Chapter One Getting Started Possibilities and Decisions Key
Chapter One Getting Started: Possibilities and Decisions
Key Concepts • Research – a systematic process of asking and answering questions about human communication. © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
Key Concepts • Researchers specialize by – interest area – research method(s). • Research methods reflect researchers’ – interest areas – assumptions about human communication. © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
What is Research? • Research is a systematic process of – posing questions – answering questions – demonstrating that your answers are valid – sharing your research results. © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
What do Communication Researchers Study? Typically, one aspect of communication, such as – social media – organizational or group – Interpersonal – rhetoric and persuasion – communication technology © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
Contestable Assumptions • Observations capture an underlying reality. – Theories about human behavior can be generalized. – Researchers should distance themselves from research participants. – Research should be done for a specific purpose. – There is one best position from which to observe human behavior. © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
Major Research Decisions - I • Field of study – wide or narrow? • Researcher – dispassionate or involved? • Approach – objective or subjective? • Priority – your questions or participants’ answers? © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
Major Research Decisions - II • Sample – large or small? • Data – qualitative or quantitative? • Reporting – objective or subjective? © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
Major Approaches to Communication Research • Empirical – Observe, measure from researcher’s perspective. • Interpretive – Observe, interpret from participants’ perspectives. • Critical – Ask whose interests are advanced by communication. © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
An Advertising Example - I • Empiricism / quantitative – Question: Did the ad work? – Answer: Survey of consumer knowledge, opinions and behavior. © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
An Advertising Example - II • Interpretive / qualitative – Question: How do people react to the ad? – Answer: Focus group / interviews to explore consumer understanding. © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
An Advertising Example - III • Critical – Question: How does the ad promote the advertiser’s interests? – Answer: Analyze appeals in the ad to understand how it promotes consumerism and the interests of the advertiser. © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
Chapter Summary • Research is a systematic process of – posing questions – answering questions – demonstrating that your results are valid. • Research specializations include – – mass and social media organizational / group Interpersonal rhetoric and persuasion • Research perspectives include – empirical, interpretive and critical. © 2017, SAGE Publications, Inc.
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