The bigger picture:

• Introduction & Background; need to tell the reader the background info before getting into the topic

• Literature Review; allows you to look at what has and has not been done

• Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

• Methodology & Research Methods; *methodology and method are different things

• Analysis & Write-Up

• Conclusion

Communication & cultural theories:

• A theory is a description or explanation for what something means, how something works or how something ought to work; how a society or an aspect of a society operates

• A theory is a set of interrelated ideas and arguments that offer a general insight into some aspect of the world

• These ideas and arguments have to be logical and free from contradiction

Theory & research methods:

• Some researchers try to keep theories and methods separate

• Theory and methods are interconnected

• Sometimes they are the same thing e.g. discourse analysis

• There are many theories and methods in communication studies because there are many topics; let you wonder what elements you should be thinking about so some theories can guide the way you do your work

• The theories and methods are shaped by how we think about ‘knowledge’

• The perspective as a researcher will likely determine which theories they will use and will shape the methods they use; what you think is out there to research

Research as argument:

• You need to have evidence and a story to create your strong argument

• This story is told by intelligent interpretation of appropriate evidence

• Identify what an argument is and what does and does not constitute and argument

• Research is a way of constructing an engaging argument; the argument has to be coherent and has to be linked to the type of data that you have

• When we make an argument, it is based on a claim; not arbitrary

• The claim has to be proved…there are several methods to investigate the claims

• Data refers to the evidence or grounds that support the claims

• Data can be statistics, words, images etc; data looks different based on the type of research you are doing

Ontology:

• Ontology is the study of ‘being’ and is concerned with ‘what is’/how we view the world – is it objective or constructed?

• Ontology as the nature of the world and what we can know about it; effects the ways in which you are going to analyze your data

• Ontology concerns our beliefs about the kind and nature of reality and the social world (what exists)

• How do I view the world; do I think it's objective, constructed, subjective etc. (will all affect the way you research)

Epistemology:

• Epistemology involves knowledge and, necessarily, it embodies a certain understanding of what that knowledge entails

• Epistemology deals with the ‘nature’ of knowledge

• What are your epistemological assumptions? Positivism or interpretivism

• Directly linked to ontology

• The kind of epistemological assumptions which we make or hold about knowledge profoundly affect how we go about uncovering knowledge of social behaviour

• This also refers to the decisions which the researcher will need to make about the kind of method(s) he or she will be using in their research as per their epistemological assumptions

• Everything is linked; everything has to line up

• Positivism, which is an epistemological position, focuses on the importance of objectivity and evidence in searching for truth and the world is unaffected by the researcher

• Positivism epistemology holds the position that meaning and meaningful realities already reside in objects awaiting discovery and they exist apart from any kind of people’s consciousness

• In the positivism/objectivism paradigm, truth is static and is always objective

The essence of objectivism derives from the acceptance of natural science as a paradigm to study human knowledge and, necessarily, employs means and methods for data collections and data interpretations similar to those used in natural science including hypothesis testing, causal explanations and modelling

• Interpretivism and constructionism

• According to these views, there are ways of knowing about the world other than direct observation

• People use their perceptions to interpret what their senses tell them

• The researcher cannot detach him or herself from the research; they inevitably become personally engaged in the research

Positionality and Situated Knowledge:

• Positionality is integral to the process of qualitative research; so the reader knows who is doing the research

• Positionality “reflects the position that the researcher has chosen to adopt within a given research study”

• It influences both how research is conducted, its outcomes, and results; your identity opens doors and gives more opportunities to grow

Reflexivity:

• Reflexivity is the concept that researchers should acknowledge and disclose themselves in their research, seeking to understand their part in it, or influence on it