What is Communication Research? Flashcards
Communication Research
A systemic process of collecting and analyzing data or information
What is data?
bits of information
What is information?
interpretation of data
What does communication research lead to?
a greater understanding of a phenomenon that we are interested in
Three stages of research
Planning, data collection, analysis
What happens during the planning stage
details and intricate planning
Data collection is
engaging
Analysis
making sense of collected data into information
Qualitative Research
Researcher becomes immersed in the social phenomenon, giving a unique, challenging perspective
The research process originates with
a question/problem
research process requires
a clear articulation of the goal
the research process follows
a specific plan of procedure
the research process divides..
principal problems into smaller, much more manageable sub problems or a hypotheses which guides the research
the research process accepts
certain critical assumptions
Research reflexivity
an awareness of personal assumptions
social science research involved
social scientific theories, methods and concepts
social science research is usually conducted by
educators, political scientists, antropologists
2 forms of social research
basic and applied
Basic/pure social research
an academic, constructing and redefining research
Applied social research
provides research that can influence policy and usually conducted by social researchers
epistemological perspectives are concerned with
what is and is not considered knowledge
3 main perspectives of epistemology
positivism, phenomenology, critical
positivists
focused on revealing the ‘what’ or the truth
phenomenology
focused on ‘how’ to interpret the world