Exercise 2 - Unit of Analysis §

Class: IS303 Created Time: October 30, 2020 10:14 PM Database: Assignment Database Last Edited Time: June 11, 2021 11:20 AM Status: Done

In consideration of each product’s value and quality is unique to each item. For instance, my personal laptop has many quality factors that led me to purchase the specific model. It has a quick solid-state drive, a high-resolution screen, long battery life, a minimalistic look, and a comfortable keyboard. Another furniture that has the right qualifications for me is my desk. Firstly, it’s made from hard plastic as I don’t like clunky and heavy wood furniture. Its quality depended on other variables such as its durability, convenient cable holes, sturdy build, and clean tabletop. A recent purchase I made a month ago was a replacement for my broken computer monitor. In my search, I looked for specific qualifications such as display resolution, refresh rate, response time, luminosity, and color correctness, which came to my satisfaction in the end. Some facial products I just bought also had qualities that are preferable to my situation. I picked face-wash shampoos that had the purpose of absorbing oil, extracting dirt, prevented acne, and all in a cheap price. One of them also had a cooling effect after using which is a bonus quality. The last item would be the clothes I buy. The clothes I buy are dependent on its price, washability, a minimal design, either be T-shirts or jeans, and its color. These are several products which I possess that each have their own variables for qualifying as ‘good’.

In the 2018 study named ‘Empirical analysis of hazard perception and driving behaviors among high school and college students on motorcycles in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’, the main unit of analysis for the research paper was targeted at high school and college students’ driving behavior, and a survey of the traffic condition in Phnom Penh . The data that was collected from high school and college students were the ‘group’ type of data, while the survey of traffic conditions was of ‘social artifact’ type. In the second study named ‘Comparative evaluation of anthropometric measurements and prevalence of hypertension: community based cross-sectional study in rural male and female Cambodians’, the main unit of analysis is of the measurement of the human body. This study collected data of Body Mass Index, proportions ratios and others that correspond to the ‘social artifact’ type of variables, which are products of individuals or groups. The third study is named ‘Contribution of rural roads improvement on children’s school attendance: Evidence in Cambodia’. It dealt with the connection between frequent school attendance with the quality of roads. This study used data about ‘macro theory’ or the ‘social artifact’ aspect because it explores and make connections between human qualities. In the 2020 paper named ‘Air conditioning and electricity expenditure: The role of climate in temperate countries’, researchers studied households’ usage of air-conditioners in response to climate change. The data collected was of ‘Geographical’, where different households from differing climates were examined, and also of ‘Group’ type which analyzes households’ behaviors. The final paper is named ‘The associated risk factors for underweight and overweight high school students in Cambodia’, which focuses its study on high school students in Cambodia. This research also collected data based on the ‘Group’ type of high school students as well.

As for the goal of the research, the first article, which talked about the driving behaviors of college students, had the objective of showing the hazardous situation of traffic behaviors for students in Phnom Penh and to show how a simple traffic safety workshop can drastically reduce reckless driving behaviors. The paper pooled its data using the ‘quantitative approach’ although survey was on the behavior of individuals, the study based its claims and analysis on statistical comparisons and deduction. On the second paper about the high blood pressure of Cambodians, the main goal of the paper was to determine the commonality of high blood pressure or ‘hypertension’ in Cambodian males and females; and to compare the collected data with predictions made about the issue also. The data collected was of the ‘quantitative approach’ as it measured specific body ratios and body mass index, which cannot be interpreted differently than the measurement numbers. The third paper on rural roads and children’s school attendance had the objective of making the connection whether improving roads will help with rising school attendance of rural areas. It uses both the ‘qualitative and quantitative’ approach to data collection. The fourth research was on the role of climate change in the usage of air conditioners. The study focused on determining whether global warming’s effect of increasing temperature make people use more air conditioners. It used the ‘quantitative method’ of data collection also in support of its findings. The final article, which was about the risks of under and overweight students in Cambodia, had the goal of measuring the risk associated with students in Cambodia being underweight and overweight, as there has not been much research done on the subject in Cambodia as of yet. The study used both methods of analysis as it collects the quantitative BMI information as well as more interpretive information such as suicidal tendencies, eating habits, and depression.

In the first paper about driving behaviors of students in Phnom Penh, data collectors surveyed 1,079 students while only using 557 samples for basing their study on. For the purpose of describing the driving behavior of students in the whole of Phnom Penh, the sample size seems lack luster in its ability to apply to the whole city. Therefore, its external validity or generalizability is to be taken with a grain of salt.