CCT 208 Communication Research Methods

Research Orientations CCT 208

• Communication Research Methods course, CCT 208, is offered.
• Note-takers are needed to support students with disabilities.
• Note-takers are responsible for taking detailed notes (online and in-person lectures and pre-recorded sessions) and uploading them to a database weekly.
• To register, log in to https://aims.utm.utoronto.ca/user/NotetakingNotetakers/default.aspx.
• Upload typed or handwritten notes to the database after each class; scan handwritten notes.

How Do We Know What We Know?

• Ways of knowing include experience, authority, tradition, and intuition.
• Many of these rely on cognitive logic processes, which can be flawed.
• Epistemology is a question of how we know what we know.
• Necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge must be determined.

Social Science Epistemology

• Knowledge in social science is based on that which can be reliably observed.
• Epistemology focuses on what counts as knowledge in social science.

Social Scientific Inquiry

• Different research questions require different methods.
• Scientific/Quantitative methods include surveys and experiments.
• Interpretive/Qualitative methods include interviews, focus groups, and ethnography/participant observation.

Social Scientific Theory

• Quantitative/Deductive theory aims to create testable and falsifiable hypotheses.
• Theoretical constructs in quantitative theory must be observable.
• Interpretive/Inductive theory seeks plausible interpretations of social data.

Hypotheses Testing

• Hypotheses propose relationships between variables.
• Hypotheses commonly take the form of H1 (X is related to Y) or H2 (Group A will differ from Group B on X).
• Examples include communication apprehension affecting public speaking grades or social media use affecting mediated activity time.

Quantitative Methodology

• A quantitative methodology aims to produce unbiased and replicable knowledge.
• Methodologies produce quantifiable results, ideally generalizable.

Elements of Quantitative Research

• Understanding what is being studied (conceptualization).
• How the study will be conducted (operationalization).
• Who is participating (sampling).
• Clarity of data collection methods (replicability).
• Confidence in findings.

Variables

• Variables are entities that take on different values.
• Variables are the building blocks of research design.

Conceptualization

• Refines and specifies abstract concepts.
• Conceptualizations are working agreements, not dictionary definitions.

Language - The Problem

• Key concepts in communication studies (e.g., love, leadership, satisfaction, control, culture, etc.) can be problematic because language can create confusions and limitations in communication.

Conceptualization, Indicators, and Dimensions of Communication Apprehension

• Examples of indicators and dimensions of Communication Apprehension include Nervousness, Butterflies in Stomach, Worry, Speechlessness, Fear, Hives/Blotchy Skin, Disfluencies, Clammy Hands, Sweaty, Faster heart beat, Filled Pauses.
• This concept has cognitive and behavioral dimensions.