Interpreting Communication Research by Frey, Botan, Friedman, & Kreps PREFACE

Primary and Secondary Sources Primary: Research studies presented by the researcher –written for the author’s peers Secondary: textbooks –written for the public

Primary Sources & Research Methods Research articles 1. apply research methods to a specific question 2. the reason for the existence of research methods is to function as a tool to improve the quality of the research, i.e., the accuracy of the research 3. hence, we study research methods in order to do research and to understand how it was done ONE MORE POINT

Primary Sources 4. with a knowledge of research methods you become a critical consumer of research--you critique the research

Critiquing Research 1. A major objective for you in this course is to learn to critique research 2. You cannot say “who am I to criticize the study”? 3. Your job in this course is to learn to be critical of research--that doesn’t mean unnecessarily negative 4. It means finding weaknesses where they exist and strengths, too.

Why Find Weaknesses in Research? Since research findings are used in theory building, inaccurate findings lead to inaccurate theories –finding weaknesses in the research discounts inaccurate findings Finding weaknesses is often a first step in constructing new research studies

FOUR METHODOLOGIES Discussed in this Course Experimental Research Survey Research Textual Analysis Ethnography

Interpreting Communication Research BY Frey, Botan, Friedman, & Kreps Chapter 1

Research Inevitably Involves a Trade-Off Control Everyday Life

The Nature of Research Research is a disciplined form of inquiry Research is systematic investigation –That is, research is planned; it is carried out step-by-step –Research is reported in a way that allows others to replicate the study, if they choose

The Nature of Research A topic is identified as worth studying Key concepts are defined Key variables are defined The relevant literature is reviewed A research question is asked or a hypothesis is posed NOT NECESSARILY IN THIS ORDER

The Research Question The research question either comes from –theory a hypothesis is deduced from the theory--basic research –a real world problem a perceived problem needing to be solved--applied research

Planning & Designing Research How to identify, measure or isolate the variables to study A variable is a concept that can take on two or more values –There are two types of variables Nominal--differentiated by type or category Continuous--assigned meaningful numbers to indicate some relative amount

How to Operationalize Variables To define variables in terms that can be measured [Take a minute right now to think about how you would define, say, “commitment”; how about defining “Excellent Student”] Three techniques tend to be used to measure variables in communication research: –questionnaires –interviews –observations

Choosing a Research Methodology Experimental Research –to discover causal relationships between variables tests the effects of one variable, called the independent variable, on another variable, called the dependent variable Survey Research –to generalize about a population based on a sample of representative individuals

Choosing a Research Methodology Textual Analysis This method is used to study messages recorded in texts Texts are written, spoken, electronic, or visual Rhetorical Criticism is used to analyze persuasive messages Content Analysis is used to analyze the contents of the message Interaction Analysis is used to analyze interpersonal dynamics

Choosing a Research Methodology Ethnography Ethnography is used to study people’s behavior in specific, natural settings Ethnography is particularly interested in the participant’s perspective

The Major Parts of a Research Article Introduction Review of the Literature Research Questions and/or Hypotheses Methods Results Discussion References and Notes