Research

What is a research Is the process of asking questions and finding

answers (ex: Apply for university)

Is the discovery of answers to questions through the application of scientific and systematic procedures

Communication research: Qualitative (more subjective) or quantitative research (more objective) conducted by communication scholars about communication phenomena

What is a research Research conducted from a:

Social science research Rhetorical research Critical research

Social science research: is conducted through the use of scientific and systematic

methods. It is based on the assumption that research can uncover

patterns in the lives of people.

Empirical (observed): methods are based on observations or experiences of communication.

Purpose of a research

Is not to Impress the audience Tell them all you

know about a subject Present every little

detail of your work

Is to Give the audience a

sense of what your idea/work is

Make them want to read your paper

Get feedback on your work

Scholarly research Scholars formalize questions into research

questions or Hypotheses, which provide the scope and direction of the research project as well as guide the researcher in selecting quantitative or qualitative methods to answer the questions.

These questions or hypothesis direct what data the researcher collects.

Once the data are collected, the researcher analyses the data to draw conclusions about the hypotheses or answer the research questions.

Goal of research The primary goal of research is to describe

communication phenomena as well as discover and explain the relationships among them

The research process can have one of four results: It allows the researcher to describe behavior Determine causes of behavior Predict behavior Explain behavior

Goal of research Describe behavior: variables are related to one

another Determine the cause of behavior: is of interest

to communication scholars because knowing the cause of something allows scholars to later plan interventions or develop training to increase the effectiveness of communication.

Predicting behavior: if researchers can describe communication events and identify their causes, then they can turn to predicting behavior

Goal of research Explaining behavior means understanding why

a behavior occurs

An explanation is difficult and often requires a series of sophisticated research projects.

All four outcomes are related

Research and theory A theory is a related set of ideas that explains

how or why something happens. A theory provides a way for thinking about and

seeing the world A theory is a set of interrelated concepts,

definitions, and propositions that presents a systematic view of phenomena.

A theory specifies the relationships among the concepts with the objective of explaining and predicting the phenomena being studied.

Research and theory The term theory does not have one precise

meaning. Theoretically driven research is built on the results

of previous researchers and it provides a foundation for subsequent researchers.

Theory CAN NOT be formulated, tested and verified in one research study.

Rather, theory is developed and tested over time.

What we have to know is the result of many research studies and the efforts of many researchers.

Communication as a social science There are many methods of discovery and explanation, or

many ways to solve problems: Quantitative methods: numeral measurement Qualitative methods: researcher is the primary observer

or data collector (observation and interview as data) Both methods are:

part of the social science research tradition as practice in the communication discipline and reported in communication.

are empirical means the data must be able to be verified through observations or experiences

Methodology can observe and describe human communication

Can help researchers in explaining or interpreting what was observed.

Communication as a social science Research is contextual (related)

1. by the number and type of people participating, By the type of communication being investigated

2. by where the investigation occurs

3. By the culture in which it occurs

The scientific approach

The research process has five general steps:

The first step:1. research start with a question that interest them. A

question that arise from their personal experience or from experiences that has been reported to them by others. Or a question may arise from reading the scholarly or consumer literature

A question may be stated as a problem The researcher can not continue the research

process without identifying and specifying the question or problem

The scientific approach

The second step:1. the research uses the question or problem to

formulate a HYPOTHESIS or a tentative educated guess or proposition about the relationship between two or more variable

2. A research question asks what the tentative relationship among variable might be or asks about the state or nature of some communication phenomenon.

The scientific approach

The third step:1. The researcher uses reason and experience to

think through the hypotheses or research questions that are developed.

The fourth step:1. The researcher designs and conducts the

observation, measurement or experiment.

The fifth step:1. The data are analyzed and interpreted in reference

to the question or hypothesis posed

The social scientific approach

Starts with: a problem A question An idea A gap in knowledge Then the RQ is formulated Once developed, the RQ is revised and refined Then the methodology be designed and carried out As a result, the problem is resolved, completely or

partially, or new questions arise.

Characteristic of science1. Scientific research must be based on evidence

2. Scientific research is testable

3. Researchers must explore all possible explanations in an effort to demonstrate that their proposition cannot be disproved.

4. The results of a research study are replicable, or repeatable.

5. In order for replication to occur, research must be part of the public record.

6. Scientific research relies on measurement and observation

7. Scientific research recognizes the possibility of error and attempts to control it.

8. Scientific objectivity requires the research to minimize personal bias and distortion

9. Science by its nature rests on an attitude of skepticism (suspicious)

10. Scientific research has an interest in the generalizability of findings

Methodological extremes1. Methods are useful or effective only to the degree

that they help the researcher answer a specific question or explore specific hypothesis

2. Kinds of questions should be:

1. Personal interest

2. Social importance

3. Theoretical significance

The nature of question:

1. Questions of fact

2. Questions of policy

3. Questions of value

4. Questions of variable relations (age, education, sex…)

Tips for Preparing the presentation

Preparing the presentation

Less is more. Fill in with narration not words Use color to emphasize some points but

limit to 2 or 3 Be consistent! In the choice and use of

color font size/type etc Use slide real estate appropriately

Fonts - Good

Use a decent font size Use different size fonts for main points and

secondary points this font is 24-point, the main point font is 32-

point, and the title font is 44-point Use a standard font like Times New

Roman or Arial

Fonts - Bad

If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written

CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ

Don’t use a complicated font

Color - Good

Use font color that contrasts sharply with the background

Blue font on white background

Use color to reinforce the logic of your structure

Ex: light blue title and dark blue text

Use color to emphasize a point But only use this occasionally

Color - Bad

Using a font color that does not contrast with the background color is hard to read

Using color for decoration is distracting and annoying.

Using a different color for each point is unnecessary

Same for secondary points

Trying to be creative can also be bad

Background - Good

Use backgrounds such as this one that are attractive but simple

Use backgrounds which are light Use the same background consistently

throughout your presentation

Background – Bad

Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from

Always be consistent with the background that you use

Graphs - Good

Use graphs rather than just charts and wordsData in graphs is easier to comprehend &

retain than is raw dataTrends are easier to visualize in graph form

Always title your graphs

Graphs - Bad

January February March AprilBlue Balls 20.4 27.4 90 20.4Red Balls 30.6 38.6 34.6 31.6

Graphs - Good

Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002

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10

20

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100

January February March April

Blue Balls

Red Balls

Graphs - Bad

20.4

27.4

90

20.4

30.6

38.6

34.631.6

0

10

20

30

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50

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January February March April

Blue Balls

Red Balls

Graphs - Bad

Minor gridlines are unnecessary Font is too small Colors are illogical Title is missing Shading is distracting

Preparing the presentation

Prepare the slides in advance Show them to friends When you think you are done read them

again Check all animations with the sound on

Preparing the presentation

Practice, practice, practiceGive a practice talk to a general audienceGive a practice talk to an audience of expertTime your presentation (allow for speed up

effect caused by nervousness) Always assume technology will fail you.

Have backups.

Delivering the talk

Be enthusiastic! If you aren’t why should the audience be?

Make eye contact with the audience Watch for questions. Be prepare to digress or brush off when

irrelevant

Delivering the talk

Point at the screen not the computer Do not read directly from the PPT or your

notes Have the “spill” for the first couple of slides

memorized in case you go blank Finish in time