Before you dive in, I have a confession.
This study wasn't up to par when I first read through it earlier this month. However, a second late-night reading (and perhaps a sugar-free Red Bull) helped change my mind.
To avoid boring anyone who might be reading, the study focuses primarily on achieving positive results for three hypotheses: high levels of education provide stronger connections between Internet use and health knowledge; education levels will be positively related to the Internet-engagement scale; higher levels of Internet usage will create stronger associations between Internet use and health knowledge.
Lee provides an excellent backdrop and analysis, and the results are predictable, to put it flatly. However, as Lee is keen enough to indicate, there are several flaws in the study, which focused primarily on folks 40- to 70-years-old (how many grannies do you know who use the Internet daily for news or media consumption?)
The survey essentially tests the hypotheses that higher education will lead to more Internet use which will lead to more health knowledge for those seeking it. Nothing too heavy there. However, the survey fails to engage a large party of Internet users, chiefly those under 40-years-old. The reasoning is offered that those individuals under 40 don't have as much knowledge or need for knowledge in health. I find the evidence for this shaky at best. Lee does note that it also possible that there could be a reverse to all of the causal orders of the survey, which nearly calls the entire effort into question.
Overall, though, I was engaged and encouraged by Lee's survey after a second reading. The empirical evidence provided and the conclusions drawn implicate a need for further research into the area of the knowledge gap in health news and information.
No comments:
Post a Comment