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Pre- Master CISS: Summary Introducing Communication Research - Methodology (800892-B-6)
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Summary of the book Introducing Communication Research by Donald Treadwell & Andrea Davis
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Chapter 1 Possibilities and decisions Observations capture / do not capture on underlying reality
→ You cannot see power, but you have to look at the behavior you've linked to power
Theories about human behavior can / cannot be generalized
Researchers should / should not distance themselves from their research participants
Research should / should not done for a specific purpose
There is / is not best position from which to observe human behavior
An early telecommunications-based model of communication (Channon & Weaver, 1949)
Source → the provider / initiator of content
Message → the content of the communication
Channel → the vehicle for communication content (social media)
Receivers → the recipients or consumers of information
Noise → Extraneous information or distraction that can disrupt an interaction
Context → the relationships between individual occurs and the cultural norms around that
interaction
→ This model does indicate some possible entry points into the study of human interaction
Some research possibilities: What can we do with an ad?'
→ Grab the attention and (perhaps) shock the audience into behavior change.
Rhetoricians are essentially interested in the appeals or persuasive tactics used to persuade an
audience to adopt the behavior.
They use the theory of Aristotle
o Logos (=logic): texting + driving = crash
o Ethos (=character) : a typical teenager with a typical reaction to a text
o Pathos (=emotion) : the tragic consequences of a text
Kenneth Burke, a set of question to ask while analyzing human communication
o What is the act?
o What is the scene?
o Who are the people?
o What is the purpose of the act?
Rhetoricians research mostly qualitative, they analyze the use of language
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,Chapter 2 First decision
Basic beliefs and perspectives
→ Predictions are often more successful when we observe large numbers of people rather than
individuals
Worldviews: a basis set of beliefs that underpin our perspectives on communication research.
Worldview I: Nomothetic approach
o Sees human behavior as predictable , objectively measurable, and generalizable
o Researchers aim to make generalizations about human communication that will hold
true across space and time
→ Privileges the researchers perspective
→ Goal = generalization / prediction
Worldview II: Idiographic approach
o Sees human behavior as individualistic, unpredictable and subjective
o Knowledge is socially constructed out of interaction between people and is
subjective
o Research based on these assumptions attempts to describe and assess the
subjectivity and individuality of human communication
→ Privileges the participants perspective
→ Goal = understanding
Creswell and Creswell (2018) identifies four worldviews:
1. Post positive
Emphasizes cause and effect
Laws and theories than can be tested or verified
Theory → data collection → testing theory
Quantitative research
2. Constructive
Individuals seek understanding of the world and construct their own views of it
Researchers rely on participants subjective views of the world
→Qualitative methods
Research is interpretive and qualitative, moving from observing to theory
development
3. Transformative
Change oriented
Mixing research with politics → confront social oppression and change lives for the
better
Action research & critical analyses
4. Pragmatism
Solution to problems
Using all possible approaches to understand these problems
Mixed-method research
Craig's (1999) communication metatheory:
A family of concepts embracing several different traditions of communication research
Rhetorical: considering the practical art of discourse (= spreekbeurt houden), debate pr
discussion; it emphasizes the use and power of words
Semiotic: the uses and interpretations of sign and symbols; emphasizes the study of how
meanings are constructed and the relationships between words and symbols
2
, Phenomenological: considers the experience of others; the study of object and events as
they are perceived
Cybernetic: focusses on the flow of information; emphasizes communication as a system of
information processing and feedback
→ Source - message - channel - receiver
Sociocultural: the production and reproduction of social order; it emphasizes the ways in
which shared meanings and social structures are produced and reproduced through
communication
→ The focus: conflict, alienation and the individual as a product of society
Sociopsychological: the interaction in individuals; emphasizes the attitudes and perceptions
and individuals influencing each other or working towards collective outcomes
Critical: power , the perception of power, oppression and emancipation in society; it
emphasizes common assumptions
Other perspectives: feminist, aesthetic, economic, spiritual
Ontology: the nature of existence and what language actually refers to
In communication: it wrestles with assumptions about the nature of human communication
and what we ''really'' observer when we observe it.
Example: 'To what extend do we make real choices?'
The relationship between theory and observation
Induction: reasoning from observations to a theory that might explain your observations
→ Gender clustering: 'Males are more likely to sit with other males, and females with females.'
Deduction: moves from a theory to defining the observations you make to test a theory; it
moves from general to specific
→ Deduction is more efficient than introduction, it lead to a specific observation that will test
you hypothesis
‘’If social media use causes anxiety among adolescents, then (assuming everything is properly
measured and the sample is large an representative) there should be correlation between
measurements of social media use and measurements of anxiety.’’
Abduction: reasoning from an effect to possible causes
‘’Your dad watches the news about a refugee in the Netherlands being arrested for planning
an attack a o police station. He shouts:’’ See! Allowing refugees to enter our country causes
crime!’’.’’
Research questions: less certainty, more room to move
Open-ended research questions: relationships between variables
→Example: 'Is there a relationship between involvement in video gaming an academic
performance?'
Closed-ended research questions: focus on direction of the relationship
→Example: 'Does academic performance decline as involvement in videogaming increases?'
Hypothesis: statement of prediction
Two-tailed hypothesis: state that there's a relationship between the variables but does not
specify the direction of the relationship
One-tailed hypothesis: requires extra confidence because you commit to predicting the
direction of the relationship between the variables.
Null hypothesis: specify that there's no relationship between the variables
Operationalization constructs
Construct: ideas or concepts
3
, Operationalization: defining the constructs in such a way that they can be measured
Constructs - operationalization - variables
Variable: are capable of being measured or taking on value
Starting with a purpose
Exploration: curiosity-based research
→ Result in descriptives of what you are interested in, may be quantitative or qualitative
Description: compelling reading
Prediction: expectations have a greater credibility of they are capable of prediction
Control: researching with a views to being able to predict and manipulate responses
Interprediction: researchers attempt to understand human communication from the point of
view of the people doing it
Criticism: to understand and explain the way in which communication is used to exercise and
maintain power in groups, organizations and societies
Other ways to start research:
o With the 'what' question
o With the 'who', 'where', 'when' questions
o With the 'how' question
o Starting from work of others.
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