Exam 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Research

A

An attempt to discover something

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2
Q

Scientific Research

A

 A process of asking question(s) & then initiating a systematic process to obtain valid answers to that question
 Organized, objective, controlled, qualitative/quantitative empirical analysis of one or more variables

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3
Q

Epistemology

A
“How we know something”
o	Tenacity
•	True cuz always been true
o	Intuition
•	True cuz it’s “self-evident”/”stands to reason”
o	Authority
•	Trusted source says it is true
o	Science
•	“truth” found only through series of objective analysis (self-correction)
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4
Q

Chars of scientific Method

• Public

A

o Freely available info

• Replication→Correction & verification

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5
Q

Chars of scientific Method

• Objective

A
o	Explicit rules & procedures
o	Facts (apart from value judgments)
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6
Q

Chars of scientific Method

• Empirical (experienced)

A

o Knowable & measurable nature
o Rejecting metaphysical & nonsensical explanations of events
o Does NOT mean to avoid abstract concepts

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7
Q

Chars of scientific Method

• Conceptual Definition

A

o Defines a word by substituting other words or concepts (Dictionary)

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8
Q

Chars of scientific Method

• Operational Definition

A

o Specifies procedures that allow one to experience/measure a concept

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9
Q

Chars of scientific Method

• Systematic & Cumulative

A

o Step by step procedure

o Only partial knowledge

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10
Q

Chars of scientific Method

• Predictive

A

o Theory

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11
Q

Goal of Communication Research

A
  • Major Goal: testing & developing theory

* Goal of Communication theory: helping us organize & understand communication phenomena

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12
Q

Components of Theory

A

• Good Theory
o Logical, well reasoned, with sound structure
• Written in abstract level
o General descriptions of human mind to behavior

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13
Q

Requirements of Theory

• Falsifiable (testable)

A

o Cant test, not useful
o Ex: metaphysics
o Use method to test

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14
Q

Requirements of Theory

• Tentative (probability)

A

o No perfect theory
o Probable
o Base explanation
o What is best explanation?

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15
Q

Functions of Theory

• Description

A

o Theory clearly tells us about some phenomena

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16
Q

Functions of Theory

• Explanation

A

o How essential components work

o Answer for ‘why’

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17
Q

Functions of Theory

• Prediction

A

o Expectation, heuristic view

o Based on casual relationship among variable

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18
Q

Functions of Theory

• Control

A
o	Practicality (applied research)
o	Medical research (theory to control disease)
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19
Q

Induction

A

• Data (observations) → theory (conclusion)

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20
Q

Deduction

A

• Theory (conclusion) → Data (observations)

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21
Q

Research Problems

A
•	We do research cuz we are ignorant
•	Answer questions
•	Research Problem Question: Questions we expect to answer through research
•	2 Chars
o	limits on relevant info
o	structure inquiry
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22
Q

Good Research Questions/Hypotheses

A

• Must be within researcher’s capabilities
• Be narrow but not trivial
• Be stated unambiguously
• Include at least 2 variables
o What is the relationship between __ and __?
o The relationship between __ and __ will be…
• Be testable
• Be value-free
• Be grammatical

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23
Q

Hypotheses

A

• Expectation about events based on generalizations of the assumed relationship between variables
• Direct declarative answers to the problem
• Working hypothesis
o Tentative hypothesis assumed for the purposes of initiating research and subject to change as research progresses
• More than an “educated guess”. Based on rationale
• Characteristics
o Based on theory
o A tool
• Test a theory and decide which method
o Help us take terms (construct, concepts) observable
• We can identify observable chars
• (e.g. intelligence → intelligence “test”

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24
Q

• Material/research hypotheses

A
o	Relationship does exist
o	Relationships
•	Correlation or causation
o	Directional hypotheses
•	The more e.g. aggressive, happier…
o	Nondirectional hypotheses:
•	We don’t know the direction, but something happens
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25
• Null hypothesis
o No relationship/difference | o In research, we test null
26
• Variables
o Characteristics of a certain object that varies (cf. constants) o E.g., gender, income, ed., intelligence…
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o Independent
* Variables that predict outcomes | * What researchers manipulate
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o Dependent
* Consequent, predicted results, outcomes | * Results of manipulation
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4 Ethical Principles
1. Autonomy - self determination & voluntary participation 2. Nonmaleficence 3. Beneficence 4. Justice - equal treatment
30
• Ontology
o People have free will. Ppl can make their own choices free from external constraints.
31
• Axiology
o Knowledge is value free. We can get to know the world w/o any prejudice.
32
• Epistemology
o We can find out the Truth, that is never changing and always true.
33
Quantitative
``` • Structured approach, theory • Boring, nothing new • Examples o Survey o Experiment o Content analysis • Theory → Hypothesis → research & instrument design → data collection → Analysis & Interpretation → conclusion (& Theory Adjustment) → back to Theory ```
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Quantitative • History
o Newish o Social science o Positivism
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Quantitative • Epistemology
o Truth | o Theory first
36
Quantitative • Axiology
o Value free
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Quantitative • Ontology
o No free choice
38
Quantitative • Focus
o Inferential o Generalization o Shallow, skim
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Quantitative • Reasoning
o Deductive
40
Quantitative • Analysis Tool
o Numbers
41
Quantitative • Research Goal
o Generalization
42
Quantitative • Research Procedure
o Highly structured
43
Quantitative • Theory
o Theory testing
44
Quantitative • Measure
o Validity/reliability
45
Quantitative • Interaction w/ Subjects
o Usually mediated | o Experience distant
46
Qualitative
* Spontaneous, creative, explorative | * Lost, find nothing
47
Qualitative• History
o Old o Liberal arts/humanity o Social constructivism
48
Qualitative• Epistemology
o Truth - relative | o Research
49
Qualitative• Axiology
o Value laden
50
Qualitative• Ontology
o Free choice
51
Qualitative• Focus
``` o Descriptive o Case study o Depth • Examples o Field observation o In depth interview o Focus groups ```
52
Qualitative• Reasoning
o Inductive
53
Qualitative• Analysis Tool
o Symbols
54
Qualitative• Research Goal
o Understanding
55
Qualitative• Research Procedure
o Relatively unstructured
56
Qualitative• Theory
o Theory building
57
Qualitative• Measure
o Trustworthiness
58
Qualitative• Interaction w/ Subjects
o Usually face-to-face | o Experience near
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Qualitative• Strength
o Thick description o Consideration on context o Natural setting o High flexibility
60
Issue, setting, or text →
observation/interview → data collection → Literature Review (theory) → analysis & interpretation → Understanding
61
Why interview?
``` • Exploring • Can be • Ground work for other qualitative methods • Sometimes, it’s better than survey o Reducing refusal rate o Recoding info missed in questionnaires ```
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o Structured interview
* Efficient * Organized * Answer research question * Survey
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o Unstructured interview
* Interesting new answers | * May waste time
64
In-Depth Interview
* Requires a time commitment from a participant * Usually one-on-one convo * Comfort zone * Key informants * Fieldnotes * IRB (anonymity & confidentiality)
65
In-Depth Interview• Advantages
o Wealth of detail o More accurate responses to sensitive issues o More control than observation-only
66
In-Depth Interview• Disadvantages
o Low generalizability (nonrandom sample) o High cost & time o Interviewer’s skills o Sensitive to interviewer’s bias
67
Focus Group
• Unstructured discussion about research topic with 6-12 participants • Moderator • Group dynamics • Purposes o To gather preliminary info for a project o To develop questionnaire items for survey o To understand reasons behind a particular phenomenon o To test preliminary ideas or plans
68
Focus Group: | Procedure
``` • Assembling the groups o No random samples (targeted ppl) o Usually more than two groups • Preparing study mechanics o Physical surroundings • Preparing materials and questions o Let participants know the topic before the session o Structured questions, but tend to be flexible • Conducting the session o Encourage open discussion o Avoid judgment • Analyzing data & writing the report ```
69
During the Session
• Same as interview technique in in-depth interview • How to handle participants o Shy ppl must be encouraged to speak up o Know-it-all ppl must be prevented from dominating the group o Over-talkers must be encouraged to be brief o Obnoxious ppl must be cut off & perhaps removed from the group
70
Focus Group: Advantages
* Flexibility * Good to collect preliminary info * Time & cost efficient * Group dynamics
71
Focus Group: Disadvantages
* Reps: (Low external validity) * Highly dependent on the moderator’s ability * Discussion may be dominated by few ppl
72
Field Observation
• Studying groups by gaining membership or close relationships with them Overt • • • Observer Participant • o Covert
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Field Observation: Procedure
``` • Choosing the research site • Gaining access o Building rapport • Sampling o What behavioral episodes to sample • Collecting data o Field notes o Qualitative interview • Analysis & interpretation • Exiting the field setting ```
74
Field Observation: Advantages
• Natural settings (unobtrusive means) & context • Questions of why, how, and in what way o (c.f., Quantitative research: how much, how many, how often, to what extent) • In some cases, the only available method
75
Field Observation: Disadvantages
* Reps (low external validity) * Researchers’ preconceptions of results * Problem of reactivity
76
Data & Analysis
• Rich description of the context • Unique characteristics of the ppl, group, setting, communicative styles • Unify certain characteristics with a specific theme (must be based on solid evidence & reasoning) o Comparative assignment of incidents to categories o Elaboration and refinement of categories o Search for relationships and themes among categories o Simplifying and integrating data into a coherent theoretical structure
77
Concepts
• An abstract idea formed by generalizing from particulars and summarizing related observations • Concepts simplify o Research process by combing particular characteristics, objects, or ppl into general categories o Communication among those who have a shared understanding of them
78
• Conceptual Definitions
o Use other words to define a concept | o Dictionary definitions (abstract)
79
• Operational Definitions (operationalization)
o Making concepts observable/measurable o What is to be observed by specifying what researchers must do to make observations o E.g., love → How can we know someone loves us?
80
• Internal validity
o Whether the study really investigate the proposed research question or hypothesis o The question of control o Precision of the relationship
81
• External validity
o How well the results of a study can be generalized across pop, settings and time o Question of sampling o Generalizability of the relationship
82
Measurement
• Assigning numeric values to variables • Level of measurement o Based on precision and hierarchy (or amt) of info • Ex: Q. The ad that I watched is humorous o Option 1 • Yes • No o Option 2 • Strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree
83
• Nominal Level
``` o Categories (classification) o 3 Chars • At least 2 categories • Exhaustive accounts for every possible option • Mutually exclusive; no redundancy o Categorical order does NOT matter o Least amt of info ```
84
• Ordinal Level
``` o Same as nominal • Categories in a rank order • E.g., “greater than…, less than.., or equal to…” o Ex: Q. How many hrs do you daily spend watching tv? • 1 hr • 2 hrs • 3 hrs • 4 hrs • more than 4 hrs o what if you watch less than 1 hr? o nominal/ordinal • meaningful mathematics line ```
85
o Interval Level
• Have all chars of nominal & ordinal levels _ other chars • Dist between categories is known (i.e., known entity) • Consistent across categories  E.g., 1 2 3 4 5: categories • Equal dist: 1 • Magnitude • When we give a zero point, dist becomes to have meaning • Arbitrary zero point: adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing • Most data in comm science
86
o Ratio Level
• Interval Level + abs (real) zero pt  The absence of quantity being measured  E.g., absence of money, absence of behavior  E.g., 0 degrees in a thermometer
87
• Categorical data: nominal & ordinal (less complicated)
o Inventing categories | o E.g. groups of ppl to adolescence, adults, etc.
88
• Continuous data: interval & ratio (complicated)
o Much more dynamic/informative/sophisticated/precise | o E.g., grouping ppl based on age
89
Scale
• A composite measure of a variable • Rating scales (I/R levels) o More points → more differentiation o Higher number → Higher degree
90
• Likert Scales
Strongly disagree(1)--Disagree(2)--Neutral(3)--Agree(4)--Strongly Agree(5)
91
• Semantic Differential Scales
o Bipolar adjectives Biased ____;_____;_____;_____;_____;_____ Unbiased Unfair _____;_____;_____;_____;_____;____ Fair
92
Reliability
• Internal consistency of a measure • How appropriate/useful/precise/good measurements are o E.g., measuring your weight numerous times
93
• Reliability Coefficient
o Ranges from 0 (zero) to 1 (one) o Shows “how reliable we are in measuring something” o Closer to one → higher reliability o Usually, 0.7 and above is good
94
• Test-retest reliability
o Giving the measure twice and checking consistency between scores • E.g., on and off the scale to measure your weight
95
• Split-half reliability
o Dividing the entire items to half and check the consistency between two parts • E.g., 50 odd & 50 even number questions
96
• Cross-test reliability
o Using two instruments with different items to measure the same concept • E.g., two diff versions of a test
97
• Inter-coder reliability
o Consistency of diff raters | • E.g., counting the number of events
98
• Validity
o Reliability does NOT guarantee validity o But, validity guarantee reliability o A matter of congruence between the operational definition and the conceptual definition o Degree to which a measure actually measures what is claimed • C.f., internal vs. external validities • Not simple as a 0-1 reliability coefficient • Ongoing process & building good arguments
99
• Face validity
o “Does it look like measuring something that you want to measure?” o Requires additional direct evidence + solid reasoning from researchers
100
• Predictive Validity
o Checking an instrument against future outcomes | o E.g., behavioral intention measure → actual behaviors
101
• Concurrent Validity
o Instrument should correlate w/ other preexisting measurement. It should be similar to others. o E.g., a new intelligence test should correlate with old, previous tests
102
• Construct Validity
o An instrument must be logically related to other concepts in the theory • E.g., emotion measures  Positive emotions must be correlated with each other, but inversely correlated with negative emotions