QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN MEDIA AND
COMMUNICATION (QMMC)
Creswell - Qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches
Chapter 3. The Use of Theory
Variable: characteristic or attribute of an individual or an organization that can be
measured or observed and that varies among the people or organization being
studied
- Temporal order: one variable precedes another in time. Because of this
time ordering, it is said that one variable (probably) affects or causes
another variable
› Independent variables/treatment/manipulated/antecedent/predictor variables:
those that probably cause, influence, or affect outcomes
› Dependent variables/criterion, outcome, and effect variable: those that
depend on the independent variables; they are the presumed outcomes or
results of the influence of the independent variables
,› Confounding variables: variable that is not actually measured or observed in a
study but might influence or explain the observed relationship; the X and Y
variables are related through a third variable that links them
- Clear assumption that confounding variable has an impact on IV and on
DV but no relationship exists between IV and DV
– E.g. number of chimneys correlates with number of pregnant women in a
community; explained by the confounding variable of the number of
citizens
› Spurious variable: relationship in which the independent and dependent
variables seem related, but are in fact not; it is a random found effect with no
explanation, there is nothing that links them
- No assumption and no real relationship between IV and DV
– E.g. age of Miss America which correlates with murders by hot objects
› Control variables: special type of independent variable that researchers
measure because they potentially influence the dependent variable, usually
demographics such as age or gender that need to be “controlled” so that the
true influence of the independent variable on the dependent can be
determined
- no assumption about the impact of control variable on relationship between
IV and DV
› Intervening/mediating variables: stand between the independent and
dependent variables, and they mediate the effects of the independent variable
on the dependent variable; mediating variables tell you how an independent
variable affects the dependent variable
- Mediation helps to explain a mechanism behind a relation
- Clear assumption about the IV on the mediator as well and the mediator on
DV, as well as IV on DV
- E.g. exposure to media violence (independent) à media entertainment
(intervening) à well-being (dependent)
› Moderating variables: affect the relationship between the independent and
dependent variable, such that the effect may be present for one group, but not
another; tell you for whom an independent variable affects the dependent
variable; clear assumption about the impact of moderator on the relationship
between IV and DV
- Moderation helps to explain conditions under which the relationship takes
place or under which conditions the relationships is particularly strong
- E.g. experience of heavy metal as stress-reducing depends on if the
person is a fan of heavy metal or not
, Theory: interrelated set of variables formed into propositions, or hypotheses, that
specify the relationship among variables (typically in terms of magnitude or direction),
with the purpose of explaining natural phenomenon
- Explains how and why the variables are related, acting as a bridge
between or among the variables
- Theoretical rationale: provides explanation about why and how variable X
would influence variable Y
- Researchers use theory in a quantitative study to provide an explanation or
prediction about the relationship among variables in the study,
- Forms of theories: series of interconnected hypotheses, if-then logic
statements, or visual models
- Varying scope:
› Micro-level: provide explanations limited to small slices of time, space, or
numbers of people, e.g. theory of face work, which explains how people
engage in rituals during face-to-face interactions
› Meso-level: theories of organizations, social movement, or communities,
e.g. Collins’s theory of control in organizations
› Macro-level: explain larger aggregates, such as social institutions, cultural
systems, and whole societies, e.g. theory of social stratification which
explains how the amount of surplus a society produces increases with the
development of the society
Deductive theory: the researcher tests or verifies a theory by examining hypotheses
or questions derived from it; quantitative research
- Advanced at the beginning of the study in the literature review
Inductive theory: building from the data to broad themes to a generalized model or
theory, theory becomes the end point; qualitative research (grounded theory)
