Introduction to Sociology - Assignment 1: Research Review Analysis

This assignment analyzes a research article focusing on the impact of internet use on the lives of online adults in the United States, based on a study conducted by the Pew Research Center. The assignment addresses the research topic, participants, and the central research question. The research utilized mixed methods, including telephonic interviews with a national sample of adults, and data collection involved random-digit-dial samples and bilingual interviews. Key findings reveal that while a majority of internet users view its impact positively, opinions on its societal impact are becoming more divided. The assignment also prompts two follow-up questions concerning the internet's perceived productivity among those under 18 and ways to improve the effectiveness of digital technologies for societal benefit.

Assignment 1 Reviewing Research and Making Connections
(Your name)
Introduction to Sociology
(Your professor’s name)
(Date)

Ask(Write a paragraph of at least 5 to 7 sentences answering the following questions in your
own words.)
 What was the topic of the research?
 Who was studied in the research?
 What was the research question that was answered by the information in the article?
Research(Write a paragraph of at least 5 to 7 sentences answering the following questions in
your own words.)
 What research methods were used? (Go to Section 2.9 in the webtext for a list of research
methods.)
 Summarize the process researchers used to collect data.
In the research article Smith (2018) has put emphasis on the topic of internet use and its impact on
the lives of online adults. The topic indicates that a declining majority of online adults in the United
States are now thinking that the impact of internet on the society is a mixed one and not solely a
good one. A group of adult Americans were studied. A national sample of 2,002 adults of 18 years
of age or older who lived in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia were studied in the
research. The research question that was asked by the Pew Research Center and answered by the
research participants was that, “How Americans tend to view the impact of the internet and other
digital technologies on their own lives largely in positive ways?
Primarily the researcher used the mixed research methods to obtain data from the research
participants. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were adopted. Telephonic interviews were
conducted from January 3 to January 10, 2018 among a national sample of 2,002 adults, who were
18 years of age or older and who were living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia
(Smith, 2018). Among the participants 1,502 were interviewed on a cellphone and this included
1,071 who did not have landline telephone. Moreover, the survey was conducted by interviewers
under strict directions of Abt Associates (Smith, 2018). It should be noted that the process of
research also included the process of collecting and combining landline and cellphone random-digit
–dial samples. Survey Sampling International provided the samples and the interview was
conducted, in a bilingual method using an election pool, both in English and Spanish languages.

Learn(Write a paragraph of at least 5 to 7 sentences answering the following questions in your
own words.)
 What were the key findings of the research?
 What conclusion was drawn from the research?
Do(Write a paragraph of at least 5 to 7 sentences answering the following questions in your
own words.)
 What are two additional follow-up questions that you have based on this research?
 Why did you choose these follow-up questions?
There were some key findings of the research. The survey conducted on some U.S. adults in January
2018 did find that Americans tend to view the impact of the internet and some other digital
technologies on their social and professional lives in positive ways. It was found that a majority of
adult internet users (88%) admitted that the internet, on balance, had been mostly a good thing for
them from the personal perspective. But it was also found that a good number of Americans have
steadily grown somewhat more undecided about the impact of digital connectivity on the American
society as a whole. Moreover, quite interestingly, it was also found that a sizable majority of
American online adults (70%) still continued to believe that the internet had been a good thing for
the American society.
I have two additional follow-up questions based on the concerned research. Firstly, I want to ask
that how is the internet’s productivity and usability perceived by Americans below the age of 18. I
did choose this follow-up question to get a larger and bigger picture of the entire scenario,
considering the fact that the research talks much about the American society and a society should
not be considered to be only composed of adults. Moreover, another follow-up question that I would
like to ask is that, “What can be done to improve the effectiveness of internet and other digital
technologies so that the society can be benefitted?” I would like to ask this follow-up question in
order to ensure that in the long-run technologies like the internet would be benefitting the human
society as a whole.