Causal Link between Information Technology and Innovation
There is a causal link between the use of information technology and innovation, according to the two papers. The terminology used in the journal, "Computer in Human Behavior," is technical and reflects recommended standards of reading for a peer-reviewed audience. For example, the newspaper has reported: "The vocabulary used in the press report, on the other hand, is amateurish because of the long sentences. For instance, the author states 'researchers found that children who used the Internet increased their reading scores.'" However, the article could be more appealing if the language was at a professional level.
Research Hypothesis and Evaluation
From the journal, "Computers in Human Behavior," the research hypothesis is evident. It is investigating the relationships between the use of Information Technology (I.T), in particular, video games in kids and their correlation with children's creativity (Juul, 2012). The paper proceeds and evaluates kids' creativity level against four distinct types of IT products, namely cell phone use, video games, the Internet, and general computer usage. The research has applied a multi-faceted metric for assessing creativity, done through the Torrance test, a popular creativity measurement metric used amongst kids.
Study Participants
The subjects of the study were kids, totaling 500 in number, and they had a mean age of 12.34 years. These children undertook a survey reflecting on their creativity. The participants were recruited from 20 middle-level institutions geographically dispersed across the southern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. From the study, 53 percent of the participants were female, 47 percent were male. Besides, 66 percent were Caucasians, while 34 percent were African Americans. The response rate was 65 percent, which is a good figure to support the research hypotheses. In video games, the gaming titles were categorized into interpersonal video games, sports gaming, riding/driving, action/adventure, violence, and others.
Correlation between Gaming and Creativity
The outcome revealed there was a correlation between increased gaming and creativity amongst different gaming genres, with the only exception being racing/driving games. The research also dwelled on gender differences, and it revealed that male kids were more likely to engage with violent themes compared to their female colleagues who preferred more interactive titles.
Video Game Experience and Child's Creativity
According to the research, video game experience relates to several aspects of creativity, regardless of the gaming genre. Aspects such as cell phone, the internet, and computer usage were unrelated to any facet of child's creativity, and despite the relationship between gender and violent game themes, there was no causal connection between gender and creativity (Torrance, 2014).
Press Article Shortcomings
The press article states that kids from the study undertook creative thinking tests, administered through drawing, and participants were asked to elaborate on the diagram by including their perception of the underlying image. The article also states that the same kids were evaluated against their internet, computers, and cell phone usage. The results revealed there was no other correlation on the mentioned subjects apart from creativity due to video game plays. However, the press article failed in several aspects. To begin with, it has not published the research hypothesis and the subject variables. The paper also fails to elaborate on the methodology applied during the study, which is the Torrance test. By stating the methodology used, the press article would be giving valuable insight into the credibility of the survey. Finally, the article failed to summarize different genres of video games played, which could have elaborated on why creativity develops amongst kids with an affinity for video games.
Limitations of the Study
However, it is hard to make causal conclusions from the correlation study since all aspects such as the financial background of the parents, neighborhood, family history, and experience using video games lacked. Besides, one variable that ought to be considered in the study was the academic performance of respondents since bright kids are always more creative.
Reference
Juul, J. (2012). Half-real: Video games between real rules and fictional worlds. MIT press.
Torrance, E. P. (2014). Torrance tests of creative thinking. Personnel Press, Incorporated.