Chapter 3 - Paradigms of Knowing

Question 0

Positivist paradigm

Answer 0

One of four primary systems of knowing in communication research, with the goal of understanding cause-and-effect relations among variables

Question 1

Paradigm

Answer 1

A model or framework and understanding that shapes both what we see and how we understand it

Question 2

Attributes

Answer 2

Characteristics of persons and things

Question 3

Variables

Answer 3

Local groupings of attributes

Question 4

Independent variable

Answer 4

Presumed to cause or determine a dependent variable

Question 5

Dependent variable

Answer 5

A variable assumed to depend or be caused by another

Question 6

Causal explanation

Answer 6

An independent variable causes a change in a dependent variable

Question 7

Nomothetic

Answer 7

An approach to explanation in which we seek to identify a few features that generally characterize a class of conditions or events

Question 8

Idiographic

Answer 8

An approach to explanation in which we seek to exhaust the idiosyncratic features of a particular condition or event

Question 9

Laws

Answer 9

Generalized claims about how variables are patterned

Question 10

Quantitative data

Answer 10

Data in numerical form, typically gathered by positivist or systems researchers for the purpose of describing and explaining the phenomena that those observations reflect

Question 11

Qualitative data

Answer 11

Data whose form is textual or nonnumerical, typically collected by interpretivist or critical researchers

Question 12

Systems paradigm

Answer 12

one of the primary systems of knowing found in communication research, with the interest in studying how systems function

Question 13

Interdependence

Answer 13

Refers to how system parts both cause and affect one another in a reciprocal manner

Question 14

Interpretive paradigm

Answer 14

One of four primary systems of knowing in communication research, with the interest in understanding meanings and how they are constructed

Question 15

Semantic relationship

Answer 15

A kernel of meaning, a primary unit of analysis for qualitative researchers

Question 16

Rule

Answer 16

A commonly shared belief about action, including the action of attributing a given meaning to something

Question 17

Critical paradigm

Answer 17

One of four primary systems of knowing in communication research, with interest in understanding power relations between communicators

Question 18

Ideology

Answer 18

Refers to an integrated set of beliefs about the social world, usually with sociopolitical implications

Question 19

Multi-method research

Answer 19

Research in which more than one kind of method is employed, thereby resulting in a more comprehensive study of a phenomenon