Credibility and Trust of the College Students towards the Use of Facebook - Literature review Example

Survey experiment Lee et al. used survey experiment in exploring the factors that affect the willingness of college students to use Facebook in communicating. The study was examining the credibility of Facebook and the motive of the advertisers. Using experimental design the research was seeking to establish the factors affecting the credibility and the trust of the college students towards the use of Facebook. Survey experiments are among the research methods that can be utilized in the process of obtaining first-hand data concerning phenomena under research. According to the traditions, the experiments are mostly utilized by the behavioral researchers as compared to the business scientists. However, the experimental research can also be used effectively in the process of analyzing the cause as well as the impact of relationships. In addition, the experimental researchers in most cases make use of the deductive approach in their process of testing the hypotheses. Survey experiments are reliable because they are applied in the casual studies particularly the experimental studies usually involve the manipulation of the independent variable so as to evaluate its effects on the dependent variables. For instance, the changes in the price levels of the sales volume can be viewed as a major example of an experiment, whereby the price can be viewed as the independent variable while sales can be specified as the dependent variable. In addition, the kind of relationships that usually exist between two variables in the experimental studies can be categorized into three divisions which are; symmetrical, asymmetrical and the third category is reciprocal. For the case of the symmetrical relationship, two variables usually fluctuate during the same time even though the change in one variable does not cause any impact on the other variable. For instance, the decline in the consumption levels of the luxury products and also the decline of the consumer trust on the use of Facebook may take place at the same time because of the third factor which is the increased level of uncertainty. The difference of survey experiment from the other research methods can include the reciprocal relationship. It is the relationship that exists between two variables usually, takes place in case there is a mutual kind of influence as well as reinforcement between those variables. For instance, as a result of the marketing message, a customer is usually influenced to buy a car from a specific brand for the first time. However, as a result, the customer tends to remain loyal to that brand, therefore, considering more goods from the similar brand in future time. In accordance with the asymmetrical relationship, any change in the independent variable usually brings about changes in the dependent variable. Moreover, the asymmetric relationships always take four main forms which are; the stimulus response, property-disposition, property behavior and the fourth one is the disposition behavior. However, according to the review about the experimental research method, experiments are mostly applied in the exploratory research and also on the explanatory research. Quantitative research Miller, Robert, and James used quantitative research to establish how the users of social media were shifting from Facebook to Twitter. The study was conducted to establish the comfort levels of the college students between Twitter and Facebook. The research showed that the college students were much comfortable in using Twitter as the students viewed Twitter account to have fewer risks as compared to Facebook. The quantitative research refers to the systematic investigation of observable phenomena, through various techniques such as the computational, mathematical and also statistical. Moreover, the main objective of the quantitative research is actually to improve and also apply mathematical theories, models, and hypotheses to a particular phenomenon. In addition, the measurement process is the central theme of the quantitative research since it usually provides an important connection between mathematical expression and the empirical observation. The reliability of quantitative research method can be associated with the fact that it comprises of any data which is in the form of numerical such as the percentages and the statistics hence making the interpretation of the results easy. Moreover, the quantitative researchers usually believe that the numerical data provides results which are not biased, and therefore the results can be generalized to a larger population. However, in the case of the qualitative research, the participants are usually asked several questions, and then word data is obtained from the phenomena. Furthermore, in the field of the social sciences, the quantitative research is broadly applied in various areas such as in the sociology, community health, political science, psychology, marketing, demography and also economics among others. However, in the social sciences, the term quantitative in most cases relates to the empirical methods which usually originate from the history of statistics and also from the philosophical positivism. Importantly, the qualitative methods are applied in the verification of the various hypotheses. Quantitative research can be differentiated from the other research methods in a number of ways. For instance, quantitative research can be contrasted with the qualitative research that deals with the examination as well as the interpretation of the observations with the aim of discovering the underlying meanings of the relationships patterns such as the classification of the entities. Moreover, the quantitative approaches were first modeled in the area of the physical sciences during the work on the psychophysics. Even though a distinct different has been drawn between the quantitative aspects and the qualitative aspects related to the scientific investigation, it is usually believed that both the quantitative and the qualitative are closely related. However, even though the quantitative research has been existing for the several years in the world, the modern idea concerning the quantitative processes have been deep rooted in the framework of the positivism. The positivists emphasized about the usage of the scientific method in the prediction of how a certain phenomenon occurred. However, the quantitative research makes use of the statistical methods in the process of collecting data. Importantly, the major principle of the quantitative research is that the aspect of correlation is not usually an implication for the causation. Qualitative research Mancuso used qualitative research to establish the influence of social media on social life. Social media platforms like Facebook were being analyzed to assess their influence on social interactions especially sharing information. The results showed that social media has an impact on sharing ideas where the engagement of children in social media promoted their knowledge. The qualitative research is usually a wider methodological approach which entails a variety of research methods. Moreover, the main aims of the qualitative research are always varied depending on the disciplinary backgrounds. In addition, the methods of the qualitative research usually examine the process of making decisions basing on the field of sociology in order to understand about the government programs as well as the social programs. Some of the fields in which the qualitative research is most popular include; the social work, special education and also the political science among the others. However, in accordance with the conventional view of the statisticians, the methods of the qualitative research usually provide information to specific case studies such as the ethnographies. The use of qualitative research is usually reliable as qualitative researchers always hold a belief that, understanding a certain phenomenon or even situation requires the exploration of the totality of the phenomenon. For instance, a good example of the qualitative research method is the case study that examines deeply the purposive samples which make individuals understand better about a particular phenomenon. In addition, the qualitative researchers have a large number of choices of techniques which they can use in obtaining data that ranges from the grounded theory, case studies, ethnography and also the participant observation. Also, the methods of the qualitative research are still employed in the methodological approaches which include the action research that is based on sociological or even on the actor-network theory. Besides, the other factor that makes qualitative research reliable is the fact that most common tactic of the qualitative research in the generation of the data for the research is the interview that can either be structured, unstructured or even semi-structured. In addition, other methods of generating data include; observations, group discussions and also the reflective field notes. In order to analyze the qualitative data, researchers always search for the meaning from the available data. Moreover, sometimes the qualitative researchers are usually associated with the field of education, whereby the methods of collecting data which they mostly use include; field notes, participant observation and also the interview. As a result, the results obtained in research using qualitative method can be accurate hence reliable. The difference of qualitative method from the other research methods can include that the methods which are used in the participation and also in observation are always varied from one setting to another. Moreover, the participant observation is usually a strategy for the reflexive learning, but not a one way of observing. In addition, in a participant observation, the researchers usually adapt to the roles which conform to a particular setting. Also, some of the distinct methods of the qualitative research include the use of the focus groups. Descriptive research Bray made use of descriptive research in investigating the impact of social media on learning capabilities of students. The author used descriptive research to provide the necessary descriptions of the impacts of social media in learning progress. Descriptive research can be useful in the process of describing results for better understanding. It is useful in providing the necessary averages, frequencies, and calculations that are statistical in nature. It makes use of observations to provide the necessary descriptions concerning the results of the research. Descriptive research makes a follow-up on why certain observations exist and their implications. The reliability of descriptive research can be associated with the fact that it provides the necessary explanations that can help in understanding the outcomes of the study. For instance, through the use of descriptive research ways that social media impact the learning capabilities can be best explored through providing the necessary descriptions. Besides, the data concerning the phenomenon under research be explained to ease the understanding of results of the research. The researcher making use of the descriptive research can be in a position to ensure a better understanding of the research outcomes. The difference of descriptive research from the other research methods can include the fact that it provides the necessary explanations concerning the phenomenon under research. Also, descriptive research entails exploring the phenomena under research to make facts known hence helping in gaining an in-depth understanding of the research findings. Works cited Bray, J. Rob. "Interpreting Economic and Social Data: A Foundation of Descriptive Statistics." Economic Record, vol. 86, no. 275, Dec. 2010, pp. 644-646. Lee, Yoon-Joo and Ho-Young (Anthony) Ahn. "Interaction Effects of Perceived Sponsor Motives and Facebook Credibility on Willingness to Visit Social Cause Facebook Page." Journal of Interactive Advertising, vol. 13, no. 1, Mar. 2013, pp. 41-52. Mancuso, Joan and Karen Stuth. "What Qualitative Researchers Can Learn from Facebook." Marketing Research, vol. 23, no. 2, Summer2011, p. 32. Miller, Robert and James Melton. "College Students and Risk-Taking Behaviour on Twitter Versus Facebook." Behaviour & Information Technology, vol. 34, no. 7. Read More