Research METHODS

There are several ways of knowing: It is not just the movement between the concepts or theories that make generalizations and specific real-world observations that test characterize science. It is the manner of testing theories in a way that allows them to be falsified if they are wrong. It is the testing of theories that is the hallmark of science. To try to develop objectivity, it is preferred that these tests rely on measurement.

Communication is a field that relies on a variety of research methods. These include:

  1. CONTENT ANALYSIS of existing messages
  2. INTERVIEWS including focus groups, and other in depth techniques
  3. SURVEYS of existing behaviors
  4. EXPERIMENTS that manipulate what people see or hear.
Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses. Where practical, it is often advisable to use a variety of research methods to compare results. Even conflicting results can provide useful information.

When measurements and other numerical data are used, statistical techniques are used to examine the size of observed differences. Because there is usually variability in the underlying phenomenon as well as error in measurement, statistics allow scientists to calculate how large the observed difference in the sample is. This is usually examined in terms of how sure we can be that the difference is not due to chance. A common standard is that observed differences should be likely to occur by chance fewer than one time in 20. This is usually abbreviated as "p < .05"

I cover much more on research methods in my research methods class.