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Communication Research Methods Gerianne Merrigan

Communication Research Methods By Gerianne Merrigan

Communication Research Methods by Gerianne Merrigan

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Communication Research Methods Summary

Communication Research Methods by Gerianne Merrigan

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.

Communication Research Methods Reviews

This is a very insightful text with a compelling 'research as argument' frame and unique but helpful approach to the paradigms of research. --Rick Olsen, University of North Carolina Wilmington Communication Research Methods is the most balanced methods textbook I have ever used in class. It is well organized and very thorough. It does an excellent job outlining the foundational concepts we teach in research methods. It also includes complete theoretical rationales for students to consider. --Mary LeAnne Lagasse, Texas Tech University Communication Research Methods is a choice textbook for anyone wanting to introduce students to the fundamentals of research. Merrigan and Huston put the reader at ease by making difficult concepts fun and easy to learn. They engage the reader in a dialogue about research, making the transition from reading about to conducting research an easy one. Each chapter provides an assortment of facts and figures, all of which help to make students more ethical, effective, and reflective scholars. --Angela S. Jacobs, Eastern Illinois University This book's single strength is its integration of rhetorical concepts....I believe that this strength is significant enough to distinguish the book from others in the field. --David Park, Lake Forest College I like that this book is fair in its coverage of qualitative, quantitative, and critical/cultural methods. There are few books on the market that do this. --Stephen Croucher, University of Jyvaskyla I was attracted to [this] text because of its general approach to the topic of communication research. In contrast to the social science emphasis of the Reinard text, [this] book provides a broader foundation from which to understand and critique communication research methods. --John Coward, University of Tulsa (5) I would say that the greatest strength [of this book] is the simplified and relevant presentation of complex concepts in communication research....The language is clear, very suitable for an undergraduate methods course. --Kerk Kee, Chapman University This is a very strong introductory book that adquately covers the breadth of the communication discipline....Further, it is the best book I have seen that explains the thought behind creating an effective warrant/argument for various types of research projects....[I]ts greatest strength is providing a strong introduction to communication research in all of its variations....This book excels in writing in a way that I think is more accessible to undergraduate students. --Chad McBride, Creighton University (8) The greatest strength [of this book] is that [it] is comprehensive and in that way becomes a useful guidebook for the student's entire career in undergraduate and graduate programs. --Kendall Phillips, Syracuse University (9) The presentation [of the material] is strong[,] and the supporting materials...truly enhance the content. This book offers a strong approach to all methods and does not limit or gloss over certain approaches that are not necessarily the dominant ones in the field of communication. --Jennifer Marmo, Arizona State University As a former debater and coach, I have always thought of academic research as argument, so Iove that approach....[T]his [text] provided the best backbone of essential information....I like the inclusion of qualitative and rhetorical methods in this text. It does a nice job of introducing undergraduate students to the range of communication research methods. --Kevin Meyer, Illinois State University (9) [This book] is written at a level that is quite accessible to beginner researchers....[I]t is unique...in that it emphasizes that reserach crafts a rhetorical argument....I also like that it separates critical research from interprative (qualitative), and [it] examines both rhetoric and critical cultural studies research.: --Barbara L. Baker, University of Central Missouri (8) Two things make this book stand out: the research-as-argument metaphor and the breadth of coverage across the full range of our discipline. In particular[,] this is the only undergrad methods book I'm aware of that has a conversation analysis/discourse chapter. Students find discourse analysis particularly engaging. --Irwin Mallin, Indiana University (10) [This] textbook is user[-]friendly for students and provides a comprehensive look at communication research processes that anyone new to research can understoond. From beginning to end, each chapter is easy to navigate. --Angela S. Jacobs, Eastern Illinois University (10)

About Gerianne Merrigan

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.

Table of Contents

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

Additional information

CIN0199338353G
9780199338351
0199338353
Communication Research Methods by Gerianne Merrigan
Gerianne Merrigan
Used - Good
Paperback
Oxford University Press Inc
20141014
480
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Communication Research Methods