Investigating the internet in Greece: findings from the World Internet Project

The present study aims to offer a comprehensive presentation of the empirical results of the third wave of the World Internet Project (WIP) nation-wide survey in Greece, which was conducted from the 12th of April to the 23th of May 2019. It involves the main findings of this research wave and explores the development of internet penetration among the Greek population by providing comparative data on several aspects of the respondents’ internetrelated behavior between all three WIP waves (2015, 2017, 2019). These aspects pertain to digital use, access and divides, online activities and social capital, internet reliability and fake news, online victimization and privacy, political efficacy and freedom of expression. Data were collected by 1,208 interviews over the phone on a structured questionnaire (based on WIP guidelines and included some additional national questions of theoretical interest) and manually transferred to an online platform using RM+ software and then to statistical analysis software. The paper also offers descriptive presentations of the results analyses as well as charts including mostly relative frequencies and, in some cases, variable means. The relative frequencies and means are included in the charts in order to allow the reader to have a clear overview of the exact percentages. The results depict Greece as a digitally vulnerable society, with strong internal antinomies, which are in tandem with internet’s radical ambivalence in general

Informed consent for linking survey and social media data - fifferences between platforms and data types

Linking social media data with survey data is a way to combine the unique strengths and address some of the respective limitations of these two data types. As such linked data can be quite disclosive and potentially sensitive, it is important that researchers obtain informed consent from the individuals whose data are being linked. When formulating appropriate informed consent, there are several things that researchers need to take into account. Besides legal and ethical questions, key aspects to consider are the differences between platforms and data types. Depending on what type of social media data is collected, how the data are collected, and from which platform(s), different points need to be addressed in the informed consent. In this paper, we present three case studies in which survey data were linked with data from 1) Twitter, 2) Facebook, and 3) LinkedIn and discuss how the specific features of the platforms and data collection methods were covered in the informed consent. We compare the key attributes of these platforms that are relevant for the formulation of informed consent and also discuss scenarios of social media data collection and linking in which obtaining informed consent is not necessary. By presenting the specific case studies as well as general considerations, this paper is meant to provide guidance on informed consent for linked survey and social media data for both researchers and archivists working with this type of data

Smoking cessation can improve quality of life among COPD patients: Validation of the clinical COPD questionnaire into Greek

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains a major public health problem that affects the quality of life of patients, however smoking cessation may emeliorate the functional effects of COPD and alter patient quality of life.</p> <p>Objective-design</p> <p>The aim of this study was to validate the Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) into Greek and with such to evaluate the quality of life in patients with different stages of COPD, as also assess their quality of life before and after smoking cessation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The internal validity of questionnaire was high (Cronbach's a = 0.92). The reliability of equivalent types in 16 stabilized patients also was high (ICC = 0.99). In general the domains within the CCQ were strongly correlated with each other, while each domain in separate was strongly correlated with the overall CCQ score (r²= 0.953, r²= 0.915 and r²= 0.842 in regards to the functional, symptomatic and mental domain, respectively). The CCQ scores were also correlated with FEV_1,(r²= -0.252, p < 0.001), FEV₁/FVC, (r²= -0.135, p < 0.001) as also with the quality of life questionnaire SF-12 (r²= -0.384, p < 0.001). Smoking cessation also lead to a significant reduction in CCQ score and increase in the SF-12 score.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The self administered CCQ indicates satisfactory validity, reliability and responsiveness and may be used in clinical practice to assess patient quality of life. Moreover the CCQ indicated the health related quality of life gains attributable to smoking cessation among COPD patients, projecting smoking cessation as a key target in COPD patient management.</p

Design of a metadata model appropriate for the documentation of comparative research

The objective of this thesis is the design of a metadata model appropriate for the documentation of microdata that arise from fixed design (quantitative) comparative studies. Comparative studies face problems of concept and measurement equivalence due to their repetition on time (longitudinal) or on culture (cross-cultural). For this equivalence to be achieved, the adoption of harmonization strategies is required among the waves of a study or among the cultures involved in a cross-cultural study. Especially, in the case of cross-cultural study, the harmonization strategies followed, are complex procedures for which success or failure is reflected in the final study product. The harmonization strategies applied to cross-cultural studies are the following: the «ex ante input harmonization», the «ex ante output harmonization», and the «ex post harmonization».The metadata model that the thesis concluded, documents adequately all the harmonization strategies as well as three basic schemas that required for the documentation of every fixed design study: the data schema, the communicative schema and, the data storage schema. The data schema concerns the documentation of the conceptual components of a study as well as components concerning the measurement; the communicative schema organizes the communication between the researchers and the persons interviewed; while the data storage schema documents the final data product in order to be available for further processing.The documentation of the three schemas as well as the harmonization strategies in one documentation model enhances the comparative research and informs the secondary user for all the procedures held before the implementation of the final study product in order the secondary user to be in a position to understand if the data are really comparable without the contribution of the primary investigators.Στόχος της διατριβής είναι ο σχεδιασμός ενός μοντέλου μεταδεδομένων για την τεκμηρίωση των μικροδεδομένων της συγκριτικής έρευνας που παράγεται βάσει ενός προκαθορισμένου σχεδίου (ποσοτική έρευνα). Οι συγκριτικές έρευνες, λόγω της επανάληψής τους στον χρόνο (διαχρονικές) ή στο χώρο (διαπολιτισμικές), ενέχουν τις περισσότερες φορές θέματα ισοδυναμίας εννοιών και τρόπων μέτρησης αυτών. Για να επιτευχθεί αυτή η ισοδυναμία απαιτείται η εφαρμογή στρατηγικών ομοιογενοποίησης μεταξύ των χρονικών στιγμών ή μεταξύ των πολιτισμών που συμμετέχουν σε μία διαπολιτισμική έρευνα. Ιδιαίτερα στην περίπτωση της διαπολιτισμικής έρευνας, οι στρατηγικές ομοιογενοποίησης που εφαρμόζονται αποτελούν αρκετά σύνθετες διαδικασίες, όπου η επιτυχία ή η αποτυχία αυτών αντικατοπτρίζεται πλήρως στο τελικό προϊόν της έρευνας. Οι στρατηγικές ομοιογενοποίησης που εφαρμόζονται σε μία διαπολιτισμική έρευνα είναι: η εκ των προτέρων ομοιογενοποίηση κατά την είσοδο, η εκ των προτέρων ομοιογενοποίηση κατά την έξοδο και η εκ των υστέρων ομοιογενοποίηση.Το μοντέλο μεταδεδομένων που προέκυψε από την διδακτορική διατριβή τεκμηριώνει επαρκώς όλες τις στρατηγικές ομοιογενοποίησης αλλά ταυτόχρονα και τρία βασικά σχήματα τα οποία απαιτούνται για την τεκμηρίωση οποιασδήποτε έρευνας που παράγεται βάσει ενός προκαθορισμένου σχεδίου: το σχήμα δεδομένων, το επικοινωνιακό σχήμα και το σχήμα αποθήκευσης. Το σχήμα δεδομένων ενέχει την τεκμηρίωση των εννοιολογικών οντοτήτων της έρευνας καθώς και των οντοτήτων σχετικών με τη μέτρηση, το σχήμα επικοινωνίας οργανώνει την επικοινωνία ανάμεσα στους επιστήμονες και τους ερωτώμενους και, το σχήμα αποθήκευσης τεκμηριώνει τα τελικά δεδομένα, ώστε κατόπιν να είναι διαθέσιμα για περαιτέρω επεξεργασία. Η τεκμηρίωση των τριών σχημάτων καθώς και των στρατηγικών ομοιογενοποίησης σε ένα κοινό μοντέλο προάγει τη συγκριτική έρευνα και δύναται να πληροφορεί τον δευτερογενή χρήστη για όλες τις διαδικασίες που προηγήθηκαν μέχρι να προκύψει το τελικό προϊόν της έρευνας, έτσι ώστε να μπορεί από μόνος του να αντιληφθεί αν τα δεδομένα παρουσιάζουν όντως μία συγκριτική διάσταση

Values in Crisis International (SUF edition)

Full edition for scientific use. The COVID-19 crisis is manifold and poses major health, economic and social challenges for current societies. Long-term monitoring of central values and attitudes of citizens in times of crises help to grasp current social and political tensions. Taking this ambition to the global scale and providing comparable data across nations is the main aim of the Values in Crisis Study (VIC). Christian Welzel, together with well-known researchers in Germany, UK and Sweden initiated the study and finally 18 countries collaborated in this project. Currently, the Values in Crisis (VIC) Survey is by our knowledge the only international longitudinal survey project on attitudes and values providing data on a global scale. The international dataset is available as a compact version including mainly the harmonized variables of education, income, and region, the key variables of the survey and scales referring to classical value concepts or personality factors. Additionally, there is a full version, where country-specific questions deviating from the standard questionnaire are available for further single country analysis. A method report is additionally published to provide more insights about the country-specific details of the surveys. This dataset represents the data of 18 countries of the first wave of this longitudinal study which is now made publicly available by the SSÖ-Team and AUSSDA. Further releases of the second wave of the survey “end at sight” which is conducted in 2021 and the third wave of the survey (“after the crisis”, probably in 2022) are planned in the future