Question

Use the following information to answer. The paper "Turning to Learn: Screen Orientation and Reasoning from Small Devices" (Computers in Human Behavior [2011]: \(793-797\) ) describes a study that investigated whether cell phones with small screens are useful for gathering information. The researchers wondered if the ability to reason using information read on a small screen was affected by the screen orientation. The researchers assigned 33 undergraduate students who were enrolled in a psychology course at a large public university to one of two groups at random. One group read material that was displayed on a small screen in portrait orientation, and the other group read material on the same size screen but turned to display the information in landscape orientation (see the following figure). Is it reasonable to generalize the conclusions from this study to some larger population? If so, what population?

Short answer

The conclusion of this study could potentially be generalized to the population of all students attending psychology courses at large public universities, or individuals who frequently use small screens to gather information. However, the diverse nature of these populations may lead to variations in the results. Thus, while the study's conclusions may provide some insights, caution should be exercised when generalizing the findings due to the variety of uncontrolled variables and the specific demographic of the sample used in the study.

Step-by-step solution

Understanding the Experiment

Firstly, we have to understand the nature of the experiment. The study aimed to examine whether screen orientation (portrait or landscape) affects reasoning when reading information from a small device. The experiment was conducted on a sample of 33 university students, randomly assigned to use either a portrait or landscape orientation.

Evaluating the Sample

We need to evaluate if the sample used in the study i.e., 33 psychology students from a single university, is representative of the population to which the conclusions might be generalized. Are these students typical of all individuals who might use a small device to gather information? If the answer is 'yes,' then it would be reasonable to generalize the findings to a larger population.

Identifying the Population for Generalization

If the conclusions of the research are to be generalized, they could apply to the population of all students in psychology courses at large universities. They might also be relevant to any population of individuals who frequently use small devices to gather information. However, user's individual preferences, device specifications, different age groups, intensity and purpose of use are some factors that may impact these generalizations. Therefore, it would be ideal to test these hypotheses in more diverse populations.

Analyzing Other Important Variables

Variables such as age, experience with technology, comfort with reading device, and complexity of information read, which might also affect the ability to reason from information on a small screen, may not have been controlled for in this randomized experiment. The study is limited by the size and specific demographic of its sample, so generalizing the findings to a larger, more diverse population might be questionable.