Communication Research: Paradigms, Ontology, Epistemology, and Methodology - Prof. Ronald , Exams of Communication

Download Communication Research: Paradigms, Ontology, Epistemology, and Methodology - Prof. Ronald and more Exams Communication in PDF only on Docsity! Charles Noble COM 300 Exam #1 Readings: Main Points 1. Chapter 15: Contemporary Research Paradigms a. A paradigm is a world view or conceptual model that defines how scholarly inquiry should be conducted. Paradigms have four components: ontological assumptions about the nature of the subject matter to be studied, epistemological assumptions about appropriate wars of studying the subject matter, metatheoretical assumptions about suitable explanations, and methodological assumptions about applicable research strategies b. Researchers may adopt one of two general paradigmatic perspectives: monism or pluralism. A monistic ciew is characterized by the adoption of a single paradigm, whereas pluralism encourages the acceptance of alternative paradigmatic viewpoints c. Contemporary thinkers adopt one of two views of paradigmatic change: a revolutionary model or an evolutionary model. The revolutionary model assumes that chnge is abrupt, involving the replacement of one competing paradigm for another. The evolutionary perspective assumes that paradigmatic change is a gradual process whereby new ideas are assimilated into dominant world views d. Ontological assumptions refer to the nature of human communication. Three ontological paradigms have influenced communication researchers: mechanism (determinism), which assumes that people have no capacity for choice; actionalism, assuming that human behavior is self-motivated; and actional realism, which incorporates elements of mechanism into an actional model e. Eight ontological assumptions characterize the thinking of many contemporary communication scholars: communication is a social reality; communication is a creative process; communication is a developmental process; communication is an interrelated system; communication is a contextual phenomenon; communication is a purposive activity; communication is an interactive reality; and communication is an orderly process f. Epistemology, the science of knowledge refers to assumptions about the nature of scholarly inquiry. Six epistemological paradigms have influenced communication scholars: rationalism, which assumes that thought is the key to inquiry; rational empiricism, which tests thought against observations; mechanistic empiricism, which focuses on observations of correlative relationships; constructivism, which assumes that reality is subjectively created by peoples meanings; and constructive realism, which blends some elements of empiricism into constructivism g. Logical positivists embrace the concepts of reductionism and operationalism. Reductionists assume that the smallest units of observation are preferred and the whole of a process is the sum of its parts. Operationalism assumes that theoretical concepts are defined by the activities required to measure them. Logical positivism assumes that the world is an objective reality “out there” to be discovered by observers h. Constructivism rejects both reductionism and operationalism, believing that the whole of communication is greater than its parts and that theoretical concepts are more than measures of their empirical indicators. Constructivists assume that the world is a subjective reality that is affected by observers perceptions’ and interpretations i. Metatheory refers to beliefs about the nature of theory. Two metatheoretical perspectives have influenced communication researchers: the laws approach and the rules perspective. Laws may be either natural necessity (causal) or logical positivist (correlational) in nature, and they explain communication behavior by referring to causes and covariates over which people have no control. Rules, which may be intentional, programmatic, or systemic, explain communication behavior by referring to peoples’ reasons for behaving. Such an explanation is called teleological j. Methodology refers to the choice of research strategies for studying communication. Seven methodological trends characterize contemporary communication research: a blending of science and humanism, the use of distinctively communicative research designs, a preference for naturalistic methods, an emphasis on longitudinal studies, a multivariate research focus, a communicator-centered emphasis, and a preference for theory-guided research k. Over the past three decades, the communication discipline has shifted from a functional paradigmatic perspective to an interpretive one. Interpretists focus on communicative meanings, and functionalists emphasize communicative antecedents and consequences 2. Chapter 1: Contemporary Scientific Inquiry a. The three purposes of scientific inquiry are to describe communication events, explain those events, and verify the explanations b. Science assumes that communication phenomena are observable, orderly, and explainable c. The five distinguishing features of science are: (a) science is systematic, (b) science is rational, (c) science is self-correcting, (d) science is self-reflexive, and (e) science is creative d. Two types of reasoning are used extensively by scientists: (a) inductive reasoning, which draws general conclusions based on nominal measurement, ordinal measurement, interval measurement, and ratio measurement f. Reliability is equated with a measuring instruments consistency. Thus, if an instrument that is administered repeatedly to the same individuals consistently yields virtually the same results, the instrument is said to be reliable g. Three procedures are commonly used to assess reliability: the test- retest method, the alternative forms method, and the internal consistency method h. A measuring instrument is considered valid when it fully and accurately measures the construct it purports to measure i. The three types of validity are content validity, criterion validity, and construct validity j. Four procedures are useful for assessing a measuring instruments validity: the content method, the predictive approach, the known- groups technique, and the convergence method 5. Chapter 4: Collecting and Measuring Data a. The data collection and measurement process involves gathering information about communication constructs, recording the collected information, and converting the information into a set of numerals that can be statistically analyzed b. Three sources of information that are available to communication researchers are self-report, behavioral sources, and physiological sources c. Measurement scales are schemes for assigning numerals to designate the empirical properties of constructs. A measurement scale may be qualitative or quantitative d. A measuring instrument is a set of scales for assigning numerals to a constructs empirical indicators. Measuring instruments may be unidimensional or multidimensional e. Three types of measuring instruments are used extensively in communication research: likerts summated rating method, osgoods semantic differential approach, and free-response scaling f. Likert scales consist of a series of positive and negative opinion statements concerning some communication construct, each usually accompanied by five- or seven-point response options. Likert scales are especially useful for measuring unidimensional constructs g. A semantic differential measuring instrument contains the construct to be measured followed by a series of response scales, each of which is a seven-point continuum bounded as its end points by bipolar adjective pairs. SD scales are especially useful for measure multidimensional constructs h. Free-response scaling is a measurement procedure that asks people to react in a natural and open-ended fashion to some communication stimulus of interest i. Questions used in a measuring instrument can be closed or open- ended. A closed question asks people to select a response from several fixed options supplied by the researcher, whereas open-ended questions encourage respondents to generate their own unstructured responses j. To enhance a measuring instruments reliability and validity, researchers should adhere to the following five guidelines when constructing and administering the instrument: (a) select scaling methods, whether closed or open-ended, that are appropriate to the problem statement; (b) formulate clear and unambiguous questions; (c) provide clear instructions to respondents; (d) collect data from all respondents under similar conditions; and (e) assure respondents that their responses will remain confidential. k. A measuring instruments reliability can be formally assessed using the test-retest method, the alternative-forms technique, or the internal consistency approach. Validity can be checked using the content procedure, the predictive method, the known-groups approach, or the convergence technique.