p.3
Data Analysis and Interpretation
What is the significance of explaining research findings?
It helps to confirm or disconfirm predictions and supports or refutes previous theories and research.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What is survey research used for?
To discover self-reported characteristics of a sample and generalize those characteristics to a larger population.
p.4
Positivist vs. Naturalistic Paradigms
How does the positivist paradigm view reality?
As singular and objective.
p.4
Research Methodologies in Communication
What is the methodological approach typically used in positivist research?
Deduction, moving from general to specific.
p.1
Characteristics of Research
How does research ensure accuracy?
By following a planned, systematic process of investigation.
p.4
Positivist vs. Naturalistic Paradigms
What is the axiological assumption of the positivist paradigm?
Research can be value-free and unbiased.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What is the importance of reviewing literature in the research process?
It helps researchers understand what has already been found in the field and refine their research questions or hypotheses.
p.3
Characteristics of Research
What is the purpose of significance testing in communication research?
To assess whether there are significant statistical differences between groups or relationships between variables.
p.4
Research Methodologies in Communication
What is the methodological approach typically used in naturalistic research?
Induction, moving from specific to general.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What is operationalization in the research process?
The process of determining the observable characteristics associated with a concept or variable.
p.3
Research Methodologies in Communication
How does communication research overlap with other disciplines?
It intersects with physical sciences, humanities, and social sciences, studying communication behavior through scientific methods.
p.1
Everyday Ways of Knowing vs. Scientific Inquiry
What can hinder the inquiry process in everyday knowledge?
Accepting things at face value without questioning assumptions.
p.4
Conceptualization of Communication Research
What are the two major paradigms in social scientific research?
Positivist and naturalistic paradigms.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What are the five phases of the research process?
1. Conceptualization, 2. Planning and designing research, 3. Methodologies for conducting research, 4. Analyzing and interpreting data, 5. Reconceptualization.
p.1
Characteristics of Research
What differentiates proprietary research from scholarly research?
Proprietary research is conducted for a specific audience and not shared widely, while scholarly research promotes public access to knowledge.
p.1
Characteristics of Research
What metaphor is used to describe researchers in the text?
Researchers are likened to detectives searching for clues.
p.1
Characteristics of Research
What is the primary purpose of research?
To systematically inquire and find answers to puzzling questions.
p.1
Characteristics of Research
What is a key characteristic of research regarding curiosity?
Research starts with a person's sense of curiosity and a desire to find answers to questions.
p.2
Data Analysis and Interpretation
What types of statistics are used in analyzing quantitative data?
Descriptive statistics (to describe data) and inferential statistics (to draw conclusions from data).
p.4
Positivist vs. Naturalistic Paradigms
What is the focus of the naturalistic paradigm?
The socially constructed nature of reality.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What are the two types of validity in research design?
Internal validity (accuracy of procedures) and external validity (generalizability of findings).
p.3
Characteristics of Research
What is the role of reflexivity in research?
Researchers critically examine their methods to identify flaws and threats to the validity of their findings.
p.1
Everyday Ways of Knowing vs. Scientific Inquiry
What is the danger of relying on everyday ways of knowing?
It can make people passive receivers of apparent truths instead of active pursuers of knowledge.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What does the conceptualization phase involve?
Identifying a topic worth studying, reviewing relevant literature, and phrasing the topic as a formal research question or hypothesis.
p.3
Conceptualization of Communication Research
What are the three general research cultures identified?
Physical sciences, humanities, and social sciences.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What is experimental research?
A methodology that applies principles of causation from physical sciences to study human behavior.
p.1
Research Methodologies in Communication
What is the significance of Archimedes' example in research?
It illustrates the importance of systematic testing beyond personal experience.
p.3
Phases of the Research Process
What does the reconceptualization phase of research involve?
Connecting studies with preceding research and setting the stage for future related research.
How do researchers address limitations in their studies?
By identifying difficulties encountered and discussing how these may limit the validity and application of findings.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What does textual analysis involve?
Analyzing spoken, written, electronic, and visual texts to understand communication patterns.
p.4
Positivist vs. Naturalistic Paradigms
What is the epistemological assumption of the positivist paradigm?
The researcher is independent of what is being researched.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What is the first phase of the research process?
Conceptualization, which involves forming an idea about what needs to be studied.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What is the second phase of the research process?
Planning and designing research.
p.1
Characteristics of Research
Why is replication important in research?
It allows other scholars to reproduce the inquiry process, leading to reliable conclusions.
p.4
Research Methodologies in Communication
What is the goal of research in the positivist paradigm?
To explain, predict, and control phenomena.
p.3
Phases of the Research Process
What is the cyclical nature of research?
Research begins with curiosity, leads to questions and predictions, and ends with new questions emerging from previous answers.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What is the third phase of the research process?
Methodologies for conducting research.
p.2
Phases of the Research Process
What is the fourth phase of the research process?
Analyzing and interpreting data.
p.3
Conceptualization of Communication Research
Why is research considered a collective and collaborative process?
Because individual studies are connected to past and future research, contributing to a larger body of knowledge.
