Experimental design refers to studies where the researcher controls the random assignment of participants to different groups of the independent variables to observe their effects on dependent variables. As an important method of human inquiry, experimental design has been applied in social science research to test theory-driven hypotheses. Digital media organizations and marketing researchers also use this method—sometimes known as A/B testing—for product design, user analytics, quality improvement, and content curation. This workshop introduces several elementary concepts on planning, designing, conducting experiments, and analyzing the data. The workshop reviews several cases on digital journalism, public health, and industrial and business applications. (Acknowledgement: This research project is funded by the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme from the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office of The Government of the HKSAR).

Speaker: Dr. Xinzhi Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism and Programme Director of Master of Science (MSc) in AI and Digital Media in the School of Communication and Film at Hong Kong Baptist University. As a member of the Augmented Creativity Lab of HKBU, his research spans political communication and digital culture, health communication, and computational journalism. He has obtained two General Research Funds (GRFs) from the University Grants Committee (UGC) in Hong Kong SAR. He has published numerous articles in journals such as Computers in Human Behavior, Health Communication, Journalism, Social Science Computer Review, and Digital Journalism.