Question

The article "Display of Health Risk Behaviors on MySpace by Adolescents" (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine [2009]: \(27-34\) ) described a study in which researchers looked at a random sample of 500 publicly accessible MySpace web profiles posted by 18-year-olds. The content of each profile was analyzed. One of the conclusions reported was that displaying sport or hobby involvement was associated with decreased references to risky behavior (sexual references or references to substance abuse or violence). a. Is it reasonable to generalize the stated conclusion to all 18-year-olds with a publicly accessible MySpace web profile? What aspect of the study supports your answer? b. Not all MySpace users have a publicly accessible profile. Is it reasonable to generalize the stated conclusion to all 18-year-old MySpace users? Explain. c. Is it reasonable to generalize the stated conclusion to all MySpace users with a publicly accessible profile? Explain.

Short answer

a) It is reasonable to generalize to all 18-year-olds with publicly accessible MySpace profiles due to the random sampling. b) It's not reasonable to generalize to all 18-year-old MySpace users since not all have publicly accessible profiles. c) It's not completely reasonable to generalize to all users with accessible profiles since the study focused on 18-year-olds only.

Step-by-step solution

Part (a): Reasonability of Generalization

Considering the methodology adopted for this study involved analyzing a random sample of 500 18-year-olds with accessible MySpace profiles, it can be reasonable to generalize the conclusion to all 18-year-olds. This is because randomness enhances the representativeness of the sample to the population.

Part (b): Scope in Relation to Accessible Profile Status

The generalization to all 18-year-old MySpace users, even those who do not have publicly accessible profiles might not be reasonable. This is because data from those with non-public profiles was not collected nor analyzed, which could influence the actual outcome if it were considered.

Part (c): Generalization to All Publicly Accessible Profile Users

Generalizing the conclusion to all MySpace users with publicly accessible profile regardless of their age might not be completely reasonable. This is because the age variable might play a significant role in behaviors displayed online. The study only looked at 18-year-olds, so it may not accurately represent the behaviors of users of other ages.