COMS 312- Exam 1 Questions and Answers
Research:
The process of asking questions and systematically obtaining answers. Communication
research: Process of message production, transmission, and meaning making, content and
form of communicative messages, function and effects of messages
Message:
A set of verbal, written, or nonverbal cues.
Why do we conduct research:
Conduct it to overcome the limitations of ordinary (non-systematic) human inquiry about
communication
Public research:
Government-funded, focused on the long-term, foundational information for the public good
Private research:
Funded by corporations or donations, profit-fueled results, short-term
Steps in the research process:
Proposition to test (question or purpose), review the literature, hypotheses (difference vs.
association), method to test it (reliability and validity), data collection, analysis, and
publication
Ordinary Human Inquiry- how do we come to an agreement:
, Authority- people telling us we can and can't do things, tradition- cultures have different
traditions, observation (human inquiry), first-hand experience- our understanding grows and
changes throughout the course of our lives
What errors do we commit in regular human inquiry:
Inaccurate observations, overgeneralization, selective observation, illogical reasoning,
premature closure of reasoning, mystification
What is science:
A way of learning and knowing about the world. Science is derived from the Latin word
"scientia," meaning knowledge.
Characteristics of science:
Follows certain steps- observe, hypothesize, test, conclude, empirical- it is observable in real
time, theoretical
Characteristics of rigorous scientific research:
Systematic
Sound (reliable)
Data-driven
A reductive process
Partial
Not "prove" but "support"
Capable of being replicated
Rigorous scientific research: systematic
Have to keep the same fashion every time to reduce irregularities
Research:
The process of asking questions and systematically obtaining answers. Communication
research: Process of message production, transmission, and meaning making, content and
form of communicative messages, function and effects of messages
Message:
A set of verbal, written, or nonverbal cues.
Why do we conduct research:
Conduct it to overcome the limitations of ordinary (non-systematic) human inquiry about
communication
Public research:
Government-funded, focused on the long-term, foundational information for the public good
Private research:
Funded by corporations or donations, profit-fueled results, short-term
Steps in the research process:
Proposition to test (question or purpose), review the literature, hypotheses (difference vs.
association), method to test it (reliability and validity), data collection, analysis, and
publication
Ordinary Human Inquiry- how do we come to an agreement:
, Authority- people telling us we can and can't do things, tradition- cultures have different
traditions, observation (human inquiry), first-hand experience- our understanding grows and
changes throughout the course of our lives
What errors do we commit in regular human inquiry:
Inaccurate observations, overgeneralization, selective observation, illogical reasoning,
premature closure of reasoning, mystification
What is science:
A way of learning and knowing about the world. Science is derived from the Latin word
"scientia," meaning knowledge.
Characteristics of science:
Follows certain steps- observe, hypothesize, test, conclude, empirical- it is observable in real
time, theoretical
Characteristics of rigorous scientific research:
Systematic
Sound (reliable)
Data-driven
A reductive process
Partial
Not "prove" but "support"
Capable of being replicated
Rigorous scientific research: systematic
Have to keep the same fashion every time to reduce irregularities
