Notes Orcom 199 - Research

Research - form of systematic inquiry that contributes to knowledge; essential for understanding the
various phenomena that individuals and organizations encounter in their daily lives

2 types of research:
1. Proprietary - limited to a specific audience; cannot be shared; usually done by manufacturing
companies
2. Scholarly - public, shared to an audience; done to contribute to the advancement of mankind's
knowledge

Research is the careful, diligent, and exhaustive process of investigating a specific matter having as its
aim the advancement of mankind's knowledge

Objective - can be measured

Subjective reality - there's more to life than numbers

SCHOLARLY RESEARCH
1. Question-oriented - raised in various levels of abstraction (specific question --> general
question)
2. Methodological - systematic; well-planned procedures in data gathering and analysis
3. Creative - own interpretation; linking seemingly distant topics/variables
4. Replicable
5. Literal replication - you could change the methods used to avoid this kind of replication
6. __
7. Self-critical - using at least 2 measurement techniques to verify the results of the study
8. Public
9. Cumulative and self-correcting
10. Cyclical

RESEARCH CULTURES
1. Physical sciences - biology, chem, physics; highly scientific and experimental
2. Humanities - arts, literature, music; study of accomplishments of people
3. Human or social sciences - psych or behsci; human behavior

Communication:
■ Humanities - representation of things = communication
■ Physical sciences - speech pathology

*Different research cultures = different research paradigms

RESEARCH PARADIGMS (worldview; opinions of researchers)

1. Positivist Tradition/Behaviorism
Beliefs ■ Possible to obtain objective knowledge of both the physical and psychological
realities through the measurement of variables
■ Logic of inquiry and research procedures are the same for all objects of
research
 ■ Social order in the universe is relatively mechanistic and can be subjected to
precise, objective, and quantitative measurements
■ Objectivity can be obtained by setting forth a formal research design that
adheres to the scientific method

Goals ■ Learn antecedents and consequences; causes and effects

■ Explain, predict, and lead to the control of human behavior

Approach ■ Quantitative
■ Hypotheses are set a priori and tested using objective data

Method ■ Operationalism (abstract concepts --> measurable concepts)

2. Symbolic Interactionist Tradition/ Phenomenology

Beliefs ■ Fundamental differences exist between natural and psychosocial sciences
■ Different methods must be applied in the study of each phenomena
■ The historical dimension of human action and the subjective aspects of
human experience must be taken into account
■ No one objective reality waiting to be measured
■ Each person's definition of reality must be understood in order to
comprehend people
■ Social order is constantly in the state of becoming; it is constantly evolving

Goals ■ Describe how people understand their lived experience (guided by internal
and psychological matters)

Approach ■ Qualitative
■ Inductive, holistic, contextually grounded, and methodologically flexible

Methods ■ Interpretation (how individuals construct meaning)

Positivist - what is there; objective reality

Symbolic - why it is there; reasons; subjective reality; several versions of reality
*deductive approach is used in the positivist paradigm

3. Integrated approach / Mixed designs / triangulation

Beliefs ■ Behaviorism and phenomenology can be seen as making complementary
contributions to understanding human communication
■ Full explanation of human action demands accounting for both behavior and
meanings
■ Knowledge about comm is a result of agreements between subjective
individuals about what appears objectively to be true

Goal ■ Prediction through explanation and understanding

Approach ■ Quantitative + Qualitative

■ Forms of triangulation (Denzin,1989)
○ Data triangulation - getting data from different sources; accounting for all
 possible interpretation; cross-checking among different data sources
○ Investigator triangulation - cross-checking of data from investigators
○ Theoretical triangulation - using different theories to interpret their
findings
○ Methodological triangulation

Method ■ Operationalism of intersubjective experience

TYPES OF RESEARCH
1. Purposive Nomenclature
a. Fundamental or pure or basic research - to develop theories; usually conducted in
laboratories
a. Applied research - general application of the theory; how findings can solve problems;
can also be applied to different settings
a. Action research - immediate application of findings in a local setting; to improve the
organization; to develop policies after the study to solve the problems

2. Descriptive Nomenclature
a. Historical research - events of the distant past; it has come to a close; investigating,
recording, analyzing, and interpreting things of the past
a. Descriptive research - present; still evolving; it's the researcher's duty to describe,
analyze, interpret what's happening; compare-and-contrast might be used
a. Experimental research - prediction of the future after controlling the variables;
deliberate manipulation of variables

2. Dualistic Nomenclature (classification based on approach)

a. Scientistic inquiry - research conducted outside the laboratory
a. Naturalistic inquiry - you do not touch the setting or situation

STAGES OF COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

Stage 1 Conceptualizing research

■ Form an idea
■ Identify a topic
■ Define relevant concepts, principles, strategies
■ Review literature
■ Phrase question

Stage 2 Planning and Designing Research

■ Transform abstract into operational terms
■ Develop strategies for measuring concepts
■ Consider ethical concerns

Stage 3 Conducting Research

■ Understand and adhere to the assumptions and requirements of
the methodology

Stage 4 Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Stage 5 Reconceptualizing
■ Interpret findings within broader context of research
■ Explain the significance of the finding
■ Identify any problem with the research
■ Address implications of findings for future research

THE NATURE OF RESEARCH IN ORCOM

Late 1920s - courses regarding Orcom were offered
Early 1950s - Orcom

ORCOM'S CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS

■ Traditional rhetorical theory - persuasion as a critical element in Orcom
■ Human relations model of informal, interpersonal interaction
■ Early versions of management-organization "proto-theories" (archetypal theories)

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES (1900-1970)

Formulatory-prescriptive Empirical Prescriptive (1950s) Applied Scientific (1948-1970s)

(1900s-1940s)

Publications offered Development of expertise in Prescription remained

formulas, rules, guidelines speaking, listening, and writing important, researchers
employed traditional scientific
method

Major themes: ■ Use of the case-study Research topics:

■ One-way comm
■ Concern for successful
comm
■ Assumption that the
managers were the most
important employees
methods in gathering in-
depth info
■ Principles from the
"human relations"
paradigm were tested
■ Superior-subordinate
relationships
■ Organizational comm
climate

THREE ORIENTATIONS TO ORGANIZATIONAL COMM STUDIES

Orientation/ MODERNIST NATURALISTIC CRITICAL
Features

Purpose Address management Anticipate and interpret Social change (*not all
concerns human behavior political studies are
automatically critical; the
study's purpose must be
adhered to social change)

Foundation Logical positivism Language and other Positivistic (open to other

forms of symbolic actions methodologies)

View of orgs machines Organizations as social Organizations are

 organisms instruments of
oppression

Topics for Channel research Symbolic aspects of Political perspective in

research Superior-subordinate organizational life communication
comm

Techniques Experiments Participant observation Any appropriate research

Questionnaires Ethnography method
Rating scales In-depth interviews

DIRECTIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

1. How symbols are used to motivate and direct people’s efforts?

2. How is comm used to accomplish particular purposes? (Clampitt: Inform, instruct, integrate,
innovate, persuade)
3. Focus on internal or external comm.
a. Internal Organizational Comm
i. Information flow studies - directions, channels, networks of communication
ii. Message content studies
1. The study of actual messages (newsletters, memo; actual
documents/conversations)
2. Content analysis
3. Bringing out the values of the organization as seen in organizational
messages
iii. Communication climate studies - after analyzing if an org has a warm or
cold climate, you should analyze the climate's effect on the employee's
productivity and behaviour
iv. Individual training and organizational development studies
1. Needs assessment of an organization for recommendation
2. ICA audit (instrument) - what is sent vs what is received

b. External Organizational Communication

i. Public relations
ii. Marketing and advertising (as tools of the org for communicating to its publics)
iii. Lobbying
iv. Recruitment
v. Public opinion and market research - what the customers want; what their
perceptions are
vi. Long-range planning - anticipating trends, crises, environmental
changes, etc

CONCEPTUALIZING RESEARCH
The research topic and review of the literature

The research topic:

General considerations:
 a. Amenable to scholarly investigation
b. Personal limatations
● Time
● Mobility
● Technical skills
● General background

SOURCES OF POSSIBLE RESEARCH PROBLEMS

1. General background
2. Academic training
3. Professional experiences
4. Curiosity
5. Summaries of research
6. Specific sources (people)

THE RESEARCH TOPIC: Tips in the selection of a research topic

1. Have a thorough understanding of the known facts and accepted ideas in the field being
pursued
2. Use your natural curiosity as a guide for selecting a problem
3. Choose short and clear topics

BASIC QUESTIONS ABOUT A RESEARCH PROBLEM

1. Is the problem interesting?
2. Is the problem new? (approach, emerging trends, methodology)
3. Will the study add to knowledge?
4. Is the problem feasible?
5. Has anyone else had a prior claim to it?

THE REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Purposes of the RRL (HART):
1. To identify main writers and researchers and their particular perspectives on your topic area
2. To develop an understanding of the nature and structure of your topic
3. To position your research in its historical or cultural context
4. To establish a new perspective on the topic
5. To relate theoretical concepts and ideas to professional practice
6. To acquire and develop the language and terminology linked to the topic
7. To trace and describe the main methodologies and research procedures used by other
researchers in relation to the topic

Purposes of the RLL (LIBRERO):

1. Helps to further define the research problem
2. Provides the theoretical basis for the research question
3. Expands the introductory chapter of the thesis
4. Helps the researcher in the interpretation of the results or findings
5. Helps the researcher outline the implications of his study

LITERATURE SEARCH STRATEGIES

 1. Break out the ___ of literature in the field
2. Put together all the materials that deal with similar topics
3. Use the library effectively and efficiently

The Research Problem

Characteristics of a good research problem
1. Specific
2. Empirically testable
3. If relational or causal, should state the relationship between two or more variables
4. If relational or causal, should be linked by a certain theory
5. Should meet any of the following characteristics:
a. Relevant to the times
b. Related to a practical problem
c. Fill a research gap
d. Sharpen (validate) the definition of an important concept
e. Create or improve an instrument for gathering and analyzing data
f. Permit generalization – concerns sampling

The research question

Directions for Comm research

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF COMM?

■ Fills the gap of previous researches
■ Describing comm. Behaviour
■ Examples of descriptive questions
■ What patterns of deceptive comm. Characterize close relationships?
■ What are the perceived dimensions of giving feedback in a task-oriented small group?
RELATING COMM BEHAVIOR TO OTHER VARIABLES
■ How is communication related to other variables?
■ What is the relationship between... and ...?
■ What are the effects of ... on ...?
■ Effect versus perceived effect (not really a causal relationship)

The question hierarchy

Research question (general question) Investigative questions (specific questions) Measurement
questions (found in the instruments used)

HISTORICAL RESEARCH
■ Historical methods require the student to seek out and actually evaluate the reports of
observers of past events in order to describe accurately what happened and to clarify as best as
he can the relationship between those events

KINDS OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH

■ Biographical or biographical-critical studies – influential people
■ Movement or idea studies – actual works of people
■ Regional studies – can be a movement or idea study but one should limit the context of the
topic in an area, e.g. Makati, Baguio
■ Institutional studies – history of schools, and other establishments
 ■ Case histories – single event in history
■ Selective studies – specific aspect for close inspection
■ Editorial studies – translations of original works

HISTORICAL METHODS AT WORK

I. Discovering sources
a. Placing the study in perspective – location, time
b. Securing materials – books, newspapers during that time
c. Uncovering hidden materials – diaries
d. Classifying sources
i. Primary
ii. Secondary
II. Testing the Authenticity of sources (external criticisms)
a. Seeks to ascertain when, where, and by whom a source was produced
b. Kinds of evidence used
i. External – outside the document, e.g. reports and other documents published
ii. Internal – actual document, proofs for its authenticity

Questions of external criticism:

1. Is the chronicle, charter, document, news story, or report really what it claims or is
purported to be? Is it genuine?
2. Who was its author?
3. Where and how did the author derive his information? Was this an eye-witness report?
4. When was the document produced? Before or after the event? If after, how long after?
5. What is the original form of the document?

III. Evaluating the accuracy of statements (internal criticism)

a. What does the statement mean?
b. Is the statement true?
i. 1st line of inquiry – competence of the witness
ii. 2nd line of inquiry – possible bias
iii. 3rd line of inquiry – internal consistency
iv. 4th line of inquiry – comparison of his words with other witnesses

Questions of internal criticism:

1. Are his reasoning and meaning consistent?
2. Can an acceptable meaning be deduced?
3. –
4. Was the statement made in good faith?
5. Are there traces that will lead others to think he was meant to deceive?
6. –
7. Are there outside forces influencing him in his writings?
8. Is the author a member of a group or groups that may have swayed?
9. What could be the motives behind his writings?
10. What was the mental state of the author at that time?
11. Is the author a trained observer?
12. Did he pick from the observation of others?
 IV. Evaluating data and drawing inferences
a. Comparison and contrast – EDSA versus one revolt in China
b. Drawing inferences

Descriptive research
● Concerned with “what is”
● The study of existing conditions, situations, or relationships to discover or establish norms or
standards (Auer, J)
● 2 directions of communication research: 1) to describe the nature of comm, and 2) to ascertain
relationships between variables
● Ends: to ascertain norms, establish goals, and develop methods

General types of studies employing the descriptive method:

I. Studies of Behavior: Facts and Opinion
a. Survey Studies
i. Questionnaires
ii. Interviews
b. Observation
i. Direct
ii. Indirect communication output; for example, seeing them answer the
questionnaire
II. Study of Status and Development
a. Case Studies – compilation of all available data concerning one particular case
phenomenon; (case study vs historical research) present an evolving picture of its
existing status
b. Genetic studies – long-term investigation; looking for patterns of growth and
development
III. Analytical and Critical Studies (Textual Analysis)
a. Content analysis – communication embedded in text
b. Rhetorical criticism – analyzes persuasive content of oral communication; you will
analyze what has already been transcribed
IV. Methodological Studies – geared toward helping other research in conducting a research
a. Establishment of criteria – use of other data gathered from rhetoricians; however, all
these should be validated
b. Development of instruments

Survey Research
● Straightforward way of collecting data for studying a population, large enough for the
researcher to observe, interview, etc

Applied uses of survey research:

A. Political polls
a. To measure popularity of different candidates or political issues
b. Provides useful information for political candidates or political parties
c. Accuracy depends on sample and kinds of questions asked
B. Evaluation research
 a. Kinds – depends on when the survey is done
i. Summative – entertaining thoughts of discontinuing a program
ii. Formative – improving the measures for the program to be more effective
b. Types
i. Need analysis – what do they need? What is lacking in the target group? “what
exists versus what they prefer”
ii. Organizational feedback survey and audit – similar to the need analysis except
that you survey organizational publics (members of the org)
iii. Network analysis
1. Total network system – patterns of interaction of the entire social
system (grapevine, flow of information)
2. Clique network
3. Personal network – specific role that an individual plays in an
organization
*Roles of a communicator:
■ Liaison – they connect cliques but they are not
part of the cliques
■ Gatekeeper – filters information
■ Isolate
■ Opinion leader
■ Cosmopolite – connects the organization with
another org
■ Bridge – they connect cliques; he is part of one
clique

C. Market research
a. Purposes
i. Determine current level of consumption of products and service
ii. Evaluate consumer satisfaction and predict consumer preference for new
products
b. Market research for mass media producers
i. Readership survey
ii. Audience ratings

TIME DIMENSION OF THE SURVEY RESEARCH

I. Cross-sectional survey design – status quo; one time, big time!
II. Longitudinal survey design – long period of time; conducted at several points in time;
trends; can account for changes or the evolution of the event
a. Trend study – specific topic or specific distribution
b. Cohort study – same population, not necessarily the same people
c. Panel study – changes in the behaviour of people; same people for the two periods of
time
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
● The method communication researchers use to describe and interpret the characteristics of a
recorded or visual image
● Communication texts can be:
○ Written transcripts – from recorded materials
○ Written documents – newsletters, annual reports, speeches, conversations, meetings
○ Electronic documents – audio recordings, computer documents, websites
○ Visual texts – logos, paintings

Directions for research and textual analysis

● What is the nature of communication?
○ What does the text mean?
○ How does it achieve that meaning?
● How is communication related to other variables?
○ How are input variables related to the messages contained in the text?
○ What is the relationship between the type of communication text and various
outcomes?

Important considerations in textual analysis:

1. Types of text
a. Transcripts of communication, produced by the researcher
b. Output of communication, produced by the communicators
2. Acquiring texts
a. Availability
b. Sampling
c. Need for complete and accurate texts
d. Approaches to textual analysis
i. Rhetorical criticism
ii. Content analysis
iii. Conversation analysis
iv. Unobtrusive measures

*How to acquire texts from dyadic conversations:

■ Listen in on conversations (eavesdropping)
○ Ethics of research
■ Is the topic they’re talking about sensitive?
■ Use the information privately.
■ Ask samples from people
■ Create conversations in laboratory settings (natural vs forced conversations)
■ Use actual conversation samples from literary text

Sharyl’s report
Analysis of 5 websites’ color, photos, dominant discourses, content organization, animation, corporate
culture, selling activities

Textual analysis 1) Leisurely viewing, 2) Thoroughly reading, 3) Third reading, 4) Final review of
insights

RHETORICAL CRITICISM
● Involves the description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation of the persuasive uses of human
communication (Campbell in Frey, et. al, 1991)
● Rhetoric as an act of persuasion

Functions of rhetorical criticism (Andrews in Frey, et al., 1991)

1. To search for the intended effects of persuasive discourse
2. To understand historical events in a social and cultural context explaining how the persuasive
use of communication relates to the events occurring at that time
3. To shed light on the current persuasive practices, providing a form of social criticism (trying to
illustrate how current producers of materials make use of persuasive strategies)
4. To understand how theories apply to the practice of persuasive discourse
5. Pedagogical function – to teach people something about how persuasion works and what
generalizations are possible

TYPES OF RHETORICAL CRITICISM:

I. Neo-Aristotelian Criticism (4th function)
a. Evaluate the means of persuasion used by a speaker according to the specific set of
criteria given on Aristotle’s Rhetoric
b. Aristotle’s inventory for describing and evaluating rhetoric
i. Invention – formation of arguments
ii. Disposition – arrangement or organization
iii. Elocution – style and language
iv. Delivery – how speech is delivered; analyzed only if there is a recording
of the speech
v. Memory – how the speaker employs use of memorization techniques
II. Genre Criticism (4th function)
a. Analysis of certain types or genres of texts that are similar in function and form
b. 3 Genres of rhetoric
i. Forensic – deals with the past; deals with legality and justice in court
ii. Epideictic – deals with the present; ceremonial in nature
iii. Deliberative – deals with the future; political oratory
III. Historical Criticism (2nd function)
a. Used to describe and evaluate important past events by compiling and analyzing
relevant documents
b. Four major types:
i. Oral histories – deals with spoken accounts only; not printed documents;
primary sources only
ii. Case studies
iii. Biographical studies
 iv. Social movement studies
IV. Dramatic Criticism
a. Based on the work of Kenneth Burke
b. Pentad (analytical framework used to study human action)
i. Act – behaviour
ii. Agent – actor
iii. Agency – means by which the act is carried out
iv. Purpose – goal of the action
v. Scene – situation in which the act took place
V. Fantasy Theme Analysis
a. Based on the work of Ernest Bormann
b. Four categories:
i. Fantasy themes – stories (protagonists, villains, etc)
ii. Fantasy types – stories told over and over; evolution of fantasy themes
iii. Rhetorical visions – influence how people interpret reality
iv. Rhetorical communities – sharing the same vision

*DRAMATIC CRITICISM AND FANTASY THEME ANALYSIS - they both make use of the same analysis

CONTENT ANALYSIS

Purposes of Context Analysis (Holsti, 1969)

1. To describe trends in communication trends
2. To relate known characteristics of sources
3. To relate known attributes of the audience to messages produced for them
4. To audit communication content against standards
5. To analyze techniques of persuasion
6. To analyze style
7. To describe patterns of communication

Procedures of Content Analysis

Holsti, 1969
1. Draw the samples of documents
● If you only have a handful, study
them all.
● If you have many, perform sampling
techniques.
2. Define the content of categories.
● Do a first reading.
● Two types of categories:
a. Emergent categories
b. A priori categories – set
categories before content
analysis
3. Define the recording unit.
 ● A single word
● Theme – through thematic analysis
● Character – specific characteristics
or qualities
● Sentence or paragraph
● Item – entire physical unit; ex. a
whole book, the entire annual report
4. Define the context of the unit, which is the
larger context within which the recording
is found (optional)
5. Define the system of enumeration.
● Simple binary coding – recording the
unit present or absent
● Frequency – number of times it’ll
appear
● Amount of space – allotted for a
particular category; measure in
inches

Kreps, 1991
1. Select the text.
2. Determine the unit of analysis.
● Physical (item)
● Syntactical (single word)
● Referential – how words are used to
describe a particular person or event
● Propositional – ideological biases
evident in certain proposals; has to
be extracted; implicit
3. Develop the content categories.
4. Code the units.
5. Analyze the data.

CONVERSATION ANALYSIS

● Examines messages exchanged during dyadic and small group interactions in order to discover
the “systematic and orderly properties which are meaningful to conversant (and researchers)”
(Heritage, 1989)
● Systematic properties:
○ Conversation content
○ Functions of conversational messages
■ function of statements
■ instrument: Bales, interaction process analysis
● positive talk
● task-oriented
● negative talk
○ structure of conversation
 ■ examining the moves of the conversant
■ elocutionary acts – conversations that yield responses
■ adjacent pairs – example, a request is given; the other person grants it or denies
it
○ effects of conversations
■ relational outcomes –the conversation brought about this effect
■ relationships are characterized into three:
● complementary relationships – one is dominant and the other is
submissive
● symmetrical – equal
● parallel – situation-oriented

CONDUCTING CONVERSATION ANALYSIS

1. Obtain samples of conversations
a. Type of conversation
i. Are you after a specific type?
ii. Natural or unnatural?
b. Location – laboratory setting, public places, or offices?
c. Means of recording the conversation
i. Audiotape
ii. Videotape
iii. Observation
2. Transcribe recorded conversations into a written text.
3. Categorize the message in the written transcript using coding schemes
■ Prof Adeva's MA thesis
○ 1st - interaction patterns
○ 2nd - relational message themes, ex: So how do you feel? This is a sign
of receptivity (implications of utterances)
○ 3rd - compliance strategies - what techniques were used?
■ The effect of the strategies were no longer part of the study
4. Analyze the codings to describe and draw inferences about the content, functions, effects,
structures of conversations
■ Topics, frequency
■ Functions (positive talk, negative talk, task-oriented), frequency of use
■ Observe the contributions of members, if it's your concern
■ Create a separate profile for each participant
■ Create a patient profile
5. Report the findings in written form and explain how they develop new or existing views about
conversation

SAMPLE RESEARCH STUDY c/o Precky

● Comm styles between married couples
● Comm doesn't always result in positive outcomes
● (4) Real life couples AND (3) fictional couples (from literary texts)
Procedures:
1. Sampling
2. Choosing the conversations in the literary texts. The text is translated to pure English.
 3. Categorization
○ Comm styles by Wackman and Miller
■ Style I: being friendly and sociable; exchanging info without the intention of
changing the other person's behavior
■ Style II: has the intention of changing the other person; involves
interpretations and actions, persuasion, and attempts of controlling the
situation outcome
■ Style III: used to reflect on things; speculative and tentative; speaking for
oneself
○ Comm messages by Masterson
■ topic messages
■ self-messages
■ partner messages
■ relationship messages
4. Analysis - tools used should reveal common conversational components

UNOBTRUSIVE MEASURES
1. Unobtrusive measures examine physical traces or artifacts to describe people and their
communication behavior (Webb, Campbell, Schwarts, & Sechrest, 1972)
a. focuses on comm outputs
b. it lessens the reactivity effect
c. the population involved wouldn't even realize that they are being studied
2. Three techniques
a. Archival research - you make use of records, but not necessarily old ones
i. public records
1. actuarial records - birth certificates, death certificates, marriage
certificates
2. political and judicial records
3. other government records - city reports, weather reports
4. mass media - newspapers, TV programs; How different is this from
content analysis? You just extract pieces of evidence in those articles.
You don't analyze content.
ii. Private records
1. Sales records
2. Industrial and institutional records – ex, time cards as objective set of
data in terms of punctuality; hospital charts
3. Personal written documents – personal letters
b. Trace measures – what they have left behind; traces
i. Measures of erosion – documents that are worn out by use
ii. Measures of accretion – what has been added on; ex: highlights or side notes,
inscriptions
c. Bibliometrics (same as network analysis (also called sociometrics), but this time it
doesn’t concern relationships among people)
i. Links among authors, sources, publications, or article contents
ii. Citation analysis – general usefulness of the documents; how many times they
are cited
1. Bibliographic coupling – two different books
2. Cocitation analysis – two works always go together
2nd long exam

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
● Experiment is a test of cause and effect sequences that researchers suspect exist
● Experimental method is used when researchers want to establish causal relationships between
variables
● Causal (experiment) vs Correlational
The nature of causation
● pioneered in the natural sciences
● adapted in the social sciences (for the tentative, "probable" effects)
3 requirements for establishing causal relationships (Lazarsfeld,1959)
1. The independent variable (IV) must precede the dependent variable (DV)
2. the IV and DV must be shown to covary or go together (mustn't be just a coincidence)
3. the changes observed in the DV must be the result of the changes in the IV
IV=cause, DV= effect

Exercising control in experimental research

- ruling out certain variables other than thjose which are hypothesized as causes
- tightly controlled, little control
1. manipulating an IV
○ two experimental groups: 1st group, treatment group; 2nd group, controlled
group/status quo
○ different types or levels - subjected to different levels of IV
○ combination - different treatment groups + control group
2. creating equivalent experimental groups (ruling out initial differences)
○ random assignment(vs random sampling) - need not be randomized; for example, you
want to study DAC, only members of the DAC will be studied *** high internal validity =
random assignment + random sampling
○ pre-test - doing pre-test alone cannot account for the validity of the research; should be
used with random assignment
3. controlling for extraneous variable
Experimental research designs
1. Full Experimental Designs
○ Pretest-Posttest control group
○ Posttest-only control group design - to avoid sensitization (sp?)
○ Solomon Four Group design - combination of A & B
2. Quasi experimental design - moderately controlled
○ Non-equivalent control group design
○ Time series design - intragroup baseline comparison
○ Multiple time series design
3. Pre-experimental designs
○ One-shot case study
○ One-group pretest-posttest design
○ Static Group comparison design
Ethnographic research
● originated from the field of anthropology
● minority or subgroups are the ones usually studied
● refers to a written report about a group of people
Features:
1. involves examining the patterned interactions and significant symbols of specific cultural groups
2. uses direct observation and field research to produce a thick naturalistic description of people
and their culture
3. seeks to uncover the symbols and categories members of the given culture use to interpret their
world
Characteristics:
1. inductive reasoning - presuppositionless research
2. proximity and interaction
3. ordinary behavior
4. multiple and flexible methods
Benefits:
1. for outsiders to learn how to get along with the people of a different culture
2. for new employees to ease the confusion and stress of socialization
3. for people traveling or moving abroad to understand how people in the new culture interpret
communication
Data collection in ethnographic research
1. observation
○ Considerations:
■ Deciding what to observe (it's possible to observe them all because they are
interrelated)
■ people
■ activity
 ■ organization as a whole
■ gaining access to observational settings
■ role of the observer (awareness vs unawareness of the observed that they are
being observed, level of participation, level of objectivity)
■ complete observer - unaware, no participation, objective
■ observer-participant or observer as participant - aware, partial
participation (joining but not being involved, passive), subjective
■ participant-observer or participant - aware, full participation, highly
subjective (going native, thinking that you're already one of them)
■ complete participant - unaware, full participation, highly subjective
■ reactive effects of observation
■ using unobtrusive measures
■ sustained observation
■ recording observations
■ video camera
■ field notes - jotting down details
2. Interview
○ Whom to interview - key informant (a. will lead you to the major informant, or b. the
informant himself or herself
○ the interview locale - where would I conduct the interview?
○ interview format - funnel format is suggested

PLANNING AND DESIGNING THE RESEARCH

● Operationalization - the process of determining observable characteristics of concepts to be
studied by developing strategies for their measurement
● Concepts = variables
● Variable - does not take on a single concept, variants
○ indicators: independent and dependent
○ nominal variable - by name; cannot be quantified
○ ordinal variable - can be quantified
Levels of measurement:
1. nominal - no order, distance, origin
○ classify into categories to be:
■ mutually exclusive - no overlaps
■ equivalent
■ exhaustive
2. ordinal - order but no distance or unique origin
3. interval - both order and distance but no origin; arbitrary zero point
○ Likert scale - level of agreement or disagreement
○ Semantic differential scale: interesting boring
4. ratio - order, distance, and unique origin; absolute zero point
○ positive and negative values are possible
The Development of Measurement Tools
1. Concept Development - ex, comm apprehension
2. Concept Specification - concept-based comm
3. Indicator Selection - scale
4. Formation of Indexes - scoring and computation
ESTABLISHING MEASUREMENT VALIDITY - ABSENT. HIRAM KA NG NOTES NILA HAHA
The nature of validity
1. Internal validity
○ concerns the accuracy of the conclusions drawn from a research study
○ asks whether a research study is conducted so that it leads to accurate findings about
the comm phenomenon being studied
○ threats due to internal validity
■ threats due to researcher
■ researcher personal attribute effect
■ researcher unintentional expectancy effect - respondents are fishing for
cues from the researcher
■ threats due to how research is conducted
■ procedure validity and reliability - how research is administered;
consistency is key
■ history - something happened to the respondents which might affect
the way they answer
■ sensitization
■ data analysis
■ threats to research subjects
■ Hawthorne effect - sustained observations
■ selection - choosing "suitable" respondents
■ statistical regression
■ mortality - "longitudinal studies" when respondents die, migrate, leave
■ maturation - emotional, psychological maturation which could affect
researchers, especially longitudinal research
■ intersubject bias - getting cues from fellow respondents
2. External validity
○ concerns the generalizability of the findings from the research study
○ three factors of external validity
■ sampling - how people were selected
■ increasing sample size
■ randomization
■ ecological validity - whether the procedure used mirrors real
life (laboratory/experimental research)
■ need to replicate the research findings
■ literal replication
■ operational replication - same sampling procedure and data gathering
procedure; using different measurement techniques and data analysis
procedures
■ instrumental replication - measuring the same dependent variable and
using other independent variable
■ constructive replication - the only thing retained is the topic itself
Validity in qualitative research: An alternative perspective
1. Authenticity
○ appropriate - using appropriate techniques/strategies
○ fair - presenting 2 sides of the story
○ understandable
2. Trustworthiness
 ○ credibility - the people who participated in the research recognize the truth of the
findings in their social context; you shouldn't distort the truth
○ transferability (despite the small sample size) - equivalent to external validity (except
sampling); same phenomenon, same personality, same characteristics
○ dependability - consistent and stable; based on the findings itself, not on the
researcher's assumptions
○ confirmability - data are closely linked to the source

Strategies for ensuring the quality of research

1. Longitudinal research design
○ Benefits:
■ Good understanding of the context leading to a convincing account of
participants' perspective
■ participants learn to trust researcher and are more likely to tell the truth
■ over a prolonged period, researcher is more likely to examine and/or reflect his
or her own assumptions
2. Member checking - validating the results of your study with your participants by paraphrasing,
summarizing, repeating, etc; this could be considered as another round of data gathering
○ Purposes
■ To find out whether a researcher is presenting the reality of the participants in a
way that is credible to them
■ To provide opportunities for them to correct errors which they might have
made in their discussions with the researcher
■ To assess the researcher’s understanding and interpretation of the data
■ To challenge the researcher’s idea
■ To gather further data through participants’ responses to researcher’s
interpretations
○ Techniques for carrying out member check, see handout
3. Peer debriefing – When you ask your colleagues to go through the data with you
○ Benefits
■ Peers may detect bias or inappropriate subjectivity
■ Peers might provide alternate explanations to researcher’s own
■ Peers may warn against inappropriate attempts to produce interpretations that
are not substantiated by data
4. Demonstrate of an audit trail – a record of all the decisions made before and during the
research
○ Begins at the proposal stage – highlight any explicit decisions taken about the
theoretical, methodological, and analytical choices
○ While collecting data – make a note of extended transcripts, extensive field notes, notes
of reflexive and analytical thoughts, as well as a research database
5. Thick description (coincides with ethnography) – detailed description of the process, the
context, the people in the research inclusive of the meaning and intentions of the participants
6. Searching for negative cases and alternative explanations – offer an alternative explanation to
the data which are inconsistent with what was already discovered
7. Triangulation – data, investigator, theoretical, methodological

RESEARCH ETHICS
Ethics – moral principles and recognized rules of conduct regarding a particular class of human action
■ “The goal of ethics in research is to ensure that no one is harmed or suffers adverse
consequences from research activities” (Emort & Cooper, 1991).

Ethical decisions involving human participants

■ Benefits of people being studied
○ Ways to avoid/minimize levels of negative states (applicable only if the variables are
manipulated or exposed to certain conditions)
■ Studying people already in that condition
■ Study the minimal levels of the negative states
■ Be attentive to causing discomfort to participants inadvertently
○ Protect the right to privacy (anonymity vs confidentiality; to counter privacy issues,
always present aggregate (group) data)
○ Provide free choice
■ Informed consent
● Approaches to approximate informal consent when foreknowledge
must be limited:
○ Give a complete description of the experiment to a sample of
the population from which the participants in the study will be
chosen; people are then asked whether they would volunteer to
participate in the study (Bersherd, Baron, etc, 1973)
○ Prior general consent plus proxy content (Sable, 1978)
■ Prior general consent – sought from the main
respondent by asking the question “Are you or are you
not willing to participate in our study?” without having
to discuss the details of the study
■ Proxy consent – sought from the main respondent’s
friend by explaining the study and the respondent’s role
in full detail and asking him or her if the main
respondent can handle the involvement in the study
○ Run a pilot study with just a few participants then discuss the
purpose of the study with them (Dervin, 1979)
○ Role playing as an alternative to deception (Kelman, 1967)
○ Provide a debriefing session
○ Treat people with respect
■ Comparable manifestations of bias violate the principle of respecting people
(old people vs young people; female managers vs male managers)
■ Ethical researchers get input from participants on the designs of the studies and
the interpretation of the research

QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

Procedures for analyzing qualitative data:

1. Organizing the data
a. Everything has been recorded properly
b. Prepare copies of the transcript (cut and paste on index cards)
2. Coding and categorizing
a. Commonalities and differences of your material
 b. Putting a label
3. Looking for patterns and working propositions (Are there more items in this category more than
the other?)
4. Interpreting the data
a. Transcending the data
b. Relationship of the data gathered and the literature

QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS (Lee, 1999)

Focus Groups

Data Coding
1. Absolute frequency
2. Frequency by individual persons
3. Frequency by individual focus groups

Data Analysis
1. Coding schemes
2. Solicit participants’ perceptions of what they have learned or what others might learn from the
discussion

Guidelines for analyzing data from Focus Group (Debus, 1988)

1. Develop a plan for analysis consisting of:
a. Background of the research
b. Objectives
c. Methods
d. Discussion details
e. Focus group discussion guide
2. Analyze the content of the group discussion by
a. Reviewing the notes from the focus group
b. Listening again to the tapes/audio files from the session
c. Grouping research findings according to key themes
d. Identifying the different positions that emerged under each key theme
e. Summarizing each of the different positions and assess the extent to which each
position was held by participants
f. Pulling out verbatim phrases that represent each position
3. Synthesize the group discussion by
a. Reviewing the notes of discussion made by the moderator
b. Identifying the recurrent ideas based upon other findings that emerged in the group
(group to group validation; several groups, minimum of 3)
c. Identifying the differences expressed for each topic and summarizing the findings of the
group discussion

Interview: Major Modes of Data Analysis

1. Meaning Condensation (Data reduction)
a. Read the entire transcript of the interview
b. Identify the “natural meaning units” or portions of the text that we judged to relate to
an identifiable theme (or issue)
c. Define clearly the natural meaning unit (bringing out the underlying theme)
 d. Ask how each natural meaning unit fits with or informs the study’s research questions
e. Integrate the concisely worded natural meaning units using a coherent and non-
redundant structure (unifying structure)
2. Meaning categorization
a. Select an organizing conceptual structure that will serve as the basis for subsequent
categorizing judgments (sets of propositions, theories or models, strategies)
b. Define as clearly as possible the focal attitudes, behaviors, organizational characteristics,
and other phenomena of interest identified by the conceptual organizing structure
c. Rate each interview transcription on each defined dimension – one or preferably more
evaluators
d. Analyze these scores qualitatively through the use of various graphic depictions (Raters
should use the tally system to determine if the statement should fall into this or that
category. There should be 80% agreement among raters for a statement to be valid.)
3. Narrative structuring – structuring the data into long narratives
a. Read the transcribed interview as a whole
b. Undertake subsequent readings to identify temporal sequences, recurring social
dimensions, and any overall plot in the text
c. Arrange and rearrange the text physically
4. Hermeneutic interpretation - meaning is imposed based on the perspectives from a pre-existing
paradigm of different fields; Looking beyond the latent traits and looking into underlying themes
5. Ad hoc methods (Miles and Huberman, 1994)
a. Noting patterns and themes
b. Seeing plausibility (gut feeling and instinct)
c. Clustering (into different groups)
d. Applying metaphors
e. Counting (the number of times it occurred) *applying quantitative analysis to qualitative
data
f. Comparing and contrasting

Just an aside:

Developing grounded theory from interview data:

1. All interview responses are recorded and included in the data analysis, often by writing each
response on a card
2. Analysis begins by searching for commonalities in responses
3. Gradually, all data are sorted into categories
a. Open coding – where are the researcher...
i. Creates as many categories as needed
ii. Organizes, explains, and assigns data to these categories
b. Axial coding ((premade) category transcript) *uses the method of elimination –
where the researcher...
i. Proposes several categories
ii. Selects a single category and then judges all the data as to whether or not they
fit the selected category
iii. Selects another category and judges all the remaining data in relation to
the category
iv. Process is repeated until all data have been evaluated against all
categories and classified, each datum in a single category
 c. Selective coding (potential in capturing the essence of the data) – the researcher...
i. Proposes several categories
ii. Orders the categories according to their potential to have data fit within them
iii. Selects the most powerful (or important) category and judges all the
data for their fit within the selected category
iv. Selects the next most important category
v. Process is repeated until all is categorized; each datum falling into one and only
one category

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THESIS WRITING, HAHAHA!

Chapter I
Introduction

Structure and Rationale

Contains:
■ Basic background information and assumptions that share the state of art (what has
been done) of a particular field of endeavour
■ What you intend to do after establishing the need to provide bridges between what may
already be known about the field, and what still needs to be known
○ Filling the gap
○ Bridging the controversy (for inconsistent findings in this field)
■ Reason or justification for the study (why make another one?), as well as the structure
(a sentence or two regarding the design you will adopt; “this will be a descriptive
design...) to be followed in conducting the study

Guidelines:
1. Briefly discuss the historical development of events regarding the specific topic you are
interested to study
2. Describe your basic assumptions that led you to study the topic
a. For 1st direction comm research: things you are assuming or hypothesizing that
needs to be further investigated
b. For 2nd direction comm research: what led you to relate the two variables
3. Justify why you think there is still a need to further study the topic
4. Briefly describe how you intend to go about conducting the study

Statement of the Problem

General research question
Specific research questions

Research Objectives
General research objective
Specific research objectives

Significance of the Study

■ Cite possible contributions of the study
○ To the theory and field of research
○ To the organization
 ○ To the participants
○ You can go beyond this list if you wish to
■ Indicate the generalizability of the research findings (applicability to other settings)
■ Describe the value of specific applications of knowledge to be gained and the importance of
these applications

Limitations of the Study

■ Discusses the weakness of the study in terms of methodology and generalizability of the results
to be obtained from the study
■ Threats to internal validity

Definition of terms
■ Conceptual definitions – relating them to other concepts
■ Operational definition – how they will be measured

Chapter II
Review of Related Literature

Rules of thumb:
1. Cite those references that deal with every key variable.
2. If the literature is thin, say so. Cite references that deal with similar or conceptually related
variables.
3. Your headings should reflect your major variables.
4. The review should also present an appropriate integration or synthesis of the materials.
○ Related literature + related studies *integration must be done after presenting the
related literature and related studies

Chapter III
Framework

Theoretical Framework
■ Presents the theory from which the research problem was derived (in the case of some
experimental studies) or to which it is linked (survey studies)
■ It is a discussion of theory which serves as the basis for the study
■ No input yet

Conceptual Framework
■ Presents the relationship between the specific concepts that may be studied
■ The concepts used at this level should be derived from the concepts used in the theoretical
framework
■ Study-specific

Operational Framework
■ The actual concepts to be measured or observed in the study

Chapter IV
Methods and Procedures
The Research Design
■ Brief description of the research design (e.g. experimental, descriptive, historical)

The variables of the study

■ Definition of the variables is important especially in experimental and descriptive correlational
study

Respondents (or participants) of the study

■ Discuss in detail the characteristics of the respondents of the study

Sampling
■ Specify the sampling procedure:
○ Random/probability
○ Non-random/non-probability

Research Instruments
■ Description of the content/s of the research instrument
○ Scaling technique (e.g., seven-point likert scale; semantic differential scale)
○ Interviews (explain the contents of the interview; describe the types of question and
what you’d derive from them (open-ended or closed)
○ Observation checklist (structured, unstructured)
○ FGDs (contents of the FGD guide)

Data gathering procedure

■ Description of data collection method (steps to be followed)
○ Administering the research instrument
○ Recording observations
○ Use of records and documents

Data analysis
■ Quantitative analysis
○ Descriptive
○ Inferential
■ Qualitative
○ Thematic analysis (patterns)
○ Illustrating the meaning of categories
○ Itemize the steps if you will be using qualitative analysis
■ Integrated approach
○ Data triangulation