After completing this chapter, students will be able to: Identify differences between informal, personal research and formal, scholarly research; explain the use of research in your role as a consumer; identify opportunities for which research reports would be helpful;. | Chapter 1 Introduction to Research in Communication Research: Process of asking questions and finding answers Application of scientific and systematic procedures Assumes that patterns can be uncovered Empirically based methods Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Your Relationship with Research Scholarly research You in the role of researcher You in the role of research consumer Proprietary research Commissioned for private use Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Scholarly Research Formal, scientific, systematic Available to the public and other researchers Scientific outcomes Describes behavior Determines causes of behavior Predicts behavior Explains behavior Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Research and Theory Theory: Set of concepts, definitions, and propositions that present a systematic view of the phenomena Attempts to explain and predict phenomena Research should be theoretically driven or aid in the creation of theory . | Chapter 1 Introduction to Research in Communication Research: Process of asking questions and finding answers Application of scientific and systematic procedures Assumes that patterns can be uncovered Empirically based methods Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Your Relationship with Research Scholarly research You in the role of researcher You in the role of research consumer Proprietary research Commissioned for private use Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Scholarly Research Formal, scientific, systematic Available to the public and other researchers Scientific outcomes Describes behavior Determines causes of behavior Predicts behavior Explains behavior Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Research and Theory Theory: Set of concepts, definitions, and propositions that present a systematic view of the phenomena Attempts to explain and predict phenomena Research should be theoretically driven or aid in the creation of theory Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Characteristics of Science Based on evidence Testable Explores all possibilities Replicable Public record Self-correcting Measurement and observation Control error Objectivity Skepticism Generalizability Heuristic Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Communication as a Social Science Social science methods Look for patterns of communication behavior Must be empirical; verify through observations or experiences Focus on messages; effects of messages & their meanings Quantitative methods Relies on numerical measurement Qualitative methods Researcher is the primary observer Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Scientific Approach Research follows traditions & procedures Start with an interesting question Formulate a hypothesis or research question Use reason and experience to refine the hypothesis or research question Conduct the observation, measurement, or experiment Analyze and interpret the data .
