COMS 2330: Introduction to Communication Research

What is Communication Research?

What is Research?
● “The discovery of answers to questions through the application of scientific and
systematic procedures” (Keyton, 2006).
● “A systematic process to seek answers to questions and understanding of phenomena”
(Zhou, 2007).
○ Research is an argument.
○ Research defines a field.
○ Research determines what content is taught in classes.
○ Research determines the social contribution of a field.
Communication Research VS. Others
● Other fields study communication as a means toward understanding other phenomena.
● Communications field positions communication as the primary phenomena we seek to
understand.
● A psychologist studies messages to understand how personality characteristics affect
behavior.
● We study messages to understand the message production process.
○ Physics can study how electronic signals travel through the N cable.
○ Accounting wants to know how much businesses spend on computers.
○ We want to know how new tech affects the flow of information within business
organizations.
Communication Research
● “A process by which we answer questions and try to draw conclusions from information
gathered about message-related behavior” (Reinard, 2008).
● “A field of research on the production and uses of symbols in concrete social and cultural
contexts” (Baxter & Babbie, 2004).
● 1995 summer conference on Defining the Field of Communication.
○ The field of communication focuses on how people use messages to generate
meanings within and across various contexts, cultures, channels, and media.
● Communication research spans a vast range of contexts and issues.
○ Communication Policy and Law
○ Communication and Technology
○ Family Communication
○ Group Communication
○ Health Communication
○ Interpersonal Communication
○ Language and Social Interaction
○ Mass Communication
○ Organizational Communication
○ Political Communication
 COMS 2330: Introduction to Communication Research

○ Public and Rhetorical Communication

○ Public Relations
Topics of Communication Research
● Divisions of communication associations reflect broad range of research foci and
interests.
● NCES categories reflect focus of communication research.
○ Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
○ Mass Communication/Media Studies
○ Journalism
○ Broadcast Journalism
○ Radio and Television
○ Film/Video and Photographic Arts
○ Radio and Television Broadcast Technology
○ Digital Communication
○ Etc.
Communication Research Goals
● To describe communication phenomena.
● To explain the relationship between communication phenomena.
● To predict and control communication behavior via theory.
Communication Research Interests
● The Process of communication
○ Message production, transmission, and meaning-making
● The content or form of communication messages
● The functions and effects of messages
Qualitative Communication Research
● Historical-Critical Methods
○ Describe a period, person, or phenomenon for the purpose of interpreting or
evaluating communication and its effects.
○ Examples:
■ How Gettysburg address was received at its time
■ Use of argument by McCain in presidential debates
■ Possible bias/lack of balance in media coverage of Iraq War
● Ethnography/Participant Observation
○ Researcher takes an active role in situation under study.
○ Examples:
■ Study process of news writing for a TV station by joining the writing staff
■ Investigate the development of public strategy for a political campaign by
joining the campaign
■ How does a literary debate society construct its identity as different from a
competitive debate team?
● Ethnomethodology
 COMS 2330: Introduction to Communication Research

○ Live within a group and attempt to gain insight into the culture; focus on ordinary
behavior that group members take for granted and find hidden meanings and
unwritten rules.
● Discourse/Conversational Analysis
○ Examine what people “say” to discover rules, strategies for interacting.
○ Examples:
■ Study the structure of interpersonal arguments among relational partners
■ How do speakers negotiate power relations using interruptions, leading
questions, and challenges?
■ How do speakers display their social identities and membership in a
speech community?
Quantitative Communication Research
● Surveys
○ Assessment of self-reported data
○ Examples:
■ Analyze surveys regarding which candidate people think won a political
debate.
■ Assess surveys of how relational partners handle conflict.
■ Assess the relationship between communication apprehension and
procrastination.
● Observation
○ Direct observation of behavior
○ Examples:
■ Observe small groups to discover what things they say may predict who
becomes a group leader
● Content and Interaction Analysis
○ A systematic quantitative examination of messages (films, speeches, etc.) by
determining the frequency of specific ideas, concepts, or terms.
○ Examples:
■ Study the amount of violence on children’s TV programs
■ Amount of newspaper space dedicated to stories about a particular issue or
movement
■ Frequency of “attacks” in political advertising
● Experimental Methods
○ Study the relationship between variables by manipulating the independent
variable
○ Examples:
■ Study the impact of evidence by exposing one group to a speech with
evidence and another group to one without
■ Study the effect of color in advertising by exposing one group to an ad
printed in color and another group to an ad without color