QUIZ 1 Flashcards
What is communication research?
Communication research is the different approaches to understanding communication theories and phenomenons.
What are the everyday ways of knowing?
- Observation
- Magic & Supersition
- A prior (“it just makes sense”)
- Intuition & Hunches
- Tenacity (“everybody knows”)
- Authority
- Traditions / Customs / Faith
What is the difference between scientific research and everyday ways of knowing?
- Claim & Ground (statements made with facts)
- Aims to disprove a priori statements
- Probability & Confidence Statements (use probability to estimate the chances of something happening)
- Describe, explain & predict phenomena
What are the problems with everyday ways of knowing (fallacies)?
- Inaccurate observations
- Selective observations
- Selective recall
- Illogical reasoning
- Overgeneralizations
What are inaccurate observations?
Inaccurate observations occur when you fail to account for everything you see, unreliable. (Ex: eyewitness reports)
What are selective observations?
Selective observations occur when you only pay attention to what you want to see (Ex: watching only conservation or liberal news)
What is a selective recall?
A selective recall occurs when you unknowingly forget to remember events that occurred. (Ex: you may forget the details of scary incidents)
What are the qualities of scientific research?
- Logical
- Empirical
- Systematic/ Methodological
- Replicable
- Partial & Dynamic
What does it mean to be partial & dynamic?
To be partial & dynamic is to be cumulative and self-correcting.
What are the three different research paradigms?
- Positivistic
- Critical
- Interpretive
What are the three different meta-theoretical considerations?
- Ontology
- Epistemology
- Axiology
What is an ontology?
An ontology refers to choices of “what to study”
What is epistemology?
Epistemology refers to influenced decisions about “research methods”
What is axiology?
Axiology influences types of “analyses and conclusions”
What is objectivism?
Objectivism is to know by “discovery”. (For example: experiments)
