The learning objectives for this chapter include: Understand how researchers play the role of a detective, provide a basic explanation of the deductive and inductive research process models, explain why the research process starts with identifying the research problem, develop a preliminary question from a topic or issue, | Chapter 2 The Research Process: Getting Started Researcher as a detective Seeking answers to questions Answer exists, but is unknown to you If the answer is not known or available, conduct research to find the answer Research process depends on your abilities to search for and track down information Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Research Process Model Rules and traditions to be followed Multiple paths exist Proceeds logically and steadily, yet is circular and cyclical Be aware of obstacles and pitfalls Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Deductive Research Model Theory guides the investigation Gather data to assess whether theory is correct Move from known position to data Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Inductive Research Model Gather and analyze data framed around research question Formulate hypotheses and theories based on data Move from specific data to more general explanation Copyright c 2001 The . | Chapter 2 The Research Process: Getting Started Researcher as a detective Seeking answers to questions Answer exists, but is unknown to you If the answer is not known or available, conduct research to find the answer Research process depends on your abilities to search for and track down information Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Research Process Model Rules and traditions to be followed Multiple paths exist Proceeds logically and steadily, yet is circular and cyclical Be aware of obstacles and pitfalls Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Deductive Research Model Theory guides the investigation Gather data to assess whether theory is correct Move from known position to data Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Inductive Research Model Gather and analyze data framed around research question Formulate hypotheses and theories based on data Move from specific data to more general explanation Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Identifying the Research Problem Ideas from your experiences Ideas from the media Turn broad topics into preliminary questions What do your questions assume? Rephrase for clarity Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Evaluating Your Questions Clearly stated? Do others agree about its clarity? Asked only one question? Communication orientation? Biased? Can it be observed or measured? Time and resources Who would be interested? How could the information be used? Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Library Resources Scholarly articles in academic journals Communication journals Multidisciplinary journals Scholarly books Single-authored Edited collections Copyright c 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Basic Library Search Identify key terms Keyword search for each term in university catalog Keyword search to combine terms Examine resources for alternative keywords Communication databases Expanded Academic Index Read articles and
