Unobtrusive Measures and Evaluation Discussion Question

Part One:

1. Watch this Bugs Bunny cartoon called “Rabbit Season.” As you watch this nearly 2 and half minute video, count the number of violent acts that you witness in the video.

2. Make an initial post telling the class about how many acts of violence you counted during the video. After stating your witnessed number, explain what you considered a violent act in the video.

3. Keeping in mind your answers above, provide a definition for violence that should be used when watching the video.

4. The likelihood is that we will have many different numbers for the acts of violence that each of us witnessed during the video. Considering that the likelihood is that we will see different counts in the class, this means that we may have different ideas and definitions for what we consider violent acts. This also means that if we are using different definitions for key elements of a given research question, we would not have high inter-rater reliability. So, what does that inform us about the types of research we have been learning about throughout this class? 

Part Two:

1. Using one of the research questions that you created in the Week 2 Discussion or a new research question that you create for the purpose of this week’s discussion, how would you define the various variables that would be used in your research question? How would this definition help researchers maintain high inter-rater reliability when conducting research?