COMM Inquiry Exam 1

Empirical:

Observation, measurement

Systematic:

Rules and standards, pre-planning and preparation

Intersubjective:

Knowledge building, a research “community”

cyclical/self-correcting:

Peer review, replication, correcting mistakes

Variable:

Characteristic with multiple possible values

Prediction:

Testing relationships between variable tells us if by knowing the value of one variable, we can predict the value of the other variable

Dependent variable:

Shaped of predicted by the other variable

Independent variable:

Cause or predictor

Third variable:

Other variables that could impact the results

Mediation:

In these relationships, there’s a 3rd variable that explains how IV and DV are connected; think of it as the why

Moderation:

In these relationships, there’s a 3rd variable that affects nature of relationship between IV and DV; relationship changes based on this; think of it as context

Causality:

One variable (IV) is responsible for the change in another (DV)

Inductive reasoning:

Observations → develop theory

Deductive reasoning:

Propose theory → make observations

Falsification:

Able to be tested with research and can be wrong

Parsimony:

They are as simple as possible and not overly complicated

Scope:

They apply in many situations

Hypotheses:

Formal, testable statement that makes a prediction; deductive reasoning

Research questions:

Formal question posed to guide research; inductive reasoning; not as useful for testing theory; may offer less structure for study

What role do independent variables, dependent variables, and third variables play in explaining relationships between variables?

Independent variables are the ones that are manipulated by the researcher, dependent variables are the ones that are affected by the IV, and third variables are anything else that plays a role in the result.

What are the criteria for establishing causality?

Correlation; temporal precedence (establishing time order); elimination of possible alternative explanations (rule out confounds

What is the difference between inductive and deductive research?

Inductive is where a researcher develops a theory from their observations. Deductive is where a researcher proposes a theory and makes observations to support or not support that theory.

What are the criteria for a “good” theory?

Testable & falsifiable, predictive power, parsimony (simple/not overly complicated), scope

What is the relationship between theory and research?

Theory guides research; research builds/develops/refines theory

When would a researcher use a research question?

For inductive reasoning

Identify the 2 key differences between research questions and hypotheses.

RQ- formal question posed to guide research; H- formal, testable statement that makes a prediction

What criteria do good hypotheses meet?

Compatible with current knowledge (literature reviews); succinct (simple) as possible; testable/verifiable

Publication bias:

research studies where hypotheses that are supported are more likely to be published

Authority:

Advice from a teacher, advisor, etc.

Intuition:

A gut feeling that flashcards will be the best

Tenacity:

Always used flashcards and just know they work for you

Qualitative research:

Detailed description of individuals; looks for patterns or interesting details

Quantitative research:

Assigning meaningful numbers to observations; uses stats and counting to describe data

Replication:

Subsequent studies to reinforce findings

Triangulation:

Using a variety of distinct methods

Identify the 4 ways of knowing and provide an example of each

Authority (advice from a teacher, advisor, etc.); Intuition (a gut feeling flashcards will be best); Tenacity (always used flashcards); Research (trying multiple methods & compare)

What are the advantages of qualitative research?

more nuanced data, can reveal topics that otherwise would’ve been missed

What are the advantages of quantitative research?

more intersubjective, patterns described easier

What is the importance of replication to the process of building knowledge?

Reinforce findings

Full replication:

new data, same methodology

Partial replication:

some aspects of the study are changed to clarify or extend the findings

Anonymity:

No way responses can be connected to participant

Confidentiality:

No one outside the research team able to connect responses to participant

Confederates:

People who pretend to be participants in the research but are actually working with the researchers and may be following a specific script as part of the study design

Deception:

Obscuring or altering information presented to study participants to hide the true purpose of a study or simply to enable the researcher to carry out the study procedures effectively

Debriefing:

Opportunity for the researcher to reveal the true purpose of the study to the participants

Institutional review:

Broader oversight of the research process, at least for funded institutions

What are the 3 general ethical principles regarding research practices?

Avoid harm, informed consent, voluntary participation

What is the Institutional Reviews Board (IRB)?

Reviews university-affiliated research proposals to ensure federal, state, and local regulations are followed; provides training for students

Concept:

Abstract phenomena with common characteristics or properties (events, people, objects); the “things” we’re trying to study

Concept explication:

Process by which we transform concepts (abstract ideas) into variables (observable, quantifiable representation)

Conceptual definition:

Description of essential properties of a concept; makes concept specific enough to be observed; developed for specific research purposes

Dimension:

Smaller pieces that concepts are broken into in order to move the concept from its conceptual definition to its observable form

Operational definition:

Defines how the concept will be measured; specifies how concept can be observed in actual practice; specific to the method being used

Indicator:

Exact items used to observe presence/absence of a concept

Index:

Combines info from multiple questions, observations, or other measures to form a single variable that better captures the underlying concept that researchers hope to measure

Random error:

Occurs when the measured value of a variable does not match the true value, and the differences cannot be predicted

Systematic error:

Predictable, consistent across observations (pattern)

Item-total reliability:

Consistency across items (indicators) in an index

Parallel-forms reliability:

Matching different measures of same concept

Split-halves reliability:

Comparing 2 groups of items within the same measure

Test-retest reliability:

Comparison at 2 different points in time

Chronbach’s alpha:

Examines overall relationship among the items to assess internal consistency

Explain why we explicate concepts in communication/the social sciences.

To create variables and be able to measure our concepts

Describe each of the 2 broad steps in concept explication.

1) create a conceptual definition; 2) create an operational definition which defines how the concepts will be measured

What is the relationship between conceptualization and operationalization?

Conceptual definition is to guide operational definition of a variable

What are the characteristics of a quality measure?

True value = observed; reliability (stability, consistency)

Define measurement error.

Observed value - true value = error

What are the 2 types of error?

Random, systematic

How does effective concept explication reduce each type of measurement error?

Effective concept explication helps reduce error by using multiple indicators to form an index; multiple observations = less random error

What is the purpose of an index?

To measure complex, abstract concepts more precisely; to get the “full picture” of the concept we are trying to observe

How is the reliability of an index evaluated?

Factor analysis: a statistical procedure that determines whether the indicators work together effectively

Which principle of research is met by directly observing and measuring phenomena? (empirical, systematic, intersubjective, cyclical)

empirical

Which principle of research refers to the idea that the community of scholars should share definitions for important ideas in communication? (empirical, systematic, intersubjective, cyclical)

intersubjective

Which principle of research is met by carefully planning studies and consistently following those plans? (empirical, systematic, intersubjective, cyclical)

systematic

Research gains strength over time because of this principle of research, in which scholars constantly test and expand prior studies. (empirical, systematic, intersubjective, cyclical)

cyclical

What term describes a parsimonious model that makes falsifiable predictions about how variables are related? (hypothesis, abstract, theory, meta-analysis)

theory

A ________ describes a situation where the value of one variable can be used to more accurately predict the value of another. (relationship, explanation, description, interaction)

relationship

What term do we use to describe a specific characteristic of individuals that has only one value for each individual but different values for different individuals? (unit of analysis, prediction, variable, description)

variable

Testing hypotheses reflects what type of reasoning? (deductive, inductive, circular, causal)

deductive

Suppose researchers find that the gender of a person determines how much they enjoy watching horror movies. In this case, enjoyment of watching horror movies would be the __________ variable. (independent, dependent, control, third)

dependent

Suppose researchers find that couples who use video chat later report having a stronger relationship than those who rely on text. The researcher concludes that the type of chat causes the strength of the relationship, which means that chat format is the _________ variable. (independent, dependent, control, third)

independent

If a person has a consistent belief about how communication works, based on something they were previously taught or discovered, and persists in reaching answers consistent with this belief regardless of other evidence, this would reflect which way of knowing? (intuition, tenacity, authority, research)

tenacity

What term is used for when people rely on their instinctive sense of what just "seems right" as a way of knowing? (intuition, tenacity, authority, research)

intuition

When individuals automatically trust the claims of people with advanced degrees or positions of influence, this reflects which way of knowing? (intuition, tenacity, authority, research)

authority

Which goal of research involves identifying and then testing possible reasons that two or more variables are related? (application, description, explanation, exploration)

explanation

Which goal of research is reflected in a situation where the researcher wants to address a practical problem, such as how to use advertisements to encourage people to stop smoking? (application, description, explanation, exploration)

application

An initial step in many research projects is to gather data that offer preliminary insights into relevant variables in patterns, a goal known as ___________. (description, explanation, exploration, application)

exploration

Researchers testing the same relationship using two or more different methods would be an example of _____________. (replication, triangulation, exploration, tenacity)

triangulation

Which section of a journal article typically describes the relevant theories and concepts used to identify appropriate research questions or hypotheses? (literature review, method, results, discussion)

literature review

Which section of a journal article summarizes the implications of the findings for theory, offers suggestions for future research, and notes weaknesses in the current study? (literature review, method, results, discussion)

discussion

What type of study involves collecting the results from many previous studies and statistically analyzing them in a way that allows for greater confidence in the accumulated findings? (literature review, meta-analysis, appendix, abstract)

meta-analysis

In order for research to be ethical, participants must be __________ of the potential risks and benefits of the study and their rights as a participant. (debriefed, deceived, informed, compelled)

informed

Excessive rewards for participation in a study may be too strong, thus meaning the study does not meet the ethical standard of _____________. (avoiding harm, voluntary participation, confidentiality, institutional review)

voluntary participation

The use of __________ is one common reason for needing to have a debriefing period after a study. (anonymity, confidentiality, plagiarism, deception)

deception

A person who works with the researcher and is told to act in a particular way as part of a study, while posing as a participant, is known as a __________. (confidential, confederate, informer, plagiarist)

confederate

Which approach to privacy ensures that even the researcher is not aware of the identity of the participant? (anonymity, confidentiality, confederates, debriefing)

anonymity

The explication process involves moving from __________ to _________ definitions of concepts. (abstract/concrete, concrete/abstract, qualitative/quantitative, quantitative/qualitative)

abstract, concrete

The ___________ definition is the most concrete description of a concept, used to identify specific indicators for measurement or observation. (conceptual, operational, factor, dimensional)

operational

What term describes a component of a larger concept that itself must be further explicated and measured as a variable? (attribute, indicator, concept, dimension)

dimension