Communication Research Methods

Effective argumentation is at the very heart of communication and a key component to understanding and conducting communication research. Using clear language, concrete examples, and the Toulmin model of claim-data-warrants, Communication Research Methods introduces students to multiple ways of knowing, helps them think critically about communication, and provides them with the tools they need to explore the often murky depths of communication research.

Ideal for research methods courses covering multiple methodologies, this is the only text that uses a research-as-argument approach to help students become not only more effective researchers, but more insightful consumers of research.

Gerianne Merrigan is Professor of Communication Studies at San Francisco State University.

Carole L. Huston is Associate Provost and Professor of Communication Studies at the University of San Diego.

Preface
Foreword

PART ONE: The What and Why of Communication Research

1. Introduction to Communication Research
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
Critical Thinking and Information Literacy
Communication Theories
Theory and Research Methods
» Everyday Ways of Knowing
» Research Methods as Argument
» Making Good Academic and Practical Arguments
Audiences for Communication Research
» Professional Networks and Associations
» Scholarly Journals
» Trade Journals and Popular Press Publications
Two Academic Manuscripts: Research Reports and Critical Essays
» Research Reports
Elements of Research Reports
Characteristics of Research Reports
» Critical Essays
Elements of Critical Essay
Characteristics of Critical Essays
Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

2. Three Paradigms of Knowing
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
Methodological Ways of Knowing
The Dichotomy of Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Three Epistemological Paradigms
» Interpreting Communication
» Critiquing Communication
» Discovering Communication
Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

3. Ethics and Communication Research
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
A Brief History of Communication Ethics
Ethical Choices in Research
» Before Doing Research: Motives for Projects and Topics
» During Research Projects: Protecting the Rights of Research Participants
Right to Freely Choose Research Participation
Right to Privacy
Right to Be Treated With Honesty
» Afterward: Reporting and Evaluating Research Ethically
Summary
Ethical Issues and Choices Summary Table
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

4.Making Claims
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
The Process of Making Claims
Definition of Claim
Types of Claims
» Interpretive Claims
Grounded theory
Hermeneutic circle
» Evaluative and Reformist Claims
» Explanatory and Predictive Claims
Research questions and hypotheses
Causal relationships: Independent and dependent variables
Associative relationships
Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

5. What Counts as Communication Data?
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
Data Collection Sources
» Texts
» Direct Observations of Communicative Behaviors
» Self-Reports of Communicative Behaviors, Beliefs, and Characteristics
» Other-Reports of Communicative Behaviors, Beliefs, and Characteristics
Data Collection Settings
Data Collection Strategies
» Selecting Data Sources
» Random Selection Methods
» Nonrandom Selection Methods
» Selection in Critical Studies
Capturing Observed Behaviors
Capturing Self-Reports and Other-Reports
Research Design
» Design as a Bypassing Term
» Cross-Sectional Research Designs
» Longitudinal Research Designs
Triangulation & Mixed Methods Research
» Multiple Data Sources
» Multiple Data Settings
» Multiple Data Collection Strategies
» Multiple Data Analytic Strategies
» Multiple Investigators' Viewpoints
Summary
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

6. Warrants for Research Arguments
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
Interpretive Paradigm Warrants
» Interpretive Values: Subjectivity and Rich Description
» Form of Argument: Demonstrating Multiple Realities
» Researcher Credibility as a Standard for Evaluating Evidence
Training and Experience
Degree of Membership
Faithfulness
» Plausible Interpretations as a Standard for Evaluating Evidence
Adequacy of Evidence
Coherence
Negative Case Analysis
» Transferable Findings as a Standard for Evaluating Evidence
Confirmability
Relevance
Critical Paradigm Warrants
» Emancipatory Values: Voice and Liberation
» Form of Argument: Demonstrating Ideological Need for Change
» Coherence as a Standard for Evaluating Evidence
» Researcher Positionality as a Standard for Evaluating Evidence
» Change in Awareness & Praxis as a Standard for Evaluating Evidence
Discovery Paradigm Warrants
» Scientific Values: Precision, Power, and Parsimony
» Form of Argument: Demonstrating Causality
» Validity as a Standard for Evaluating Evidence
Bias: A Threat to Accurate Measurement
Types of Measurement Validity
Content validity
Face validity
Criterion-related validity
Construct validity
External validity
» Reliability as a Standard for Evaluating Evidence
Noise: A Threat to Consistent Measurement
Types of Measurement Reliability
Three Views of Truth
» Interpretive Paradigm
» Critical Paradigm
» Discovery Paradigm
Summary
Warrants for Research Arguments Summary Table
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

PART TWO: How to Interpret & Critique Communication

7. Ethnography: How to Interpret Participants' Realities
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
The Roots of Interpretive Field Research in Ethnomethodology
» Paradigm Affiliations
» Levels of Analysis
» Emphasis on Context in Analysis?
Ethnographic Claims
» Interpretive Claims
» Evaluative and Reformist Claims
Ethnographic Data
» Sources for Data Collection
Participant Observation
Interviews with Key Informants
Archival Documents
Artifacts
» Strategies for Data Collection
Gaining Access to the Setting
Selecting Key Informants
Taking Field Notes
Exiting the Field
» Strategies for Data Analysis
Transcribing Interviews
Coding and Reducing Field Notes
Applying Descriptive Frameworks
Writing Case Studies
Ethical Issues for Ethnographers
Ethnographic Warrants
» Valuing Subjectivity and Rich Description
» Researcher Credibility
Degree of Membership
Faithfulness
» Plausible Interpretations
Adequacy and Coherence of Evidence
Negative Case Analysis
» Transferable Findings
» Coherence and Researcher Positionality for Critical Ethnographic Research
Coherence
Researcher Positionality
Ethnographic Research Summary Table
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

8. Conversation and Discourse Analysis: How to Explain and Interpret Talk
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
Conversation Analytic Claims
» Turn Taking
» Adjacency Pairs
» Preference
» Repair
» Action Sequences
Discourse Analytic Claims
» Interpreting Interactional Accomplishments
Facework
Role and Identity Performances
» Interpreting Social Practices and Entities
Conversation and Discourse Analytic Data
» Collecting Interactive Discourse
Recording Techniques
Ethical Issues
» Transcribing Interactive Discourse
Notating Transcripts
Formatting Transcripts
» Transcription Programs
» Collecting Narrative Discourse
» Determining the Unit of Analysis
» Analytic Induction
Conversation Analytic Warrants
» Transcription Veracity
» Detail Level
» Sample Representativeness
Discourse Analytic Warrants
» Researcher Credibility
» Plausible Interpretations
» Transferable Findings
More Ethical Issues in CA/DA Research
Conversation Analysis Summary Table
Discourse Analysis Summary Table
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities for CA
"Try It!" Activity for DA

9. Rhetorical Criticism: How to Interpret Persuasive Texts & Artifacts
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
Rhetorical Theory and Rhetorical Criticism
Neoclassical Analysis and Genre Criticism
» Neoclassical Criticism
Claims and Data
Invention
Organization
Style
Delivery
Memory
» Warrants
Genre Criticism
» Traditional Aristotelian Genre
» Claims and Data
» New Approaches to Genre Studies
» Warrants
Interpretive Rhetorical Criticism
» Metaphoric Criticism
Claims and Data
Warrants
» Dramatism
Claims and Data
Act
Scene
Agent
Agency
Purpose
Warrants
Narrative Analysis
» Claims and Data
» Warrants
New Directions for Rhetorical Criticism
» Recondisering Rhetorical Contexts
» Audiences and the Nature of the Public Sphere
Ethical Concerns in Rhetorical Criticism
Rhetorical Criticism Summary Table
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

10. How to Critique Texts
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
New Directions: Bridges from Interpreting to Critiquing Texts
» Communication as Performative and Ideological
» Communication as Social Change
Claims in Critical and Cultural Studies
» Evaluating and Reforming Social Structures
Marxist Criticism
Gender and Feminist Criticism
» Evaluating and Reinventing Discourse Processes
Postmodern Criticism
Cultural Criticism
Semiotic Criticism
Data/Evidence in Critical Studies
» Actions and Events
» Texts
» Researchers' Experiences and Beliefs
Analytic Moves in Critical Studies
» Deconstruction
» Narrative Analyses
Warrants for Critical Studies
» Establishing Coherence
» Establishing Researcher Positionality
» Establishing Impact: Changes in Awareness and Praxis
Ethical Issues in Critiquing Texts
Critical Studies Summary Table
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

PART THREE: How to Discover Communication

11. How to Design Discovery Research
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
Research Design as the Essential Framework
Measurement
» Conceptual and Operational Definitions
» Levels of Measurement
Nominal Level
Ordinal Level
Interval Level
Ratio Level
Building Arguments Through Research Designs
» Causal and Associative Arguments
» Experimental Research Design
Design Elements
Comparison Groups
Random Selection and Assignment (sampling issues)
Pretesting
Types of Designs
Preexperimental Designs
Quasi-Experimental Designs
True Experimental Designs
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

12. Content Analysis
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
Content Analytic Claims
» Explaining and Predicting Message Content
Data for Content Analysis
» Selecting a Representative Sample of Messages
» Encoding Texts
» Data Treatment for Content Analysis
Unitizing Messages
Categorizing Messages
A Sample Coding Scheme
Content Data Analysis
Warrants for Content Analysis
» Intercoder Reliability
» Validity of the Coding Scheme
» External Validity
Coder Training
Sample Representativeness
Ethical Issues in Content Analytic Research
Content Analysis Summary Table
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

13. Survey Research
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
Survey Research Claims
» Explaining and Predicting Attitudes and Behaviors
Survey Research Data
» Sources for Data Collection
» Settings for Data Collection
Laboratory and Field Settings
Basic and Applied Research
Three Types of Applied Survey Research
» Data Sampling Strategies
Random Selection Methods
Nonrandom or Purposive Selection Methods
» Capturing Self-Reports and Other-Reports
Types of Survey Interviews
Formats for Survey Interviews
Training Survey Interviewers
Questionnaires
General structure of questionnaires
Formats for survey questions
» Instrumentation and the Measurement of Survey Data
Operationalization of Variables
Levels of Measurement
Data Collection and Analysis Online: Qualtrix & Survey Monkey
Data Analysis Software Offline: Free Ware
Survey Research Warrants
» Response Rate as an Essential Contributor to Validity
» Establishing Valid Measurement
» Establishing Reliable Measurement
Ethical Issues in Survey Research
Survey Research Summary Table
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

14. How to Conduct Experimental Research
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
Experimental Research Claims
» Deductive Process
» Explaining and Predicting Cause and Effect Sequences
Experimental Research Data
» Data Sources
» Data Settings
» Research Designs for Causal Arguments
» Data Collection and Analysis
Data Collection Strategies
Analysis of Variable Effects
Experimental Research Warrants
» Controlling Rival Hypotheses
» Internal Validity Threats
Time Progression Effects
History
Maturation
Mortality
Statistical regression
Testing
Instrumentation
Reactivity Effects
Selection
Treatment diffusion
Compensatory behavior
Researcher attributes
Demand characteristics
Evaluation apprehension
» External Validity Threats
Sample Representativeness
Setting Appropriateness
Ethics in Experimental Research
Experimental Research Summary Table
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

15. Descriptive Statistics and Hypothesis Testing
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
How to Describe Sample Data
» Visual Representations of Variables
Nominal and Ordinal Data
Pie charts
Bar charts
Interval and Ratio Data
Histograms
Frequency Polygons
Some Ethical Issues
» Numerical Representations of Variables
Measures of Central Tendency
Mean
Median
Mode
Measures of Shape
Skew
Kurtosis
Measures of Dispersion
Range
Variance
Standard deviation
» Using Excel and SPSS
Excel
SPSS
» Some Ethical Issues?
How to Estimate Population Differences and Relationships Using Sample Data: The Logic of Hypothesis Testing
» Three Types of Distributions
Sample Distributions
Population Distributions
Sampling Distributions
» Estimation and Inference
» The Logic of Hypothesis Testing
Central Limits Theorem
The Normal Curve
Areas under the Normal Curve
Standard Error
Confidence interval and level
» Steps to Testing Hypotheses
Formulating Hypotheses
The research hypothesis
The null hypothesis
Framing Decisions Based on Likelihood of Error
Calculating the Test Statistic
Deciding to Accept or Reject the Null Hypothesis
Descriptive Statistics Summary Table
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

16. Inferential Statistics: Differences and Relationships
Introduction
Learning Outcomes
Outline
Tests of Differences
» Nonparametric Tests
Nature of Data and Assumptions
Chi-Square
Single-sample chi-square
Multiple-sample chi-square
SPSS and Excel chi-square steps
Interpreting the results and APA formatting
» Parametric Tests
Nature of Data and Assumptions
t-Test
Independent and paired samples
SPSS t-test
Excel t-test
Interpreting the results and APA formatting
Analysis of Variance
One-way ANOVA
SPSS Oneway ANOVA steps
Multiple Comparisons
Excel Oneway ANOVA steps
Interpreting results and APA formatting
Two-way (and greater) ANOVAs
Tests of Relationships
» Correlation
Nature of Data and Assumptions
Point-Biserial Correlation
SPSS and Excel Pearson Correlation
Interpreting results and APA formatting
Causal Associations: Regression Analysis
Nature of data and assumptions
SPSS and Excel Simple Regression
Interpreting the results and APA formatting
Types of regression analysis
Two Ethical Issues
Inferential Statistics Summary Table
Key Terms
Discussion Questions
"Try It!" Activities

Glossary
References
Index