Comm. Research Final STUDY SET

Advantages and disadvantages of watching and listening methods (qualitative methods)

ADV: •Insights, language, unique logics •Discover minority and dissident voices •Observational methods have higher validity •Quick relative to experiments DISADV: •Variable human behavior over time •Relationship between researcher and participants

adv and dis of qualitative analysis of content

ADV: •Multiplicity of approaches •Seek to understand, interpret content DIS: •Lack quantitative precision •Possibility of multiple interpretations

Which one of the following is NOT a guide for writing in scholarly style?

APM

Scholarly publications

Format: standardized headings required House styles: variations on APA

The basic characteristic of interval measures is the assumption of______.

equal intervals between points on a scale

correlation coefficient

expression of the strength of the relationship between two variables; it ranges between -1.0 and +1.0 in value

Scholarly reports have a basic structure of introduction-body-conclusion.

false

The exact style and format of your final research report will be determined by your personal preference.

false

discourse analysis

focuses on systems of meaning and how particular labels or concepts are developed and maintained by the use of language

Nominal measurement

in which numbers serve as "tags" or "labels" only, to identify or classify an object

Which of the following is NOT one of the relationships between researcher and informants described by Gold?

incomplete observer

Validity

measure what they are supposed to measure

mode

most often in scores

"Press, radio, television" is an example of what level of measurement?

nominal

The acronym "NOIR" stands for______.

nominal - ordinal - interval - ratio

Which of the following is NOT a basic principle of ethnographic research?

operationalize constructs so they can be measured

"Freshman, sophomore, junior, senior" is an example of what level of measurement?

ordinal

A Likert scale is an example of what kind of measurement?

ordinal

reliability

perform consistently

bivariate analysis

pertaining to two variables, as in bivariate analysis or bivariate stat

Interview

process of asking questions of a respondent, usually face to face or by phone or video, to elicit information the researcher is interested in

interval measurement

quantitative measurement scale where variables have an order, the difference between two variables is equal, and the presence of zero is arbitrary.

Utterances in conversation analysis are units of ______.

speech

Which of the following is NOT an analytic unit of Hymes's ethnography of communication?

speech intention

correlation

statistical procedure for measuring the strength of association between two or more variables. More generally, the degree to which variables are related

univariate analysis

statistics that only describe only one variable

· Inferential statistics

stats that estimate the values for a population from a sample of that population

Critical analysis

studies that explore the way in which communication establishes, reinforces, and maintains power structures in society

narrative analysis

study of the formal properties of stories that people tell. It generally attempts to identify such aspects ad plot, setting, characters, and order of events

nominal distribution

symmetrical distribution of values with the majority of scores "peaking" in the middle

In a(n) ______ focus group, members interact with one another in real time.

synchronous

Three ways of ensuring that published research is credible and professional are ______.

systematic reporting of all aspects of the study, the peer review process, and disclosure of any of the researcher's biases

Ways of ensuring that published scholarly research is credible and professional are ______.

systematic reporting of research questions, background literature, methods, and sampling

Ordinal Measurement

the 2nd level of measurement that reports the ranking and ordering of the data without actually establishing the degree of variation between them.

mean

the average for a set of scores

range

the difference between the max value and the min value in a data set

maximum

the highest value in a data set

In Burke's dramatistic analysis, agent refers to the ______.

the individual(s) taking action

minimum

the lowest value in a data set

median

the midpoint of a set of scores

Narrative and discourse analysts study ______.

the structure and properties of stories

Principles of ethnographic research

•Conduct research primarily in natural settings. •Combine direct observation with interviews. •Focus on local, subjective, knowledge, and categories. •Engage directly with the community's members.

Qualitative and quantitative: similarities and differences

•Not the most important difference Question after researcher basic assumptions Differences: •Quantitative: relationships among phenomena •Qualitative: understand phenomena through participants Interpretive: in search of meaning

Correlation scores range between______.

0 & 1

Which of the following is a disadvantage of the qualitative analyses of content?

They may be less precise.

Which of the following is an advantage of the qualitative analyses of content?

They offer a multiplicity of approaches to understanding text and image.

Which of the following is an advantage of qualitative methods?

They often have higher "real-life" validity.

Platykurtic

a distribution of values that is flat or low relative to the normal curve. Values in such a distribution have a wider range

Standard Deviation

a measure of the extent to which a set of scores vary on either side of their mean value. The square root of variance

variance

a measure of the extent to which a set of sources vary on either side of their mean value. The square root of variance gives the STDV

Likert Scale

a numerical scale used to assess attitudes; includes a set of possible answers with labeled anchors on each extreme

ratio measurement

a quantitative scale where there is a true zero and equal intervals between neighboring points

T test

a stat test for assessing whether the mean scores for two groups are significantly different

Chi Square

a stat test for determining whether two groups differ significantly in their distribution of scores on the same variable

descriptive statistics

consists of two basic categories of measures: measures of central tendency and measures of variability (or spread)

Which of the following is a measure of validity?

content

IQR

difference between smallest value and the largest value of the middle of the data set

Often, focus group members are selected to be ______.

diverse in their opinions

linear regression

A calculation of the value of one variable given the value of another. Assumes that the relationship between variables is linear.

Leptokurtic

A distribution of values that is peaked or high relative to the normal curve. Values in such a distribution have a narrower range.

· Poster sessions

Conference presentations Panel presentations Poster papers

______ analysis is the research approach most likely to take an interest in the stories people tell.

Narrative

Skew (positive and negative)

Negative skew refers to a longer or fatter tail on the left side of the distribution, while positive skew refers to a longer or fatter tail on the right

Research participants

Participants need to be heard APA: capture participants as active Action research aims improving lives Enable participants to be heard

______ analysis is the research approach most likely to take an interest in studying how messages are used in argumentation and persuasion.

Rhetorical

confidence level

The calculated probability of a value being true. Typically, for communication research, a confidence level of 95 is used, meaning that a reported value is estimated to occur 95 times out of 100 if a population is repeatedly sampled.

difference between validity and reliability

Validity: Based on solid facts and findings Reliability: Research must be repeatable

______ allow the publication and archiving of content that cannot be presented via traditional print media.

Websites

Relibility vs validity

are concepts used to evaluate the quality of research. They indicate how well a method, technique or test measures something. Reliability is about the consistency of a measure, and validity is about the accuracy of a measure

In a(n) ______ online focus group, members contribute in their own time.

asynchronous

Ratio scales have values that______.

can be computed and a true zero

Which of the following is NOT a unit of Hymes's SPEAKING model?

intentions

Which of the following is a type of reliability?

inter-item

What do semioticians study?

interpretation and meaning

Which one of the following is essentially a qualitative method?

interview

Valid measures should show everything EXCEPT______.

reflection

Quanitative research methods

relationships among phenomena •Not the most important difference Question after researcher basic assumptions

In Burke's dramatistic analysis, "ratio analysis" means examining the ______.

relative significance of each pentad unit

focus group

small group of people brought together to discuss a topic of interest to the researcher

What do critical analysts study?

the ways in which communication maintains power structures in society

sample size

to the number of participants or observations included in a study.

Disseminating research

to the process of sharing research findings with stakeholders and wider audiences

All research writings involve making decisions on what is reported and how it is reported.

true

Publication is the way scholars engage in formal conversation with one another.

true

Research reports written for interest groups emphasize results, conclusions, and relevance to the reader.

true

semantic differential scale

used for measuring the meaning of things and concepts

By accurately citing all the sources used in your research, you do all EXCEPT ______.

violate ethical choices