Worldviews
People have different views on what the purpose of research should be, shaping
their approaches. In terms of method of preference, epistemology is the question of how
we know what we know. Being aware of your own worldview allows you to define and
refine your research questions. There are 5 subgroups inside epistemology:
Tenacity: is that we know it because we have always done it or
understood it that way
Intuition: your gut instinct/feeling
Authority: is that we know it because a credible source said so
Rationalism: is because of logical reasoning
Empiricism: we know it because of observation
Continuing on the method of preference of the researchers, positivism is the idea
that phenomena are governed by and can be explained by rules. Scientific methods
combine positivism, rationalism and empiricism, and strengths of this kind of approach
are the openness and the self-correction (which allows others to replicate the study).
Ontology is the nature of what we study, wrestling with assumptions about the nature of
human communication and what we really observe when we observe it (e.g., to what
extent do we make real choices? Does a smile always mean the same thing?).
Worldview 1/nomothetic approach: the human behavior is predictable,
generalizable, objectively measurable, seeking to find rules that will predict
behavior. To understand a behavior, you isolate factors (to be best done). It is
motivated by events, personality and other people.
Worldview 2/idiographic approach: the human behavior is individualistic,
each person is unique, unpredictable and subjective. It is also self-motivated and
to understand a behavior it is best done from the perspective of the participants
and by considering the whole personal/social situation.
Field of study
It is important to decide if you want your study to be wide or narrow, never
forgetting to research the available and achievable. Also, decide if you are going to be,
as a researcher, passionate or involved. In scientific research there is objectivity and a
,dispassionate observation and the remaining of detachment. In action research, you are
closely involved, making peoples’ lives better.
The approach can be objective or subjective. For social scientists there is one
world that applies to everyone. For Phenomenologists/ethnographers there is a
common understanding of the subjective world.
The data also has to be decided, between qualitative and quantitative,
depending on your research question and the aim of your study. The report can be
subjective or objective. Scientific (dispassionate) researchers use statistics to report
and interpret data that they have collected (e.g., “Subjects were recorded on video”).
Action (involved) researchers will most likely report what their informants told them in
their own words.
Triangulation: when researchers use multiple methods providing multiple
perspectives
Starting points for research?
1. Look at real examples of the communicative setting/product that you are
interested in
2. Consider your own (personal) experiences, assumptions and preconceptions
about the topic
3. Map the different stakeholders and relevant factors that you can think of
4. Read existing research literature
5. Define your research purpose (exploration, description, prediction, control,
interpretation, criticism) [Critical Analysis: the assumption that communication
maintains and promotes power structure in society. Focus on more than one
component of communication, implicit and unsaid]
Research methods
Quantitative research methods: built around the idea that human traits and
behaviors can be translated into numbers to analyze them. A research approach
based on measurement, counting, and, typically, statistical analysis. Typical
methods used: experiments, surveys, content analysis, meta-analysis,
computational modeling).
, Qualitative research methods: built around the idea that human traits and
behaviors are best understood by observing and interviewing people. A research
approach based on the use of language rather than numbers to understand and
report human behavior. Typical methods used: interviews, focus groups, case
studies, observational studies).
Hybrids (mixed methods, qualitative and quantitative)
Induction, deduction, abduction
There are 3 thought processes that link observations with theories:
Induction reasoning: is reasoning from observations to a theory that might
explain your observations. Induction moves from the specific to the general.
Deduction reasoning: moves from a theory to define the observations you will
make to test the theory, moving from the general to the specific.
Abduction reasoning: similar to induction. Reasoning from an effect to
possible causes. Your starting point is an effect from which you reason back to
possible causes.
Goals and values
Every research starts with a purpose:
Exploration: curiosity-based research. Start this research with a visit to the
library and have discussions with those who share your interest and your own
initial observations. It results in descriptions of what you are interested in. (e.g.,
How do the patterns of social life on campus differ from dorm to dorm?).
Description: can be compelling reading. It does tend to leave us wanting more:
answer the why question.
Explanation: answers the why question and is more specific and already going
in a certain direction (e.g., Are patterns of student social life campus related
primarily to the residence status of the student?).
Prediction: there is an intellectual satisfaction in obtaining research results that
predict human behavior and confirm a theory (e.g., Politicians want to know
how to get people to vote for their party, and teachers want to know if
international students are more or less likely to attend all lectures).
, Control: researching with a view to being able to predict and manipulate
physical processes such as digital recording, combustion or space flights (e.g.,
marketeers want to control the response of a viewer of their ad).
Interpretation: placing yourself in other person’s shoes. Capturing the
interpretation of those involved on human communication, mostly about
language use. (e.g., what metaphors and analogies are most commonly unsend
by students to describe and explain classroom assignments?).
Criticism: understand and explain the way in which communication is used to
exercise and maintain power in groups (e.g., what rhetorical strategies are used
in employee magazines and newsletters to promote loyalty to the organization?).
Theory
Properties of a good theory
1. Can be falsified – Social Information Processing theory (SIP) explains how
people interact and form impressions about each other in online/digital settings,
with a focus on the types of cues that are available
2. Generates hypothesis – verbal cues will have a stronger influence on
impression formation in a digital setting than in a face-to-face setting
3. Covers a broad area – “people will base their impressions on the available cues
in interaction” is broader than “people will be very critical of spelling errors in
online dating profile texts”
4. Is substantiated by converging evidence – when different types of data and
studies point in the same direction, the theory is more plausible
Hypothesis
A proposed explanation based on limited evidence that functions as a starting
point for further investigation.
Specify the relation expected to find:
o Correlation
o Causation
Usually not said to be true or false but are supported to a certain extent
Can be tested
People have different views on what the purpose of research should be, shaping
their approaches. In terms of method of preference, epistemology is the question of how
we know what we know. Being aware of your own worldview allows you to define and
refine your research questions. There are 5 subgroups inside epistemology:
Tenacity: is that we know it because we have always done it or
understood it that way
Intuition: your gut instinct/feeling
Authority: is that we know it because a credible source said so
Rationalism: is because of logical reasoning
Empiricism: we know it because of observation
Continuing on the method of preference of the researchers, positivism is the idea
that phenomena are governed by and can be explained by rules. Scientific methods
combine positivism, rationalism and empiricism, and strengths of this kind of approach
are the openness and the self-correction (which allows others to replicate the study).
Ontology is the nature of what we study, wrestling with assumptions about the nature of
human communication and what we really observe when we observe it (e.g., to what
extent do we make real choices? Does a smile always mean the same thing?).
Worldview 1/nomothetic approach: the human behavior is predictable,
generalizable, objectively measurable, seeking to find rules that will predict
behavior. To understand a behavior, you isolate factors (to be best done). It is
motivated by events, personality and other people.
Worldview 2/idiographic approach: the human behavior is individualistic,
each person is unique, unpredictable and subjective. It is also self-motivated and
to understand a behavior it is best done from the perspective of the participants
and by considering the whole personal/social situation.
Field of study
It is important to decide if you want your study to be wide or narrow, never
forgetting to research the available and achievable. Also, decide if you are going to be,
as a researcher, passionate or involved. In scientific research there is objectivity and a
,dispassionate observation and the remaining of detachment. In action research, you are
closely involved, making peoples’ lives better.
The approach can be objective or subjective. For social scientists there is one
world that applies to everyone. For Phenomenologists/ethnographers there is a
common understanding of the subjective world.
The data also has to be decided, between qualitative and quantitative,
depending on your research question and the aim of your study. The report can be
subjective or objective. Scientific (dispassionate) researchers use statistics to report
and interpret data that they have collected (e.g., “Subjects were recorded on video”).
Action (involved) researchers will most likely report what their informants told them in
their own words.
Triangulation: when researchers use multiple methods providing multiple
perspectives
Starting points for research?
1. Look at real examples of the communicative setting/product that you are
interested in
2. Consider your own (personal) experiences, assumptions and preconceptions
about the topic
3. Map the different stakeholders and relevant factors that you can think of
4. Read existing research literature
5. Define your research purpose (exploration, description, prediction, control,
interpretation, criticism) [Critical Analysis: the assumption that communication
maintains and promotes power structure in society. Focus on more than one
component of communication, implicit and unsaid]
Research methods
Quantitative research methods: built around the idea that human traits and
behaviors can be translated into numbers to analyze them. A research approach
based on measurement, counting, and, typically, statistical analysis. Typical
methods used: experiments, surveys, content analysis, meta-analysis,
computational modeling).
, Qualitative research methods: built around the idea that human traits and
behaviors are best understood by observing and interviewing people. A research
approach based on the use of language rather than numbers to understand and
report human behavior. Typical methods used: interviews, focus groups, case
studies, observational studies).
Hybrids (mixed methods, qualitative and quantitative)
Induction, deduction, abduction
There are 3 thought processes that link observations with theories:
Induction reasoning: is reasoning from observations to a theory that might
explain your observations. Induction moves from the specific to the general.
Deduction reasoning: moves from a theory to define the observations you will
make to test the theory, moving from the general to the specific.
Abduction reasoning: similar to induction. Reasoning from an effect to
possible causes. Your starting point is an effect from which you reason back to
possible causes.
Goals and values
Every research starts with a purpose:
Exploration: curiosity-based research. Start this research with a visit to the
library and have discussions with those who share your interest and your own
initial observations. It results in descriptions of what you are interested in. (e.g.,
How do the patterns of social life on campus differ from dorm to dorm?).
Description: can be compelling reading. It does tend to leave us wanting more:
answer the why question.
Explanation: answers the why question and is more specific and already going
in a certain direction (e.g., Are patterns of student social life campus related
primarily to the residence status of the student?).
Prediction: there is an intellectual satisfaction in obtaining research results that
predict human behavior and confirm a theory (e.g., Politicians want to know
how to get people to vote for their party, and teachers want to know if
international students are more or less likely to attend all lectures).
, Control: researching with a view to being able to predict and manipulate
physical processes such as digital recording, combustion or space flights (e.g.,
marketeers want to control the response of a viewer of their ad).
Interpretation: placing yourself in other person’s shoes. Capturing the
interpretation of those involved on human communication, mostly about
language use. (e.g., what metaphors and analogies are most commonly unsend
by students to describe and explain classroom assignments?).
Criticism: understand and explain the way in which communication is used to
exercise and maintain power in groups (e.g., what rhetorical strategies are used
in employee magazines and newsletters to promote loyalty to the organization?).
Theory
Properties of a good theory
1. Can be falsified – Social Information Processing theory (SIP) explains how
people interact and form impressions about each other in online/digital settings,
with a focus on the types of cues that are available
2. Generates hypothesis – verbal cues will have a stronger influence on
impression formation in a digital setting than in a face-to-face setting
3. Covers a broad area – “people will base their impressions on the available cues
in interaction” is broader than “people will be very critical of spelling errors in
online dating profile texts”
4. Is substantiated by converging evidence – when different types of data and
studies point in the same direction, the theory is more plausible
Hypothesis
A proposed explanation based on limited evidence that functions as a starting
point for further investigation.
Specify the relation expected to find:
o Correlation
o Causation
Usually not said to be true or false but are supported to a certain extent
Can be tested
