DATA EVALUATION

GROUP C[587] AUDIENCE ANALYSIS

DESTINEE CORDERIO,SETARAH MOTAMEDI,FRANK RIVERA, DANIELLE VELASQUEZ, & SIMONA YOUNG.

SOURCE #1 IS ATTEMPTING TO GAIN INFORMATION FOR THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:

WHAT IS THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE WAY TO REACH OUR AUDIENCE AND GET THAT CUSTOMER?

https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gross_the_single_biggest_reason_why_startups_succeed

TED TALK■ WHERE: TED Talk■ WHEN: March 2015■ WHO: Bill Gross, American financial manager and author■ WHAT: The single biggest reasons why startups succeed■ WHY: “Bill Gross has founded a lot of startups, and incubated many

others — and he got curious about why some succeeded and others failed. So he gathered data from hundreds of companies, his own and other people's, and ranked each company on five key factors. He found one factor that stands out from the others — and surprised even him.”

■ Which tool or section of the guide you employed and why? We’ve chosen the ‘Research Document Evaluation Guidelines’ as described by Litman (p. 4). This tool was chosen because there were no guidelines or sections that focused on interviews or live events and we felt the criteria in this evaluation tool closely fit that need.

TED TALK1. Presents all principles. Gross identifies his topic “Why

startups succeed or fail?” and the reasons. 2. Provides context information suitable for intended audiences.

Gross identifies succinctly the differences he’s observed in why some start up companies fail along with an analysis of his own findings.

3. Carefully defines research questions and other links to broader issues. Gross’ research question is “what is the single most important factor that will determine a start-up’s success?” Gross provides a clear 5 factor outline based on the IDEA, TEAM, BUSINESS MODEL, FUNDING, and TIMING.

4. The data and analysis in a format that can be accessed and replicated by others. Quantitative data should be presented in tables and graphs, and available in database or spreadsheet form on request.

Here is Gross’ process:

Examined 100 companies (city search, car direct, NetZero, tickets.com, overture.com) that become billion dollar ventures.

Examined companies in which there were not a success (z.com, insiderpages, mylife, desktop factory, and peoplelink)

Ranked on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the greatest) against the five evaluation factors: IDEA, TEAM, BUSINESS MODEL, FUNDING, TIMING

The top five factors ranked in important post research are: TIMING 42% TEAM 32%.

IDEA 28% wasn’t the most important this is determined by timing, BUSINESS MODEL 28% you can start without a model and add one

later, FUNDING 10% you can always have rounds to raise money

TED TALK

5. Discusses critical assumptions made in the analysis, such as why a particular data set or analysis method is used or rejected. Indicates how results change with different data and analysis. Identifies contrary findings. Here is Gross’ analysis:

Successes: Uses the examples of Air B& B was passed on by investors cause no one liked the idea of renting space in their home to strangers. That company came out during the height of the recession so it gave people extra income causing success due to TIMING.

Failures: Z.com raised money; had great model; but broadband capability was to low in 99-2000’s making it difficult to watch video content. The company went out of business. Adobe then solved that problem of installing flash and broadband crossed 50% usage in US then YouTube was launched and the TIMING was perfect and they even had no business model for first 2 years.

6. Presents results in ways that highlight critical findings. Graphs and examples are particularly helpful for this. No. He states TIMING is the most important even though idea and execution are some major factors the best way to access time is to look whether consumers are ready to take what you are offering them. There was no graph just a power point.

7. Discusses the logical links between research results, conclusions and implications. Discusses alternative interpretations, including those with which the researcher disagrees. No. Bill Gross only discusses that starts up can change the world as an implication of his findings and conclusions by offering a great idea the right time. He presents no alternative findings or other theories/thoughts to challenge his research.

TED TALK

6. Describes analysis limitations and cautions. Does not exaggerate implications. No. Bill cautions that idea is pretty important but not as important as timing, and urges us to be extremely honest with coming critically thinking about whether this is something consumers want and are ready for otherwise the idea won’t matter. He presents no implications.

7. Is respectful to people with other perspectives. No. Bill  does not even allude to other perspectives

8. Provides adequate references. No. Bill only uses the companies he looked at as references

9. Indicates funding sources, particularly any that may benefit from research results. No. Bill makes no suggestions regarding funding.

TED TALK

RECOMMENDATIONS

■ Used in evaluating data when the research has a heavier amount of quantitative  data aspect to it.

■ Used where the data collection process is clearly defined to draw logical conclusions

■ Analyzing a process that is more scientific should be used with this tool in which we can assess more data using graphs or charts as summaries to present critical finding.

■ Recommend using this tool for scholarly articles since those include references from previous work done in the field and those findings can be incorporated into the implications.

■ Adding a step to evaluate the credibility or of the presenter/researcher authority.

How you would recommend using the tool in the future and what types of changes or additions you would suggest and why?

SOURCE #2

Sauter, M.B., & Frohlich, T.C. (2015 May 23). The 10 richest towns in America. USA Today. Retrieved from Http://www.Usatoday.Com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/05/23/247-wall-st-richest-towns-america/27791475/

IS ATTEMPTING TO GAIN INFORMATION FOR THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:

HELLO TECH IS GOING TO EXPAND (5-25 CITIES), WHAT ARE THE NEXT BEST CITIES TO EXPAND TO AND WHY?

USA TODAY■ WHERE: USA Today■ WHEN: May 23, 2015■ WHO: Michael Sauter and Thomas Frohlich (24/7 Wall Street). “

24/7 Wall St. is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY”

■ WHAT: The 10 Richest Towns in America. ■ WHY: During our live session with Richard Wolpert, the CEO of our

client Hello Tech, he noted that the ideal client is older, affluent, and not technologically advanced. To answer the question ‘What are the next best cities to expand to and why?,’ we have decided to research areas that are affluent according to researched data. Then we would narrow down these towns based on their proximity to college campuses and universities because majority of Hello Tech’s talent are college students.

■ Which tool or section of the guide you employed and why? In this week’s reading, Littman described the Detailed Internet Information Evaluation Criteria guide as the best tool to use when assessing sources that come from the internet (p. 7). This tool was also selected because the table offers clear questions that will make it fairly easy to deduce whether our internet article is legitimate.

ACCURACY OR CREDIBILITY

Is the information provided based on proven facts? o Yes, the author (24/7 Wall St.) used the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013

American Community Survey. Is it published in a scholarly or peer-reviewed publication?

o No, USA Today is a “multi-platform news and information media company” (About Us).

Have you found similar information in a scholarly or peer-reviewed publication? Yes, after doing a quick search on the USC Library website, we’ve found

similar scholarly publications that detail income inequality and the effects this has on communities and people in the United States. One such article is Winship, S. (2015). Has rising income inequality worsened inequality of opportunity in the United States? Social Philosophy and Policy, 31(2), 28-47.

AUTHOR OR AUTHORITY

Who is the author?o Michael Sautner, Wall St. 24/7o Thomas Frohlich, Wall St. 24/7

Is she or he affiliated with a reputable university or organization?o No.

What is the author’s educational background or experience?o Michael Sautner graduated from Hobart & William Smith Colleges in 2009.

(https://plus.google.com/118082557501945338311/about)o Thomas Frohlich, unknown.

What is their area of expertise?o The Wall St. 24/7 and USA Today websites do not clearly state what the

authors expertise or knowledge is based. Has the author published in scholarly or peer reviewed publications?

o No. Does the author/Web master provide contact information?

o Yes, Wall Street 24/7 gives the Google+ pages of these two authors. Michael Sautner,

https://plus.google.com/118082557501945338311/about Thomas Frohlich,

https://plus.google.com/102212251554509231439/about

USA TODAY

CONVERGENCE OR RELEVANCE

Does the information covered meet your information needs?o Yes and no. This information may be used to come to a conclusion about

wealthy cities and different regions that might be considered for Hello Tech’s expansion.

Is the coverage basic or comprehensive?o Although various statistics and data a used in this article they are all sourced

from information published by the U.S. Census Bureau. Because of this, I would consider the coverage basic as it does not offer additional references and only concludes what the census information may mean.

Is there an “About Us” link that explains subject coverage?o Yes.

USA Today (http://marketing.usatoday.com/about)“USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, its mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation.”

Wall St. 24/7 (http://247wallst.com/about/)“24/7 Wall St., LLC is a Delaware corporation which runs a financial news and opinion company with content delivered over the Internet.”

How relevant is it to your research interests? o The content of this article is somewhat relevant to our research interests. The

information may be used as a building block to conduct further research and narrow down cities that the client may want to consider expanding to. The content of this article is somewhat relevant to our research interests. The information may be used as a building block to conduct further research and narrow down cities that the client may want to consider expanding to.

CURRENCY

When was the information published?o This information was published at 8:30 a.m. on May 23, 2015.

When was the Web site was last updated?o Since this is a news website, content is updated regularly and up to the minute.

Is timeliness important to your information need?o Yes, timeliness is important because data about cities, income, and community

trends can change or vary over time.

USA TODAY

OBJECTIVITY OR BIAS

How objective or biased is the information?o Information in this article is both objective and biased. It is objective because the information is

coming from a reputable sources (U.S. Census Bureau), however it is also biased because the authors have concluded what this census data is supposed to mean after comparing income, household, education and community data. Also, this is a journalism website and all journalism is biased to one extent or another.

What do you know about who is publishing this information?o I know each website that publishes this information are news/media companies. Generally, articles

are written in ways that might be considered “click-bait” to attract consumers/readers to the website.

Is there a political, social or commercial agenda?o The agendas for both USA Today and Wall St. 24/7 are not explicitly apparent. Furthermore, after

conducting a Google search to find sources that may have accused either publication of writing under the premise of an agenda, no sources of viable information were found.

Does the information try to inform or persuade?o This information is using outside information to inform the reader about income inequality and

wealthy communities around the U.S.

How balanced is the presentation on opposing perspectives?o Again, due to the lack of sources used in this article, it appears to be unbalanced at offering opposing

perspectives. The article mainly discusses income inequality due to statistical data, but it doesn’t offer other information that may contribute to other factors that make communities more affluent than others.

What is the tone of language used (angry, sarcastic, balanced, educated)? o The tone of language used is educated. Statistics and percentages from the U.S. Census Bureau data

are used to prove the article’s point. Also, the author acknowledges possible margins of error due to the collection of this data.

USA TODAY

SOURCES OR DOCUMENTATION

Is there a list of references or works cited?o No.

Is there a bibliography?o No.

Is there information provided to support statements of fact?o Yes, the publication does link and tell me where they’ve gotten the

information for this article (U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey).

Can you contact the author or Web master to ask for, and receive, the sources used?o Yes, see contact information in the next slide.

USA TODAY

PUBLICATION AND DESIGN

• How well designed is the Web site?o The website is very well designed and easy to navigate. The graphics are professional and all photos used

have been sourced.

• Is the information clearly focused?o The information is very clearly focused and all publications are placed into categories such as News,

Sports, Life, Money, Tech, Travel, Opinion, etc.

• How easy to use is the information?o The information is very easy to access and use.

• How easy is it to find information within the publication or Web site?o The information is very easy to find on the website because there is a search bar at the top. Also, most of

the information in the articles is linked or sourced to the main publication where it came from.

• Are the bibliographic references and links accurate, current, credible and relevant?o Yes, since most of the articles are news based the references and links are all current, credible, and

relevant to the piece that is being reported. Also, in some cases the publication will be updated as new information or sources become available.

• Are the contact addresses for the author(s) and Web master(s) available from the site?o Yes, there is a general ‘Contact Us’ page on the USA Today website (

http://marketing.usatoday.com/contact) as well as a Staff Index that contains the Twitter handle of all authors, editors, and staff for USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/reporters/).

o On the Wall St 24/7 website the following web master contact information is given 24/7 Wall St., LLCPO Box 287437Douglas McIntyre Cell phone: 917-865-2143E-mail: douglasamcintyre@247wallst.com

USA TODAY

How you would recommend using the tool in the future and what types of changes or additions you would suggest and why?■ This was a really great tool to use because it encourages the researcher

to seek more information than what is readily available in from of them (for example the contact information of writers or the “About Us” section of the website). However, I would suggest that this model offers a more comprehensive way to determine if the website is credible or not.

■ If I had created this model, I would have given an explanation as to why the contact information of the authors or their area of expertise is important to conclude the accuracy of the information. Also, some questions seemed repetitive and vague for example “How easy to use is the information?”- I would like to ask the author of this tool what was meant by this question. Another suggestion I would suggest is adding more questions about the data or information that is on the website. I felt as if this tool was created specifically to assess an entire web site versus specific content such as news articles.

RECOMMENDATIONS

THANK YOU[587] AUDIENCE ANALYSIS