Empirical Communication Research (4)

COMM111

Why do we use empirical approaches?

• We live in a deeply mediatised world — the media we use, and platforms we connect with other on have real world consequences (Couldry & Hepp, 2017)

• Journalists often take empirical approaches to understand what's going on with the world (like stats, percentages) 

• Charities, governments etc. Base their research on social sciences 

Science

A systematic and organised body of knowledge in any area of inquiry that is acquired using “the scientific method”

Natural Science

The science of naturally occurring objects of phenomena

• physics, astronomy, geology, biology

Social Science:

The science of people, of collections of people such as:

• Groups, firms, societies, or economies, and their individual or collective behaviours

  • ex: sociology, history, economics, linguistics, political science

Scientific Knowledge

A generalised body of laws and theories which explain a phenomenon or behaviour of interest that are acquired using the scientific method

We arrive at the scientific laws or theories through a process of logic (theory) and evidence (observation)

Laws - Scientific Knowledge

The observed patterns of phenomenon or behaviours

• ex: thermodynamics / law of supply and demand

Theories - Scientific Knowledge

Systemic explanation of the underlying phenomenon or behaviour

• ex. quantum mechanics / theory of cognitive dissonance

Observations and Theories

They have a cyclical relationship. Observations validate and refine theories. Theories provide meaning and significance to observation

Theories - Scientifical Research

Developing abstract concepts about a natural or social phenomenon and relationships between those concepts (ex. building theories)

Empirical - Scientific Research

Testing the theoretical concepts and relationships to see how well they reflect our observations of reality, with the goal of ultimately building better theory(s)

Inductive Research

The goal is to infer theoretical concepts and patterns from observed data (theory building)

Begin with a research question and the collection of empirical data, which are used to generate hypothesis and theory

Qualitative approach, interviews

Deductive Research

Goal is to test concepts and patterns known from theory using empirical data (theory testing)

Approaches usually begin with a theory-driven hypothesis, which guide data collection and analysis

Types of Scientific Research

Exploratory

Descriptive

Explanatory

Exploratory Scientific Research

To scope magnitude and extent of phenomenon, generate initial ideas, test feasibility of more extensive study

Descriptive Scientific Research

Examines the what, where, and when of a phenomenon

Explanatory Scientific Research

Tries to identify causal factors and outcomes of the target phenomenon

Scientific Method

A standardized set of techniques for building scientific knowledge, such as how to make valid observations, how to interpret results, and how to generalise those results

Must satisfy 4 key characteristics

• Logical

  • Scientific inferences must be based on logical principles of reasoning

• Confirmable

  • Inferences derived must match with observed evidence

• Repeatable

  • Other scientists should be able to independently replicate, or repeat a scientific study and obtain similar, if not identical, results

• Scrutinizable

  • The procedures used and the inferences derived must withstand critical scrutiny (peer review) by other scientists

Qualitative Research

• Analysis of smaller number of cases

• For richer data sets

• Emphasis on “sense-making” or understanding a phenomenon in depth

• Usually inductive ie. categories are generated from a “close reading” of raw data

Quantitative Research

• Analysis of larger number of cases and observations

• Statistics driven

• Usually deductive (ie. Categories are pre-defined and looked for (and quantified) in raw data

Units of Analysis

The person, collective, or object that is the target of the investigation 

• Individuals – political attitudes of voters 

• Groups – comparing media literacy across age groups 

• Organizations – campaign communication strategies of political parties 

• Countries – comparing journalism cultures between the UK and China 

• Technologies – communicative affordances of Facebook vs. Whatsapp 

• Objects – layout and functionality of an online interface 

Shapes what type of data you should collect for your study and who/what you collect it from 

Mental Abstractions

Concepts

• Generalizable properties or characteristics associated with objects, events, or people

  • Representation, ideology, audience, censorship

Construct

• An abstract concept that is specifically chosen (or theoretically “created”) to explain a given phenomenon

  • Media frames, self-efficacy, uncertainty, cognitive dissonance

Variable

• A measurable representation of an abstract construct

Operational Definition of Framing

“To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation” (Entman, 1993, p.52)

Framing

Defined as a four-dimensional construct → we need to measure four variables to capture the construct

Types of variables

• Independent variable

• Moderating variable

• Mediating variable

• Dependent variable

Independent variable

The ones which a researcher can manipulate or control to see it’s effects on the dependent variable

Moderating variable

Variable that affects the strength and relationship

Mediating variable

Those that come between the independent and dependent variable by identifying the mechanisms

Dependent variable

The outcome responses that researchers are interested in

Proposition

A tentative and conjectural relationship between constructs that is stated in a declarative form ((e.g., “negative portrayals of 
immigrants lead to more negative attitudes towards them”) 

Hypothesis

An empirical formulation of propositions, stated as relationships between variables (e.g. “Exposure to stereotypical right-ring populist political posters activates negative stereotypes toward immigrants”

Theory

A set of systemically interrelated constructs and propositions intended to explain and predict a phenomenon or behaviour of interest, within certain boundary conditions and assumptions

e.g., Media Agenda-Setting Theory

• The press and the media do not reflect reality; they filter and shape it;

• Media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues;

• Through the cognitive process “accessibility” i.e., the more frequently and prominently the news media cover an issue, the more instances of that issue become accessible in audience’s memories. When respondents are asked what the most important problem facing the country is, they answer with the most accessible news issue in memory, which is typically the issue the news media focused on the most