Term
| Importance of Research Methods (1/4) |
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Definition
| Provides accurate information to clients. |
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| Importance of Research Methods (2/4) |
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Definition
| Easy to persuade others using form of statistics and quantifiable research results in the age of information |
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| Importance of Research Methods (3/4) |
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| Can be used for making important decisions |
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| Importance of Research Methods (4/4) |
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Definition
| Every claim requires evidence and evidence is supported by research. |
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| Areas in in which research is used |
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Definition
| Business areas, such as investment, marketing, and human resources. |
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| Areas in which research is used |
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Definition
| Law, Politics, Health/Medical, Personal Relationships |
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| Principals of Studying Communication |
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Definition
- Starts from questions
- Communication research method has structure or rules
- Involves collection and analysis of data |
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Knowledge achieved by personal and direct experiences.
Cons: jumping to conclusion with limited information, biased generalization.
(1/5 Methods of knowing) |
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Common sense
Con: Once people form an intuitive perception, they cling to it and pay selective attention to conform to the perception.
(2/5 Methods of Knowing) |
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Using an authority person or source as a reason to trust.
Con: Can you really trust the person or source?
(3/5 Methods of Knowing) |
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"I know it is true because I have always known it to be true."
- Culture, habits, traditions
Con: Does not rest on logical proof or material evidence
(4/5 methods of knowing) |
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Definition
| Public knowledge available to everyone, objective, empirical (based on data/numbers), systematic process, replicable, self critical, predicting. |
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Knowledge achieved by personal and direct experiences.
Cons: jumping to conclusion with limited information, biased generalization.
(1/5 Methods of knowing) |
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Definition
Common sense
Con: Once people form an intuitive perception, they cling to it and pay selective attention to conform to the perception.
(2/5 Methods of Knowing) |
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Definition
Using an authority person or source as a reason to trust.
Con: Can you really trust the person or source?
(3/5 Methods of Knowing) |
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Definition
"I know it is true because I have always known it to be true."
- Culture, habits, traditions
Con: Does not rest on logical proof or material evidence
(4/5 methods of knowing) |
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Term
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Definition
| Public knowledge available to everyone, objective, empirical (based on data/numbers), systematic process, replicable, self critical, predicting. |
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| Selecting Topics (Questions to ask) |
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Definition
Is it too broad?
Is it significant?
Can it be investigated?
Can we collect and analyze data?
Cost and time.
And potential harm to the subjects? |
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Definition
| internal validity and external validity |
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| Concerns for the accuracy of the effects of an indepedant variable on a dependant variable |
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Concerns for the generalizability of research findings to other settings or population.
"If an energy pill works on 20 year olds, will it work on 80 year olds too?" |
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| Threats to Internal Validity |
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Definition
1. History
2. Testing
3. Sample Selection
4. Statistical Regression
5. Mortality (Attrition)
6. Maturation
7. Researcher Effect |
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| History (Threats to Internal Validity) |
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Definition
Changes in the environment outside of a study that influence people's behaviors within the study. - Events other than the manipulated IV might occur during the course of the experiments and may affect the outcome/DV.
EX. terrorist attack right before presidential election |
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| Testing (Threats to Internal Validity) |
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Definition
The tendency for an initial measurement in a research study to influence a subsequent meseaurement. - Changes in scores resulting from participants becoming "test-wise"
Hawthorne Effect |
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Systematic difference in the composition of control and experimental groups. Differences among the DV means may reflect prior differences among the subjects.
EX. The effect of political commercials about Bush from Republicans and one made from Democrats |
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The tendency for individuals or groups selected on the basis of initial extreme scores on a measurement instrument to behave less atypically subsequent times on the same instrument.
EX - Some students who got A's on the first exam became over confident and slacked off. |
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The loss of subjects from the experimental groups may alter the distribution of subject characteristics
Ex - Get old, die, sick, disappear |
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Any psychological or physical changes taking place within subjects regardless of the experimental manipulation
Ex - In a 1 hour study, a subject might get hungry |
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Mortality for researchers. Researchers conditions, personality, demographics, expectancy, and observational biases can influence participants behavior during the study.
"Researchers are human too" |
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| Basic Concepts of Research Methods |
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Definition
1. Theory
2. Propositions
3. Constructs
4. Conceptual definitions
5. Variables
6. Hypthesis/Research Questions
7. Operational Definitions |
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| Theory (Basic Concept of Research Method) |
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Definition
Set of logically interrelated propositions that provide descriptions, explanations, predictions, and ways to control communication behavior.
Ex - Communication accommodation theory |
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1. Describe and define variables
2. Explain relationships among variables
3. Predict future outcomes
4. Control and achieve outcomes that are more favorable |
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| Statements about the relationships among constructs/abstract sentences. Sentences that form a hypothesis. |
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| Labels for things that are not scientifically perceivable (words that make up propositions) |
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| Definition of constructs by using other and more basic constructs |
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| Represent the constructs addressed by a theory. Any attribute that changes values across people or things being studied. Observable indications. |
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| the presumed cause of the dependent variable |
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| The consequent of an independent variable |
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Active variable
ex - drinking milk |
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Attribute variable.
ex - heavy baby because mom drank milk |
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| The variable in which the valuables of the variable differ in magnitude. More numbers (age, temp) |
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| The variable in which the values of the variable differ in kind, or type, but not in magnitude. |
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| A formal questions posed to guide research. To describe research and to find relationship. |
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| Conjectural statements about the relationships among variables. |
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| Hypothesis about relationship |
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Positive and negative relationships.
Ex - drinking milk is postively RELATED to height |
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| Hypothesis about comparison |
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| EX - "American women smile more than Asian women" |
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| Hypothesis about CAUSality |
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| ex - Watching violent TV leads to aggressive behavior (one CAUSes the other) |
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1. Time - Ordering (ex. direction of influence) "If X leads to Y, X should come before Y"
2. Covariation (ex. association) "X should be related to Y"
3. Not spurious "The relationship between X and Y should not be fake" (natural/real) |
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| Types of Operational Definitions |
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Definition
Manipulated - Experimental, describes the details of the investigators manipulation of a variable.
Measured - Describes how a variable will be measured. |
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| Naturalism, no single truth |
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| Objective and singular, independent, value free, deduction |
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| Subjective and multiple, dependent, value-laden and biased, induction |
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Works from the more general to the more specific
Theory > Hypothesis > Observation > Confirmation |
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Moves from specific observations to more general
Observation > Pattern > Tentative Hypothesis > Theory |
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Objective, systematic, controlled, reliance on numbers, interested in larger population, measured reliably, validity can be measured, results generalized, predictable.
EX - surveys, experiments, statistical analysis |
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Subjective, not as systematic, not as controlled, reliance on date other than numbers, provides detailed information, focused on relatively limited people, questions evolve, cannot generalize, cannot predic.
EX - narratives, case study, interview, observation |
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| Quantitative and qualitative research methods are complementary to each other |
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1. To represent quantities of attributes numerically (scaling)
2. To define whether the fall in the scales of measurement |
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1. Nominal scale
2. Ordinal scale
3. Interval scale
4. Ratio scale |
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| Types of Items on a Questionairre |
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Definition
1. Rank Order
2. Guttman Scales (expressing opinion, fine comfortable, etc)
3. Likert-Type Scales - strongly agree to strongly disagree
4. Semantic differential rating scale - measures peoples reactions to stimulus words or statements on a 7-point scale with end points anchored by opposing objectives
5. Close (multiple choice) questions (nominal)
6. Open ended questions (why do you smoke?) |
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| Occurs because the measurement instrument or procedure is poor |
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| Error that cannot be predicted or controlled (ones that vary in unpredictable ways) |
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Definition
- Time of day
- Fatigue
- External distractions
- Mood
- Concentration Level |
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- Face
- Concurrent
- Discriminant
- Predictive
- Construct |
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| The results from a new measurement agree with those from an existing criterion (Proves what you already proved) |
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| Correlations with unrelated variables (Survey date of love should be different from survey about friendship) |
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| Correspondence between a measure and it's criterion (If you pass drive test, you'll be able to have skills to drive) |
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| The extent to which scores on a measurement instrument are related in logical ways to other established measures |
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| Examines relationships between measured variables (ex. What is the relationship between exposure to local news programming and fear of crime?) |
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1. An introduction of researchers
2. An introduction of the study topic
3. How long will it take?
4. Asking participants for the study.
5. How respondents were selected.
6. A guarantee of confidentiality and anonymity
7. Where the date will be used
8. An expression of gratitude |
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1. Avoid demographic or sensitive questions
2. Start with simple and interesting questions
3. Avoid double barreled questions (do you like bush and his foreign policies)
4. Avoid leading questions (how often do you smoke weed)
5. Avoid loaded question that contains words that create a positive or negative reaction |
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