Communication Research: Perspectives and Paradigms

5 Questions

What is ontology?

Ontology is a branch of metaphysics that deals with the investigation of the nature of 'being' or what it means to be human.

Define epistemology.

Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that considers the nature, scope, and limits of human knowledge, focusing on how people know what they claim to know.

Which view believes that different images of an object exist rather than the object itself?

Postmodern view

Knowledge being socially constructed means there is an objective world independent of the knower waiting to be discovered.

False

Match the following communication traditions with their descriptions:

Socio-psychological = Explains how individuals interact and influence each other Cybernetic = Focuses on information processing in complex systems Rhetorical = Concerned with constructing arguments to persuade Semiotic = Process of sharing meaning through signs Socio-cultural = Focuses on the social construction of reality Critical = Concerned with power relations and liberating the oppressed Phenomenological = Viewing communication as experiencing otherness through dialogue

Study Notes

Objectives of Communication Research

Define ontology and epistemology
Discuss different views about reality
Explain the two basic sources of knowledge
Discuss the four paradigms of knowing
Differentiate the different communication traditions

Ontology and Epistemology

Ontology: a branch of metaphysics that deals with the investigation of the nature of "being" or what it means to be human
Epistemology: a branch of philosophy that considers the nature, scope, and limits of human knowledge
Ontology and epistemology are interconnected: how we understand the world (ontology) affects what we can know about it (epistemology)

Views about Reality

Premodern view: what I see here and now is real
Modern view: what I see here and now may be real to me, but may not be to others
Postmodern view: what I see here and now does not really exist; what only exists is the various images of the object that I see

Sources of Knowledge

Knowledge is discovered: there is an objective world independent of the knower waiting to be discovered
Knowledge is (socially) constructed: there is no objective world; all worlds are subjective and socially-constructed

Four Paradigms of Knowing

Positivist paradigm: assumes an objective reality knowable only through empirical observation
Systems paradigm: assumes any social entity is composed of interdependent, interrelated parts that function together to make up the whole
Interpretive paradigm: assumes the social world is not similar to the natural world; humans act based on the social web of meanings in which they are embedded
Critical paradigm: assumes that empirical studies are not the only pathway to knowledge; aims to unmask the ideologies that have been implicitly taken-for-granted because of the status quo

Communication Traditions

Socio-psychological tradition: communication is theorized as the process by which individuals interact and influence each other
Cybernetic tradition: communication is theorized as information processing and explains how all kinds of complex systems (mal)function
Rhetorical tradition: communication is theorized as a practical art of discourse
Semiotic tradition: communication is theorized as a process of sharing meaning through signs
Socio-cultural tradition: communication is theorized as the (re)production of social order
Critical tradition: communication is theorized as discursive reflection
Phenomenological tradition: communication is theorized as the experience of otherness
Pragmatism tradition: forms of discourse that enable the creation and maintenance of cooperative, pluralistic communities
Spiritual tradition: communication happening in the "material world" influenced by the spiritual plane of truth