COMM 1101 Exam 1: Chapter 6 (Topic Development)

Credentials

Credentials: experience or education that qualifies you to speak with authority on a specific subject

Primary research: Experiments

Designed study to test a hypothesis, must use scientific method Or you can use informal experiments

Conducting the interview: tips

Dress professionally, be on time, be courteous, ask permission to record, listen carefully, keep interview moving, end on time, get permission for quotes, confirm credentials THANK THEM!

Expert opinions and elaborations

Expert opinions: interpretations and judgements made by authorities in a particular subject area Elaborations: factual and expert opinion (anecdotes and narratives, comparisons/contrasts, quotations)

3 types of information sources: Primary research

Primary research: collecting your own data directly from real world Fieldwork Surveys Interviews Experiments

Factual statements: statistics

Statistics: only use reliable statistics, use sparingly, remember that stats are biased

Interviews

Structured conversations where one person asks questions and another answers them Use associated protocol and ethical considerations Select best person

Recording information: annotated bibliography

Complete citations, 2-3 sentence summaries, explaining support, direct quotes

What are the 3 types of information sources?

Evidence Primary research Secondary research

3 types of information sources: Evidence

Evidence: any information that clarifies, explains, or otherwise adds depth to a topic i.e. fieldwork observations, surveys, interviews

Primary research: original artifact or document

Examining original unpublished source like a diary Viewing an object to get info you need such as a building or monument

Factual statements: examples

Examples: specific instances that illustrate or explain a factual statement i.e. hypothetical, generalization, supporting example

What are factual statements? 3 types of factual statements

Factual statements: those that can be verified 1. statistics 2. examples 3. definitions

Ethnography

Fieldwork observations Participant observer: engaging Nonparticipant: non engaging Focus on specific behaviors taking notes on observations

Surveys What are some ways surveys are conducted?

Getting information about peoples ideas and opinions In person, phone, internet, paper pencil

How to process the interview

Make research cards of info you want to use in the speech Transcribe any recordings

Types of interviewing questions: Rapport-building, primary, secondary, open, closed, neutral

Rapport building: nonthreatening questions designed to put interviewee at ease and show your respect for them Primary question: introductory question about each major interview topic Secondary question: probe answers given to primary q's Open: broad based, ask interviewee to provide perspective, evidence, info, opinion Closed: narrowly focused questions, require only brief answer Neutral: questions phrased that do not direct a persons answers

3 types of information sources: Secondary research

Secondary research: locating information discovered by other people Internet sources (search engines, library databases) Encyclopedias, books, articles, news media, gov documents

Secondary research: skimming and abstract

Skimming: a method of rapidly going through work to determine what is covered and how Abstract: short paragraph summarizing research finds in an article

Citing sources What is an oral footnote?

Sources must need to be acknowledged Adds to credibility Oral footnotes: references to an original source Include enough info for listeners to access sources themselves!

Secondary research: evaluating sources

Valid sources: FACTUAL Accurate sources: UNBIASED Reliable sources: HISTORICALLY VALID AND ACCURATE (Authority, objectivity, currency, relevance)

Diverse cultural perspectives

When using factual statements, expert opinions, elaborations, etc its important to have a VARIETY of cultural perspectives

Research cards

one piece of information, key word, bibliographic data