Chapter 3: Weighing the words

Question 1

What are the [six] Objective Theory criteria?

Answer 1

• predictability
• explanatory
• relative simplicity
• testability & falsifiability
• practical utility
• quantitative research

Question 2

Explain predictability:

Answer 2

objective theory seeks to provide ideas about what to expect in the future and help us make decisions // predictability is related to overall quality of the theory

Question 3

Explain explanatory:

Answer 3

objective theory help us understand HOW it happens and WHY it happens

Question 4

Explain relative simplicity:

Answer 4

objective theory presents complex/abstract ideas in the simplest manner possible

Question 5

Occam’s razor:

Answer 5

theorists should “shave off” any assumptions, variables, or concepts that aren’t necessary to explain what’s going on

Question 6

Rule of parsimony:

Answer 6

given two plausible explanations for the same event, we should accept the less complex version

Question 7

Explain testability and falsifiability:

Answer 7

objective theory should be able to be tested and be disproved or refuted

Question 8

Explain practical utility:

Answer 8

objective theory should be useful

some consider this the most important criterion

Question 9

Explain quantitative research:

Answer 9

objective theories use quantitative data (numbers) for comparing/contrasting

Question 10

What type of quantitative methods do objective theorists use to test their predictions?

Answer 10

experiments and surveys

Question 11

What are the [six] Interpretive Theory criteria?

Answer 11

• values clarification
• new understanding of people
• aesthetic appeal
• community of agreement
• reform of society
• qualitative research

Question 12

Explain values clarification for objective and interpretive theories:

Answer 12

• objective theories represent values-free scholarship

- interpretive theories conduct values-conscious scholarship

Question 13

Values-conscious scholarship:

Answer 13

interpretive researchers recognize the importance of values to research and theory – they seek to bring people’s values into the open (including their own)

Question 14

Explain new understanding of people for objective and interpretive theories:

Answer 14

• objective researchers look for broad scale communication patterns across people
• interpretive researchers look for situated meaning (how we can better understand people based on a singular situation)

Question 15

Explain aesthetic appeal:

Answer 15

interpretive theories have a comforting appeal because they are not constrained by hypotheses, operationalizing variables, etc.

Question 16

Self-referential imperative:

Answer 16

theorists must include themselves as participants in their own research (they affect and are affected by their ideas)

Question 17

Explain community of agreement:

Answer 17

interpretive theory is judged on the amount of support generated within community of scholars who are interested and knowledgable about the type of communication
(verify or vilify)

Question 18

Explain reform of society:

Answer 18

interpretive theories seek to generate change, doubt, challenge and query.
They challenge taken for granted assumptions about reality and life.

Question 19

Explain qualitative research:

Answer 19

interpretive theories use qualitative data to make sense of (or interpret) things in terms of the meaning people bring to them

Question 20

Parsimony

Answer 20

presenting complex or abstract ideas in the simplest manner possible

Question 21

Value-free scholarship:

Answer 21

seeking objectivity without personal values affecting work (used by objectivists)

Question 22

What [three] things does Littlejohn suggest make a good theory?

Answer 22

• introduces you to new ideas
• change constantly (elaborated, collaborated, extended)
• have staying power

Question 23

Surveys and empirical research are examples of ____ & ____ research, respectively.

Answer 23

quantitative, objective

Question 24

Clarity, artistry, and creativity are parts of the ____ standard for ____ theories.

Answer 24

aesthetic appeal, interpretive

Question 25

Interpretive theories always use ____ to study communication.

Answer 25

textual analysis and ethnography

Question 26

What type of qualitative methods do interpretive theorists use to test their predictions?

Answer 26

open-ended interviews, textual analysis, ethnography

focus groups, visual texts, artifacts, and introspection

Question 27

Values-conscious scholarship refers to ______

Answer 27

acknowledging researcher biases and standpoints

Question 28

If I publish an _____ theory, I must receive acceptance and support from my colleagues that also study communication theories. This reflects the _____ standard for these types of theories.

Answer 28

interpretive, community of agreement

Question 29

Littlejohn, et al., suggested _____.

Answer 29

both interpretive and objective theories should offer insights or “aha” moments

Question 30

“A good interpretive theory often generates _____”

Answer 30

change