Paradigms & Models in Research Design Jan Marontate CMNS 801: Design and Methodology in Communication Research School of Communication. Simon Fraser University Fall 2008

Today’s Class Session n Discussion of Readings n Discussion of aspects Methodological Design in 1st Exercise n “Special Topic Assignment” (Handouts 2 & 3) u Research Interests & Methodological Backgrounds u Choosing Topics and Scheduling Presentations n If time: Film-- Quiet Rage

The Research Process Babbie (1995) Social Science Research, p. 101

Methods & Fundamental Assumptions u “Savoir, pouvoir, prévoir” (Auguste Comte) F To know, to be able (to have power), to predict the future and plan for it F To know, to be able (to have power), to predict the future and plan for it F Knowledge as power (to acquire skills for social action, change, forecasting) u “décrire, comprendre, expliquer” (Gilles Gaston Granger) F describe, understand and explain F Knowledge as understanding

Writing about Methods Platt, Jennifer. “Writing on Method” and “Theory and practice” in A history of sociological research methods in America, Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press 1996, pp. 1-67, n Emergence of methodological textbooks (social sciences) in N. America (c. 1920s) n writing on methods--often followed practices n Not necessarily derived from theory, influenced by commercial uses and social work n Shifts over time u 1920s-1940s --conflicts between qualitative & quantitative u 1940s-1960s-- little work on qualitative methods (more on notions like scaling, sampling, logic, design, practicalities of interviewing) u 1960s re-emergence of qualitative methods

Causes of writing about methods? n Rise of university programs, need for teaching resources n Professionalization & differentiation n Increasing orientation toward empirical research n Motivations often unstated (especially in ‘self-defence’-driven work

Problems n Relating methods to their uses and practices n Questions about relationship of specific methods to theories n Mode of transmissions n Methodological choices u Practical influences u Constraints (positive & negative) u Accidental u Notion of ‘bricolage’ u Untidiness of life in process

Two Paradigms n Bruhn-Jensen Reading

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