Communication Research: Perspectives and Paradigms

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

Test your understanding of research perspectives in communication, covering ontology, epistemology, and paradigms of knowing. Learn about the sources of knowledge and communication traditions.