COM 304 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
ANSWERS
What types of questions about communication are social-science methods best suited
to address? - Answers - Theoretical, Empirical, Nomothetic, Probabilistic, Causal
What is social science? - Answers - Academic discipline concerned with study of social
life of human groups and individuals
What are empirical questions? - Answers - can be judged/studied/evaluated based on
observations and measurements of social world // quantitatively or qualitatively
What does it mean to "explain" communication behavior? - Answers - to generalize
knowledge for populations (e.g., find cause and effect relationships)
Nomothetic= things that are in common
What are replication and falsification, and why are they important? - Answers -
falsification= empirically testable, could possibly be refuted //replication= repeating the
experimental condition so that the variability associated with the phenomenon can be
estimated
Be able to recognize RQs that social scientists would (would not) likely ask. - Answers -
We create research questions when we are not sure of
what is happening (need description) or unsure of the
relationship between variables.
- RQs may call for a description of something
• Ex. What is the frequency of patient question asking
during the medical visit?
- RQs may call for a description of a relationship
between two variables
• Ex. How are patient question asking and patient
coping related?
//
GOAL: create clear, specific, and concise RQs
• Less focused:
- RQ: Are conversations between breast cancer patients and
surgeons associated with patient outcomes?
- RQ: What do conversations with patients and doctors look
like?
• Why are these not a good RQs?
• More focused: (Notice, the variables are listed in the RQs)
, - RQ1: How is patient question asking associated with postvisit
patient coping?
What are constructs? - Answers - The abstract idea that we are interested in studying
• ex. Prejudice, love, intelligence, intimacy, privacy, coping
//
constructs are like diseases; variables are symptoms of constructs
What are Conceptual definitions - Answers -
Why are conceptual definitions important? - Answers - Conceptual definitions narrow
the research focus (info, clarification and attempts)
How do we evaluate whether conceptual definitions are useful? - Answers -
What functions do research questions play? - Answers - - help focus a research project
What is a variable? - Answers - Variable = a characteristic that can take on two or more
values (two or more categories) // Ex. High and low question asking AND Older vs.
Younger
IV/DV - Answers - Independent Variable (IV) = causal, variable that IMPACTS or
determines the other variable ((In an experiment, the variable that is MANIPULATED or
altered (not all research studies are experiments))) // Dependent Variable (DV) = The
EFFECT variable (output or response) this variable is MEASURED
What is a hypothesis? - Answers - they are declarative statements that predict a
particular kind of relationship exists between two or more variables under specified
conditions (More focused/precise than research questions - make precise, testable
predictions rather than simply asking about descriptions)
How are variables, hypotheses, and research questions different? - Answers -
Levels of Measurement: What are categorical/quantitative variables? - Answers - -
Categorical Variables: participant are placed into different categories, but categories are
not arranged from low-to-high - For categorical variables, we ask: in what category does
each observation (person) fall?
- Quantitative Variables: participants fall at different levels of the variable, and the levels
indicate different amounts of the characteristic - For quantitative variables: higher
scores = more of construct - For quantitative variables, we ask: at what level of the
variable does each observation (person) fall?
What does it mean to say that levels/categories of a variable are mutually exclusive?
Exhaustive? - Answers - Mutually exclusive: each unit/observation (person) falls into
only one category Most are mutually exclusive //
Exhaustive: every unit/observation (person) can select multiple possibilities
ANSWERS
What types of questions about communication are social-science methods best suited
to address? - Answers - Theoretical, Empirical, Nomothetic, Probabilistic, Causal
What is social science? - Answers - Academic discipline concerned with study of social
life of human groups and individuals
What are empirical questions? - Answers - can be judged/studied/evaluated based on
observations and measurements of social world // quantitatively or qualitatively
What does it mean to "explain" communication behavior? - Answers - to generalize
knowledge for populations (e.g., find cause and effect relationships)
Nomothetic= things that are in common
What are replication and falsification, and why are they important? - Answers -
falsification= empirically testable, could possibly be refuted //replication= repeating the
experimental condition so that the variability associated with the phenomenon can be
estimated
Be able to recognize RQs that social scientists would (would not) likely ask. - Answers -
We create research questions when we are not sure of
what is happening (need description) or unsure of the
relationship between variables.
- RQs may call for a description of something
• Ex. What is the frequency of patient question asking
during the medical visit?
- RQs may call for a description of a relationship
between two variables
• Ex. How are patient question asking and patient
coping related?
//
GOAL: create clear, specific, and concise RQs
• Less focused:
- RQ: Are conversations between breast cancer patients and
surgeons associated with patient outcomes?
- RQ: What do conversations with patients and doctors look
like?
• Why are these not a good RQs?
• More focused: (Notice, the variables are listed in the RQs)
, - RQ1: How is patient question asking associated with postvisit
patient coping?
What are constructs? - Answers - The abstract idea that we are interested in studying
• ex. Prejudice, love, intelligence, intimacy, privacy, coping
//
constructs are like diseases; variables are symptoms of constructs
What are Conceptual definitions - Answers -
Why are conceptual definitions important? - Answers - Conceptual definitions narrow
the research focus (info, clarification and attempts)
How do we evaluate whether conceptual definitions are useful? - Answers -
What functions do research questions play? - Answers - - help focus a research project
What is a variable? - Answers - Variable = a characteristic that can take on two or more
values (two or more categories) // Ex. High and low question asking AND Older vs.
Younger
IV/DV - Answers - Independent Variable (IV) = causal, variable that IMPACTS or
determines the other variable ((In an experiment, the variable that is MANIPULATED or
altered (not all research studies are experiments))) // Dependent Variable (DV) = The
EFFECT variable (output or response) this variable is MEASURED
What is a hypothesis? - Answers - they are declarative statements that predict a
particular kind of relationship exists between two or more variables under specified
conditions (More focused/precise than research questions - make precise, testable
predictions rather than simply asking about descriptions)
How are variables, hypotheses, and research questions different? - Answers -
Levels of Measurement: What are categorical/quantitative variables? - Answers - -
Categorical Variables: participant are placed into different categories, but categories are
not arranged from low-to-high - For categorical variables, we ask: in what category does
each observation (person) fall?
- Quantitative Variables: participants fall at different levels of the variable, and the levels
indicate different amounts of the characteristic - For quantitative variables: higher
scores = more of construct - For quantitative variables, we ask: at what level of the
variable does each observation (person) fall?
What does it mean to say that levels/categories of a variable are mutually exclusive?
Exhaustive? - Answers - Mutually exclusive: each unit/observation (person) falls into
only one category Most are mutually exclusive //
Exhaustive: every unit/observation (person) can select multiple possibilities
