data which is being used in the study is consistent and reliable. The researchers make use of proper data collection method which allows them to collect data which is reliable. Using data that is both reliable and consistent in a study makes sure that the analysis which is conducted in the study is meaningful and appropriate, making the study to be useful.

One of the most critical factors which are used to measure the quality of a research study is the data which is used in the study. In this case, the data that has been collected by the researchers is reliable and consistent with making proper conclusions for the study. The researchers have presented the data in the study through tables which are easy to understand and analyze. The use of reliable data in this case also ensures that the hypothesis of the study is properly tested. With reliable data, the study is also creating a positive implication for the other areas of study which are under the same topic.

The researchers have also provided more information in explaining the issues which are complex in the study. There are several aspects which are quite complex throughout the study, for instance, under the method of data collection, the researchers have offered comprehensive explanations on the different aspects which they considered when collecting the data.

The readers can easily understand the rationale which was used in selecting the participants and also the way data was collected. The research data was collected from 101 participants; the researchers have provided enough information for readers to understand the way the study was done. Similarly, the results are explained with sufficient information for readers to comprehend the study.

Weaknesses of the Research Study

The main weakness of this study is that there is no related secondary data which is available. The available secondary data is also quite difficult to obtain. Secondary research data is the data that is collected by another researcher; the data is used to offer a baseline for the primary data which is being collected for the study and also provide a framework through which the data which is collected can be compared with the data which was collected by a different researcher.

In this case, the researchers focused on a particular group of participants, those who had a university degree and those who used social networking sites such as Facebook and other online forums to obtain data for the study. It is quite difficult to find secondary data which is related to this information and provide a comparison for the data. The use of the secondary data is important as it saves time and can be used to check if the primary data which has been conducted for the study is accurate.

Another weakness of this article is that the data which has been collected is not robust enough to allow for an explanation which is robust about the issues which are complicated in the study. The researchers concentrated on a small number of people, the participants who took part in the study were 101, and they were members of Facebook groups or other online forums. Because of this, the amount of data that they collected was not sufficient to explain the various complex aspects that arose throughout the research.

The findings from the research do not provide a conclusion which can be generalized to represent the population or the community which the study focuses on. The sample population that the researchers focused on is quite small and might not represent the population that the researchers focus on.

The reaction of the Research Paper

The article is focused on the social implications of using social TV; the researchers observe that the use of social TV applications has become popular. Because of this, there is a need to find the factors which influence the use of social TV applications and the social outcomes of using these applications.

The article is presented using a clear and precise language which makes it more engaging; this means that readers can understand the research purpose and conclusions which were made from the research. The method which is used by the researchers is also clearly presented, the number of participants, as well as data, is presented in a clear manner.

The researchers also ensure that each aspect in the study is adequately explained, through the provision of information about the complex elements. However, there are several weaknesses of the paper which makes it ineffective research. Although the researchers focused on the proper population for studying, the number of participants who were selected to take part in the study is quite small, and it might not represent the whole population. Also, the fact that there is no secondary research data in the study which can be used to validate the primary data that is collected for this research compromises the effectiveness of this paper.

There is a need to have secondary data so that a comparison framework for the data which has been collected can be developed to validate the results. Similarly, the data which is available for the study is not robust, there are several social TV applications, and data collection needs to be comprehensive, include different categories of social TV applications. This way the data can be robust to be applied in the study. Generally, the paper indulges in solving a social issue which is affecting many people; the researchers provide conclusive findings which can be used furthering research in this area.

References

Kramer, N. C., Winter, S., Benninghoff, B., & Gallus, C. (2015). How "social" is Social TV? The influence of social motives and expected outcomes on the usage of Social TV applications. Computers in Human Behavior, 51, 255-262.