HBC201 Tutor Marked Assignment 02

This Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA02) is worth 20% of the final mark for HBC201 Research Methods for the Social and Behavioural Sciences.

Due Date: 22/09/2026 11:55pm

Submit your essay together with your cover page, in a single file (saved as MS word file), to the submission link titled TMA02.

Question 1 (100 marks)

[Word limit: 1400 words]

Blind box economy is gaining popularity as a mass marketing strategy, where the use of blind boxes can be observed across multiple industries including toys, gaming, and food. These include collectible merchandise such as toys, figures, and trading cards, and digital loot boxes in video games.

Blind box consumption can potentially pose risks to consumers’ wellbeing, with risks of addiction and financial losses. This highlights the need for research from the consumer perspective to better understand their motivations for blind box consumption.

In the study by Wei and Yu (2025), the researchers conducted a qualitative study investigating psychological and social factors influencing blind box consumption. Key psychological motivations for blind box consumption include gambling psychology, while a shared social context involving interactions with other like-minded individuals was also highlighted as a social factor for blind box consumption. The findings from the study provide insights into the psychology of blind box consumption, which can be used to identify and address potential risks of the blind box economy for consumers.

Read the following journal article for more information about the study.

Wei, Z., & Yu, B. (2025). Why do you engage in blind box consumption? Exploring the group interactions and psychological motivations in blind box consumption. Current Psychology, 44(18), 15168-15182. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-08150-x

Analyse and critique the study in the journal article above. You are required to apply relevant concepts and information from the course materials, given journal article and additional research to answer the following questions. Please include at least 5 academic references (textbooks, journal articles, or book chapters) in your response to this TMA.

(a) In the given study, the researchers conducted semi-structured interviews to identify psychological and social factors for engagement in blind box consumption. Discuss THREE criteria that could affect the rigour of this study and how the researchers had or should have fulfilled them.

(30 marks)

(b) In the given study, the researchers made use of semi-structured interviews to collect data. Suppose another research team made use of focus group discussions to study the same research topic of blind box consumption. Discuss ONE advantage and ONE limitation of the use of focus groups. In addition, examine how the data collected from the focus group discussions could have differed from the data from the semi-structured interviews.

(30 marks)

 (c) Suppose the researchers wanted to follow up on the findings of the study on the psychological factors affecting blind box consumption by using quantitative data.

(i) Propose a quantitative study that can be conducted and give TWO reasons to justify your choice.

(ii) Clearly state the research question for your proposed study and describe a suitable sampling and recruitment method.

(40 marks)

Optional Component (5 bonus marks)

You may choose to complete either Option 1 or Option 2, and earn up to 5 bonus marks for TMA02. Alternatively, you may choose not to complete any option and forgo the 5 bonus marks for TMA02. As marks from only one option will be awarded, DO NOT complete both options.

Option 1: Research Participation

Experience in research studies and experiments forms an essential component of many introductory research methods courses. Undergraduates often gain their first rudimentary experience of what social science research involves by acting as participants in experiments or as respondents of surveys. Such research participation experiences enable students to gain a better understanding of a research study from the perspective of a participant, as well as acquire some research experience. This helps students to gain greater understanding and insight of what is entailed in designing a social science research study, which would help them to design and conduct their own experiments and surveys. Furthermore, they can acquire a broader understanding of how social science research develops and advances.

For this component, the study consists of a 3-part online activity that spans three weeks. Each part consists of two online sessions (per week) and each online session would take about 15 to 30 minutes to complete. You will receive 3 bonus marks for completing Sessions 1 and 2 (in the first week), and another 2 bonus marks for completing Sessions 3 and 4 (in the second week). You will also receive a $20 gift voucher for completing Sessions 5 and 6 (in the third week). That is, upon completion of all six sessions, you will receive 5 bonus marks and a $20 gift voucher. Please refer to the recruitment advertisement posted in the Canvas L-group for more details.

Note:

• Remember to enter your SUSS student PI number and tutorial group in the survey, in the provided fields.
• Your student PI number and tutorial group will not be linked to your survey responses. It is being collected purely for the purpose of awarding you your TMA marks for research participation. Please be assured that all information will be kept strictly confidential. Please note that your responses will NOT be associated with your student PI or any other identifying information. That is, all your responses will be anonymous.
• As in any study, your participation is voluntary and you may withdraw at any time with no penalty (although you will not receive the marks for the study).

To earn the full 5 bonus marks:

(a) You must complete Sessions 1 to 4 by the given deadlines. There are multiple runs of the study (i.e., different start dates). The first run starts on 3 August, and the last run starts on 11 September. Please contact the Principal Investigator or click on the registration form link in recruitment advertisement for the start and end dates of all sessions.

(b) Participants must complete a prior session before they can progress to the next session.

Option 2: Online Discussion Board

For this component, post a response on the online discussion board to the given question. Your response must not exceed 250 words.

Question:

• “With reference to one specific social issue in Singapore, explain how research methods can help us better understand and address the issue. In your response, name the issue, identify one or two appropriate research methods, and explain how the evidence gathered could inform possible responses by policymakers, community organisations, or other stakeholders.”

The deadline for posting the response to the online discussion board is 22 September 2026.

—End of TMA 02 Paper—