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MMC 3420 Midterm Questions and Correct
Answers/ Latest Update / Already Graded
Examples of research methods
Ans: experiment, survey, content analysis, focus groups, in -
depth interviews
any form of communication transmitted through a medium (channel)
that simultaneously reaches a large number of people.
Ans: mass communication
a system of methods used in a particular area of study or activity
Ans: Methodology
What historical events/ periods encouraged the growth of mass media
research?
Ans: 1. World War 1
-Propaganda
-hypodermic needle model of communication: mass
communicators need only shoot messages at an audience and
those messages would produce pre-planned and universal
effects
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2. Realization by Advertisers in the 50's and 60's
-research data are useful in developing ways to persuade
customers to buy products and services
-efficiency, exposure, demographics, placement, selection of
medium
3. Increasing interest of citizens
-in effects of the media on the public (especially children)
-result was interest in research related to violence and sexual
content
-prosocial (positive) antisocial (negative)
4. Increasing competition among media
-in terms of ad dollars
-audience fragmentation = niches = demassification> increases
need for trend
studies, image studies, segmentation studies
-survival kit contains info about consumers changing values,
tastes, shifts, etc
Examples of non scientific ways of knowing:
Ans: •Intuition
(Believe something to be true because you feel it is true; f rom
within)
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•Tenacity
(hear something and just believe it. Ex: We use only 10% of our
brains)
•Authority
(believing something because Beyonce says it)
What are the six basic characteristics of the scientific method?
Ans: Scientific research is:
-Public
-Objective
-Empirical
(Evidence that is observable)
-Systematic and cumulative
-Predictive
-Self-correcting
researchers concerned with a world that is knowable and potentially
measurable.
Ans: Empirical Research
an abstract idea formed by generalization
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Ans: Concept:
dictionary-like definition. Gives a concept a meaning.
Ans: Conceptual definition
Empirical counterpart of a concept or construct. Links the empirical
with the theoretical. Events that are measured or manipulated in
research.
-What factor are we going to look at to measure something?
-If measuring kindness, are we measuring how many times someone
opens a door for others?
-Can have more than one value along continuum. For example:
"satisfaction with pay- per-view TV programs" can take on different
values. A person can be satisfied a lot, little or not at all.
Ans: Variable
defining observations that can be used to measure the concept
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
MMC 3420 Midterm Questions and Correct
Answers/ Latest Update / Already Graded
Examples of research methods
Ans: experiment, survey, content analysis, focus groups, in -
depth interviews
any form of communication transmitted through a medium (channel)
that simultaneously reaches a large number of people.
Ans: mass communication
a system of methods used in a particular area of study or activity
Ans: Methodology
What historical events/ periods encouraged the growth of mass media
research?
Ans: 1. World War 1
-Propaganda
-hypodermic needle model of communication: mass
communicators need only shoot messages at an audience and
those messages would produce pre-planned and universal
effects
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |2
2. Realization by Advertisers in the 50's and 60's
-research data are useful in developing ways to persuade
customers to buy products and services
-efficiency, exposure, demographics, placement, selection of
medium
3. Increasing interest of citizens
-in effects of the media on the public (especially children)
-result was interest in research related to violence and sexual
content
-prosocial (positive) antisocial (negative)
4. Increasing competition among media
-in terms of ad dollars
-audience fragmentation = niches = demassification> increases
need for trend
studies, image studies, segmentation studies
-survival kit contains info about consumers changing values,
tastes, shifts, etc
Examples of non scientific ways of knowing:
Ans: •Intuition
(Believe something to be true because you feel it is true; f rom
within)
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |3
•Tenacity
(hear something and just believe it. Ex: We use only 10% of our
brains)
•Authority
(believing something because Beyonce says it)
What are the six basic characteristics of the scientific method?
Ans: Scientific research is:
-Public
-Objective
-Empirical
(Evidence that is observable)
-Systematic and cumulative
-Predictive
-Self-correcting
researchers concerned with a world that is knowable and potentially
measurable.
Ans: Empirical Research
an abstract idea formed by generalization
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |4
Ans: Concept:
dictionary-like definition. Gives a concept a meaning.
Ans: Conceptual definition
Empirical counterpart of a concept or construct. Links the empirical
with the theoretical. Events that are measured or manipulated in
research.
-What factor are we going to look at to measure something?
-If measuring kindness, are we measuring how many times someone
opens a door for others?
-Can have more than one value along continuum. For example:
"satisfaction with pay- per-view TV programs" can take on different
values. A person can be satisfied a lot, little or not at all.
Ans: Variable
defining observations that can be used to measure the concept
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
