College aantekeningen
Uitgebreide samenvatting Methodology (incl. artikelen)
- Vak
- Methodology
- Instelling
- Tilburg University (UVT)
Uitgebreide samenvatting van Methodology for premasters inclusief samenvatting van artikelen
[Meer zien]Voorbeeld 4 van de 55 pagina's
Voorbeeld 4 van de 55 pagina's
In winkelwagengesponsord bericht van onze partner
Verkoper
Volgen
Voorbeeld van de inhoud
Methodology for PMLecture 1, Chapter 1
Basic assumptions behind communication research:
- Observations Capture/Do Not Capture an Underlying Reality
Not everything is observable, for example an attitude.
- Theories About Human Behavior Can/Cannot Be Generalized
If our world is full of unique individuals, then why are we generalizing in research?
- Researchers Should/Should Not Distance Themselves From Their Research Participants
The more distant the researcher is, the more neutral he can be. However, moving closer to
the group may result in more insight. But when coming to close there is a change of
influencing the group dynamics and results being biased.
- Research Should/Should Not Be Done for a Specific Purpose
Most researchers are driven by their curiosity of human behavior. Researchers who are
funded by a company or foundation may only do the research because the company wants
them to, instead of it being in their own interest.
- There Is/Is Not One Best Position From Which to Observe Human Behavior
Some aspects of a question are more important to look at than others and, related, that
there is one best standpoint from which to observe human communication.
Shannon & Weaver (1949):
This model identifies major components in any human interaction. These components can be
combined in a situation and are not solely.
- Source
The provider or initiator of content. Source credibility. Why do some news consumers find
the Huffington Post more credible than the New York Times?
- Message or message
The content of communication. Any questions about communication content, f.e. how best
to present complex scientific information to a lower educated public?
- Channel or medium
The vehicle for communication content, f.e. social media. Questions about the impact of
process on human behavior. For example, what happens to a recipient’s understanding of a
complex issue when message content is reduced to 140-character tweets?
- Receiver(s)
The recipient(s) or consumer(s) of information. Questions about how the demographic,
cultural, and psychological characteristics of people influence their comprehension of
messages or receptiveness to persuasive messages.
- Noise
Extraneous information or distractions that can disrupt an interaction
- Context
The relationships between individuals, the situation in which the interaction occurs, and the
cultural norms around that interaction
Angels to study media content:
- Rhetorical approach
Persuasive tactics used to persuade an audience to adopt the behavior. Researching
advertising content are essentially qualitative; analyze the use of language.
- Content analysis
By contrast, is primarily a quantitative method for assessing media content.
- Critical theory
, Basic assumption that communication maintains and promotes power structures in society.
Essentially, the focus is on the relationship, explicit or implicit, between message source and
recipient rather than on just one component of the communication process.
Unavoidable decisions:
- The field of study, Wide or Narrow?
Is the field of study you are focusing on wide or narrow? Too wide is not good but too narrow
is also not good.
- The researcher, dispassionate or involved?
To what extent should the researcher be involved with his respondents? Being too involved
may cause bias but being too dispassionate may result in not getting the insights you want.
- The approach, objective or subjective?
The question here is how objective can a researcher be? Especially if he is involved in the
field of study himself.
- The perspective, your questions or their answers?
How do get the insights you want? By directly asking your public what you want to know. Or
asking them to explain about a topic, hoping they will mention what you are looking for.
- The sample, small or large?
What is more valuable: many answers with little dept or little answers with a lot of dept? F.e.
100 surveys or 10 interviews
- The data, quantitative or qualitative?
Numbers or stories? Mostly there is a blend of these methods, which is called triangulation.
- The report, subjective or objective?
Writing the report in the form of ‘I’? Or writing it in a neutral form?
Notes from lecture 1
Scientific research – steps:
1. Start with an interest in or question about phenomena, situations and behavior (Research
questions can be of all kinds)
2. Finds out what’s already known about the topic (‘Literature review’)
3. Provide your own attempt to describe or explain the phenomenon/situation/behavior(or
tests an existing description/explanation)
- There are multiple ways of approaching a description/explanation (your worldviews
affects the way you describe or explain/’epistemologies’)
4. Make use of various types of data to do so
- Different types of research methods (typically tied to the choice of
‘worldview’/’epistemology’)
Scientists:
- Have strict rules to try and guarantee the quality of academic research
o This course is an introduction to these rules
- Use theoretical insights to interpret observations
o Other courses offer you these insights
Lecture 2 + 3, Chapter 2
Nomothetic approach = emphasis on measurement and generalization. Sees human behavior as
predictable, objectively measurable, and generalizable. Privileges the researcher’s perspectives.
,Idiographic approach = emphasis on individual understanding. Sees human behavior as
individualistic, unpredictable, and subjective. This view assumes that knowledge is socially
constructed out of interaction between people and is subjective. Privileges participants’ perspectives.
Creswell and Creswell (2018) identify four worldviews:
- Postpositive
Emphasizes cause and effect and the idea that the world is governed by laws or theories that
can be tested or verified. Big ideas are reduced to sets of data that allow hypothesis testing.
Theory leads to data collection and then to testing of the theory using quantitative methods.
The emphasis is on objective observation and measurement.
- Constructivist
Individuals seek understanding of the world in which they live and construct their own views
of it. Researchers therefore rely on participants’ own, subjective views of the world and use
qualitative methods to capture them. Research is interpretive and qualitative, moving
inductively from observation to theory development.
- Transformative
Change oriented and argues for mixing research with politics to confront social oppression
and change lives for the better. There is a basic interest in the marginalized and
disenfranchised. The worldview embraces a variety of research interests, including action
research and critical analyses.
- Pragmatism
Focuses on solutions to problems and using all possible approaches to understanding these
problems. It does not commit to any one basic philosophy and therefore embraces mixed-
method research. It is “real world” and practice oriented with a focus on the problem rather
than the research method. Research decisions are based on what the researchers want to do
with their research and on why they are doing it.
Craig’s (1999) communication metatheory:
Several concepts embracing different traditions of communication research.
- Rhetorical
Considers the practical art of discourse, debate, or discussion; it emphasizes the use and
power of words.
- Semiotic
Focuses on the uses and interpretations of signs and symbols; it emphasizes the study of how
meanings are constructed and the relationships between words, symbols and thought.
- Phenomenological
Considers the experience of others; it emphasizes the study of objects and events as they are
perceived, in other words, the study of the meanings that things have as experienced
phenomena, as opposed to the nature of the things themselves.
- Cybernetic
Focuses on the flow of information; it emphasizes communication as a system of information
processing and feedback. The basic source-message-channel-receiver model introduced in
Chapter 1 is in this category.
- Sociopsychological
Focuses on the interaction of individuals; it emphasizes attitudes and perceptions and
individuals influencing each other or working toward collective outcomes.
- Sociocultural
Considers the production and reproduction of social order; it emphasizes the ways in which
shared meanings and social structures are produced and reproduced through
communication. Its focus is conflict, alienation, and the individual as products of society.
- Critical
Focuses on power, the perpetuation of power, oppression, and emancipation in society; it
challenges common assumptions.
, Ontology = addresses the nature of what we study. Ontological questions deal with the nature of
existence and what language actually refers to. In communication studies, ontology wrestles with
assumptions about the nature of human communication and what we “really” observe when we
observe it. Ontological questions for communication scholars include “To what extent do we make
real choices?”
Research approaches:
- Induction = reasoning from observations to a theory that might explain your observations.
Induction moves from the specific to the general.
For example, you classify communication behaviors as follows.
o Gender clustering males are more likely to sit with males, and females to sit with
females.
o Class distinction upper-class students are more likely than first- or second-year
students to socialize in the coffee bar.
Then you look for theories that explain these observations which can be the starting point of
a study.
- Deduction = moves from a theory to defining the observations you will make to test the
theory; it moves from the general to the specific.
For example, you might have some reason to theorize that women are more likely than men
to discuss grades and academic performance. You would then design a study to capture the
observations that would test this idea. For the observation are two big if’s:
o You will want to be confident that your statement is true for all female students, not
just the small group you observed.
o You will want to know that this pattern you observed is true at all times, not just for
the one discussion you happened to observe, perhaps as final examinations were
approaching.
Deduction is in a sense more efficient than induction in that it leads to a specific observation
that will test your hypothesis—the statement about the relationships you expect to find
- Abduction = reasoning from an effect to possible causes.
For example, a large group of young children in the campus coffee bar would be an unusual
sight. With abduction, your starting point is an effect from which you reason back to possible
causes.
Types of research questions:
- Open-ended research questions
These ask whether there is a relationship between variables. For example, is there a
relationship between involvement in video gaming and academic performance? This type of
question is appropriate when you don’t have a lot of evidence as to what might be going on.
- Closed-ended research questions
Focus on a direction of the relationship. For example, does academic performance decline as
involvement in video gaming increases? This question type is appropriate when you have
some evidence or input.
With additional evidence or theoretical support, you may be able to predict something in the form of
a hypothesis.
Types of hypothesis:
- Two-tailed hypotheses
Voordelen van het kopen van samenvattingen bij Stuvia op een rij:
Verzekerd van kwaliteit door reviews
Stuvia-klanten hebben meer dan 700.000 samenvattingen beoordeeld. Zo weet je zeker dat je de beste documenten koopt!
Snel en makkelijk kopen
Je betaalt supersnel en eenmalig met iDeal, creditcard of Stuvia-tegoed voor de samenvatting. Zonder lidmaatschap.
Focus op de essentie
Samenvattingen worden geschreven voor en door anderen. Daarom zijn de samenvattingen altijd betrouwbaar en actueel. Zo kom je snel tot de kern!
Veelgestelde vragen
Wat krijg ik als ik dit document koop?
Je krijgt een PDF, die direct beschikbaar is na je aankoop. Het gekochte document is altijd, overal en oneindig toegankelijk via je profiel.
Tevredenheidsgarantie: hoe werkt dat?
Onze tevredenheidsgarantie zorgt ervoor dat je altijd een studiedocument vindt dat goed bij je past. Je vult een formulier in en onze klantenservice regelt de rest.
Van wie koop ik deze samenvatting?
Stuvia is een marktplaats, je koop dit document dus niet van ons, maar van verkoper mirthemaas. Stuvia faciliteert de betaling aan de verkoper.
Zit ik meteen vast aan een abonnement?
Nee, je koopt alleen deze samenvatting voor €4,94. Je zit daarna nergens aan vast.
Is Stuvia te vertrouwen?
4,6 sterren op Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
Afgelopen 30 dagen zijn er 48756 samenvattingen verkocht
Opgericht in 2010, al 15 jaar dé plek om samenvattingen te kopen