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1.1 Define Communication Research |
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| The study of people exchanging messages through channels within one or more contexts. |
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| refers to observations or experiences; empirical methodologies in communication are based on or derived from experience with observable phenomena |
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2.1 Difference between qualitative and quantitative research. |
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Qualitative: nonnumerical 1. concerned with building theories; unique comm. events 2. asks ?s of value 3. inductive 4. AKA rhetorical, historical, critical, ethnography, interpretive Quantitative: numerical 1. Concerned with testing theories; generalizing comm events to other situations 2. asks ?s of fact and variable relations 3. deductive 4. AKA experimental, survey, content analysis, scientific objective |
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| All careful, systematic, and self-concious analysis of communication phenomena |
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2.2 What are the functions of theory? |
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1. Description-the what? 2. Explanation-the why? 3. Prediction-the when? 4. Control-the how? |
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2.3 Define: 1. epistemology 2. axiology 3.ontology |
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1. epistemology study of knowledge 2. axiology study of values 3. ontology study of choice |
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5.1 What information is on an informed consent form? |
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[image]1. Identification of researcher and organization
[image]2. Purpose of study
[image]3. Features of the research process
[image]4. Expected duration
[image]5. Possible risks and benefits
[image]6. How confidentiality and anonymity will be assured [image]7. Any physical or psychological harms [image]8. If deception is used [image]9. To whom follow-up questions can be directed [image]10. Participation is voluntary [image]11. Can discontinue at any time or refuse to participate without penalty [image]12. Indication that participant should have copy of form |
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5.2 What is the difference between anonymity and confidentiality? |
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anonymity: Protection of names and other pieces of information that can identify participants; researchers do not ask participants to reveal information that would aid the researcher in identifying participants' individual data. confidentiality: Protection of research participant; any information the participant provides is controlled in such a way that others do not have access to it. |
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5.3 What is involved in the debriefing process? |
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1.Interaction between the researcher and the participants immediately following the activity 2.researcher explains the purpose of the study an what he or she hopes to find 3.any infow that was witheld from participants before the research is shared at this time. |
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5.4 What is a confederate? |
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| Someone who pretends to also be participating in the research project but is really helping the researcher; a deceptive practice because research participants do not know that an individual is playing the confederate role; used when the researcher needs to create a certain type of interaction context or to provide a certain type of interaction to which an unknowing research participant responds. |
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6.1 What are the four levels of measurement? |
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1. nominal 2. ordinal 3. interval 4. ratio |
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6.1 Define the four levels of measurement. |
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Nominal: Discrete data that describe the presence or absence of some characteristic or attribute; data that name a characteristic without any regard to the value of the characteristic; also referred to as categorical data. Ordinal: Data measured based on the rank order of concepts or variables; differences among ranks need not be equal. Interval: The distance between any two adjacent, or contiguous, data points. Ratio: Measurement for which intervals between data points are equal; a true zero exists; if the score is zero, there is a complete absence of the variable. |
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6.2 Define Reliability & Validity |
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Reliability: Achieved when researchers are consistent in their use of data collection procedures and when participants react similarly to them; other researchers using the same measure in another project with comparable participants would produce similar results; measurement is stable, trustworthy, or dependable; a reliable measure is one that is consistent or gives very similar results each time it is used. Validity: Achieved when the measurement does what it is intended to do; related to truthfulness or accuracy in measurement. |
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6.3 What is conceptual fit? |
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Whether the conceptual and operational definitions match up or where they overlap. [image] |
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6.5 What does it mean to be: 1. mutually exclusive 2.equivalent 3. exhaustive |
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1. mutually exclusive: Characteristic of choices in a response set; categories should present only one option for which a person is able to identify himor herself. 2. equivalent: Characteristic of nominal or categorical response set; responses must be equal to one another or of the same type. 3. exhaustive: | | Characteristic of nominal, or categorical, response set; responses must represent the entirety of the variety of characteristics of the people or element being measured.
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7.1 What are the sampling terms? |
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A. Population/Universe B. Sampling Frame C. Sample D. Census |
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7.1 Define each sampling term. |
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1. Population/Universe: | | All units or the universe--people or things--possessing the attributes or characteristics in which the researcher is interested. |
2. Sampling Frame: Set of people or elements that are available to be selected as part of the sample; the list of the available population from which participants are selected.
3. Samle: A subset, or portion, of a population; data are collected from a sample to make generalizations back to a population.
4. Census: | | Situation where every element of a population is included in a research project.
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7.2 Define random sampling |
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Most rigorous way for identifying whom to include as part of a sample; the probability, or chance, of any element being included in the sample is known and equal for everyone or every element in the sample aka probability sampling |
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7.3 What are the 4 types of random sampling and describe each one. |
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1. Simple Random Sample: every person or unit--selected one at a time and independently--has an equal chance of being selected to participate in the study. 2. Systematic Sample: every nth element is chosen after starting at a random point. 3. Stratified Sample: the population is divided according to subgroups of interest, or homogeneous groups; then elements are randomly selected from each homogeneous subgroup of the population with respect to its proportion to the whole. 4. Cluster/multistage: researchers do not have access to a complete list of population members; a two-stage or multistage process; in the first stage, groups, or clusters, of the population are selected; then simple random sampling is used in each cluster to select the research sample.
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7.4 What are the 6 types of nonrandom sampling and describe each one. |
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1. Convenience: the researcher simply selects those who are convenient as respondents; no guarantee that all eligible units have an equal chance of being included in the sample; also referred to as opportunity sampling.
2. Vlounteer: research participants offer to participate. 3. Snowball: participants help the researcher identify other similar participants; used when the research topic is controversial or a specific population of participants is difficult to find.
4. Network: researcher actively solicits individuals who fit a specific profile and asks them to participate in the research study. 5. Purposive: depends on the judgment of the researcher who hand-picks the cases to be included in the sample; used when researcher wants to select cases that are typical of the population of interest and when sensitive topics are of research interest or when very specialized populations are sought. 6. Quota: researcher uses a target, or quota, as a goal for seeking people or elements that fit the characteristics of the subgroup; when the quota for each subgroup is met, data collection is complete. |
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7.5 How does sample size affect sampling error? |
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| Increasing your sample size reduces error. |
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8.1 What is the primary purpose of experiments? |
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| to establish cause-effect relationships between or among variables, most often conducted in a laboratory. |
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8.2/8.3 What is the criteria to establish cause/effect and control? |
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1. There is a timing element (1st then 2nd) 2. Conducted during a limited timeframe 3. Compares at least 2 groups (treatment and control) 4. Manipulate the independent variable. 5. Random assignment of participants |
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8.3 How do you establish control? |
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8.4 Define manipulation check. |
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| Verification that participants did, in fact, regard the independent variable in the various ways that the researcher intended; conducted prior to statistical analyses of the hypotheses. |
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8.5 What is a classical experimental design? |
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1. Researcher controls a. Selection of treatment & control groups – based on theory b. Random sample c. Random assignment of participants to conditions – ensures participants in each condition are equivalent before any treatment 2.Manipulation checks |
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9.1 What are the strengths on the survey method? |
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1. Survey large populations 2. Standardized questions=reliable |
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9.2 What are the weaknesses of the survey method? |
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1. Questions may not be valid 2. Depend on persons’ memory 3. No cause/effect connection |
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9.2 What's the difference between open and closeed questions? |
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1. open questions: Question for which respondents use their own words to formulate a response. 2. closed questions: Question form in which respondents are asked a question (or given a statement) and then given a set of responses to select from. |
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9.3 Define social desirability bias |
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| Response for which there is the potential for participants to respond with answers they believe the interviewer will perceive as favorable. |
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10.1 What is the normal curve? |
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| Theoretical distribution of scores, or other numerical values, in which the majority of cases are distributed around the peak in the middle with progressively fewer cases as one moves away from the middle of the distribution; has a distinct bell shape and symmetry--one side of the curve is a mirror image of the other side; the mean, median, and mode for the distribution are at the same point; also referred to as the bell curve. |
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10.2 What are the measures of central tendency? |
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Central tendency – the one score that best represents the whole dataset
1. Mode – most frequent score a. Strength – nominal data b. Weakness – useless if multiple modes 2. Median – middle score a. Strength – ordinal data and not sensitive to outliers b. Weakness – not sensitive to outliers 3. Mean – average score a. Strength – interval/ratio data b. Weakness – sensitive to outliers |
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10.2 What are the measures of dispersion? |
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Dispersion – how the scores vary from the center of the dataset 1. Range – highest to lowest score a. Strength – useful for certain variables b. Weakness – sensitive to outliers 2. Standard deviation – variability of the dataset a. Large SD = scores far from the mean b. Small SD = scores close to the mean |
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| Statistic used to find differences between two groupings of the independent variable on a continuous level dependent variable. |
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11.3 When is a t-test used? |
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a. Independent variable has two groups b. Dependent variable is continuous c. Study has small sample size (<100) |
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11.3 What are the two types of t-tests? |
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a. Paired comparison t-test b. Independent sample t-test |
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11.4 What is a chi-square used for? |
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| | 1. to determine if differences among nominal, or categorical, level data are statistically significant 2. toexamine the observed frequencies in comparison to the expected frequencies to determine if the categorical differences that occurred are the same as would occur by chance. | | [image] |
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12.1 What is the difference between liner and curvilinear relationships? |
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linear- Type of relationship between variables in which a one-unit change in one variable is associated with a constant change in the other variable in the same or opposite direction; when plotted forms a straight line.[image][image] curvilinear- type of relationship between two variables represented by a U-shaped curve (either concave or convex) |
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12.2 What does a correlation coefficient indicate? |
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1. The direction and strength of the relationship. 2. whether the correlation has No relationship, direct/positive, inverse/negative, or curvilinear relationship. 3. It can range From –1.00 to +1.00 |
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12.3 What does a coefficient of determiniation indicate? |
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1. Percentage of variance two variables have with each other 2. Square the correlation coefficient 3. Represented by a Venn diagram def: The percentage of variance two variables have in common; represented by the symbol r2; found by simply squaring the r value.
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12.4 What is a pearson correlation coefficient used for? |
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interval/ratio def: Statistical test that examines the linear relationship between two continuous level variables; represented by the symbol r; also known as correlation. |
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12.5 What is a Spearman correlation coefficient used for? |
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ordinal data def: A statistic, rho, used to examine the relationship between two variables, both with data captured on ordinal scales. |
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13.1 What are the advantages of content analysis? |
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A. An unobtrusive method B. Can analyze large amounts of data C. Analyze manifest and latent content |
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13.1 What are the limitations of content analysis? |
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A. Cannot make cause/effect conclusions B. Difficult to find some content C. Needs valid coding scheme D. Use proper sampling techniques |
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13.2 What are the differences between manifest and latent content? |
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Manifest: a description of the characteristics of the content itself. Latent: inferences or interpretations about the content that imply something about the nature of the senders or producers of the content or effects on senders. |
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13.3 What does the unit of analysis mean? |
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| Discrete element coded and counted in content analysis; an observable and measurable unit that provides a standard way of dissecting the text or content into elements to be analyzed. |
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17.1 What are the 4 basic sections of a quantitative research report? |
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| 1. literature review provides the framework of the research investigation; summarizes the literature the researcher sought and studied to design and develop the research study. 2. methods describes how the research study was executed. 3. results provides the results of the study without interpretation. 4. discussion the authors provide an interpretation of the results. |
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Research and theory are necessary complements to one another because |
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| research findings are integrated into a system of description, prediction, or explanation. |
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