Comm 288 Research Methods Midterm

Research is:

the process of asking questions and finding answers.

Scholarly research:

is reviewed by other experts in the field

Research and theory are related because:

research is built on the results of previous researchers and provides a foundation for subsequent researchers, which contributes to theory development and theory testing

Science is heuristic. This means that:

research findings should lead to more questions.

Communication as a social science:

uses both quantitative methods and qualitative methods.

Criteria for evaluating the questions researchers ask are:

personal interest, social importance, and theoretical significance

The research practice, if approached systematically, can result in:

describing behavior, predicting behavior, determining behavior

The social sciences:

focus on the study of human behavior.

Questions of cause and effect:

ask and answer if one or more variables is the cause of one or more outcome variables

Quantitative research methods, generally speaking, rely on:

numerical measurement.

What is the study of knowledge? How do we know what we know?

Epistemology

“it’s always been true” or “we’ve always done it that way”

Tenacity

someone in a position of power said its true

authority

trial and error to find what is true

experience

confirmation bias

tendency to search for and recall info that confirms our existing beliefs; algorithms.

Social Desirability Bias

tendency to respond in a way that is socially acceptable even if it is not true; self-reports.

empirical

What else is research called; making observations based on the scientific method

what is researched based on?

the scientific method

basic research

lab research; an artificial situation, people come to the lab

applied research

field research, real world situation

prorietary research (company)

private research

scholary research (journal articles)

public research

Naive ways of knowing

experience, tenacity, authority

Qualitative research/methods

displayed non numerically ; Research in which the researcher is the primary observer, or data collector.f

quantitative research/methods

Research that relies on numerical measurement.

Social science research

is the application of scientific methods to the study of human interactions

Scientific Method

1. Ask a question of personal interest/observation

2. Formulate a hypothesis based on previous research - a gap in research.

3. Design and conduct a study

4. Analyze and interpret your results

5. Generate new questions based on your results

heuristic

Characteristic of research; results of one study lead to more questions

Proprietary research

Research that is commisioned by an individual or organization for its own use

Where would you find potential ideas for a research study?

Discussion Section

communication research

studies people exchanging messages through channels within one or more contexts

Comms research tries to answer what question?

How do people, channels, and contexts relate to messages?

questions of definition

Questions that ask for specifications or that help to describe the phenomena in which we are interested.

questions of relationships

Questions that examine if, how, and the degree to which phenomena are related.

questions of cause and effect 

Questions that ask and answer if one or more variables is the cause of one or more outcome variables.

questions of value

Questions that ask for individuals’ subjective evaluations on issues and phenomena, usually about the aesthetic or normative features of communication. 

questions of policy

Questions that ask for evaluation of procedures or programs.

Both the deductive and inductive research models

start with identifying the research problem.

In the deductive research model, the research process:

is not necessarily complete, even when the researcher has answered the initial questions.

In the inductive research model:

theory is developed near the end and new questions are identified to start the process again.

Once your preliminary research question is developed, you should:

evaluate your question for its communication orientation, check to see if the question is clearly stated, check to see if the question is phrased in such a way that it is not biased toward a particular answer, determine if there is a way to oberserve or measure the communication phenomemon of interest.

To conduct a basic library search, you should search

communication journals, your university’s catalog holdings, keywords, and online databases

In reading academic journals or scholarly books, conclusions based on the data collected are found in:

the discussion section.

Research and theory are necessary complements to one another because

research findings are integrated into a system of description, prediction, or explanation.

If you cannot come up with a communication problem to investigate, you can start by:

reviewing major news sources for featured contemporary problems and issues.

thinking about a theory you had previously learned about that you feel is particularly relevant to your personal or professional life.

thinking of what happened to you or in front of you today that illuminated a communication dilemma, problem, or question.

When adjusting your research question, you should ask yourself:

are there theories that can help you make sense of your question?

Anytime you use the work of others, you must:

provide a citation indicating in the text of your paper what idea you are using and whose idea it is.

Theory

a set of systematic informed hunches about the way things work

What are the 5 functions of theory

explanitory, predictive, descriptive, understanding, and critique

Answers why did it happen?

Explanation

Answers when will it happen again?

Prediction

Answers What happened?

Description

Answers How is it related to…?

Understanding

Answers whom does it affect?

Critique

Ontology

the study of existence/reality

Axiology

the study of values/morals

Methathoery

theory about theory

Ontology

Study of existence/reality

Axiology

The study of values/morals

Nominalist position

concerned with particulars, reality is created

Inductive Approach

Specific to general. research is for building theories — Reasoning process in which data are gathered and examined, hypotheses are formulated, and eventually theories are developed in response to what the data reveal; generally used with qualitative research methods.

epistemology in Qualitative research

Multiple realities possible

ontology in Qualitative research

reality is subjective/ free will

 axiology characteristics of Qualitative research

seeks to expose values

Realist Position

concerned with universals, reality is discovered

Deductive Approach

general to specific, research is for testing theories; Reasoning process in which researcher begins with a theory and then gathers evidence, or data, to assess whether the theory is correct.

epistemology in quantitative research

one truth/ reality - one answer that applies most of the time

ontology in quantitative research

reality is orderly; patterns/ cause/effect

axiology in quantitative research

attempts to suppress values/ remove bias

Beneficence is achieved when:

the well-being of research participants is protected.

Respect for persons is achieved when:

research participants are treated as capable of making decisions for themselves.

researchers take extra steps to protect those participants who are not capable of making their own decisions.

participants voluntarily participate in the research project.

participants volunteer and feel no coercion.

Justice is achieved when:

all participants are treated as equal and benefit from participating in the study.

The role of an institutional review board, or human subjects review committee, is to review:

your research proposal prior to data collection to determine if the rights and welfare of research participants are adequately protected.

Informed consent is necessary when participants:

voluntarily agree to participate in your research project.

are randomly selected to participate in your research project.

are other university-age students.

are deceived in some way during the research process.

Intentional deception:

should be used only if there is no other way to collect the data and the deception does not harm participants.

A confederate is:

someone who pretends to be participating in the research but is really helping the researcher.

Researchers can minimize psychological harm when they:

use the feedback of individuals like those who will participate to plan the research process.

Anonymity and confidentiality are two:

types of protection given to participants.

Audiotaping and videotaping can be used in data collection if:

participants consent to be taped.

participants know what is to be recorded.

participants know how the recording is being made.

the researcher protects the confidentiality of participants who are recorded.

Debriefing participants is:

talking with participants immediately following the research activity to explain the purpose of the study and to provide information that was withheld from participants.

Research Ethics

Specific principles, rules, guidelines, and norms regarding the scientific study of human behavior.

institutional review boards (IRBs) 

University committees charged with the formal process of considering the soundness and reasonableness of research proposals; also known as human subjects review committees.

Purposes of IRB’s are to protect

1. The Welfare of research participants

2. The university from litigation

3. the university from government + intervention

Belmont Report

Created from the results of the Holocaust; seventeen federal depts. and agencies adopted a set of regulations; three ethical decisions are based on this.

respect for persons

voluntary with informed consent; Two separate principles: treating individuals as capable of making decisions and protecting those who are not capable of making their own decisions.

vulnerable populations

protecting those who are not capable of making their own decisions.

beneficence

Protection of the well-being of participants; the researcher must meet the obligation to maximize possible benefits while minimizing possible harms.

anonymity 

Protection of names and other pieces of information that can identify participants; researchers do not ask participants to reveal information that would aid the researcher in identifying participants’ individual data.

 confidentiality

Protection of research participant; any information the participant provides is controlled in such a way that others do not have access to it

 justice

Issue of fairness in conducting research; addresses who should receive the benefits of research and who should bear its burdens. Fairness and equality of selection, benefits are provided to all participants.

informed consent 

Agreement participant gives to researcher to participate in the research project after having been given some basic information about the research process.

debriefing 

Interaction between researcher and participants immediately following the research activity; researcher explains the purpose of the study and what he or she hopes to find; any information that was withheld from participants before the research activity is shared at this time.

deception 

Situation where researcher purposely misleads participants; should be used only if there is no other way to collect the data and the deception does not harm participants.

confederate 

Someone who pretends to also be participating in the research project but is really helping the researcher; a deceptive practice because research participants do not know that an individual is playing the confederate role; used when the researcher needs to create a certain type of interaction context or to provide a certain type of interaction to which an unknowing research participant responds.

A hypothesis is:

an educated guess or a presumption based on the review of the research literature

Quantitative research relies on deductive reasoning. This means that:

a theory is the basis of the propositions tested in the study.

Quantitative research uses:

measurement and observation to represent communication phenomena as amounts, frequencies, degrees, values, or intensity.

An operationalization is:

exactly how a variable is observed and measured.

The hypothesis, "Nurses' communication of role expectations to parents will increase satisfaction with nursing care," is an example of a:

directional hypothesis.

A null hypothesis is:

tested by the statistical test.