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138 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Research (Broom & Dozier definition)
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controlled, objective, and systematic gathering of info for the purposes of describing and understanding
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Research (Seitel definition)
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another name for listening in public relations work
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Research (Keyton definition)
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process of asking questions and finding answers
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3 Purposes of Research
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- describe a process
- explain cause and effect - predict what will happen if action is or isn't taken |
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3 Stages of Research in PR
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pre-program (planning)
during program (monitoring) post-program (evaluation) |
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Benefits of Research for the Researcher
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- helps you evaluate what publics want by measuring attitudes
- identify opinion leaders - makes you efficient - achieves credibility - achieves 2 way communication (feedback) - expose potential trouble spots - gives you a new angle |
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What are the 2 kinds of research?
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qualitative & quantitative
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Characteristics of Qualitative research
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qualitative research features no numbers.
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Examples of Qualitative research
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in-depth interview, focus group
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advantages of qualitative
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more detailed info
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disadvantages of qualitative
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local, individual answers do not represent large groups accurately
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What must communication have in order to fit the modern definition?
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shared meaning
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dyadic communication
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interpersonal communication
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intrapersonal communication
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person's internal thoughts and decisions
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group communication
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communication between group members
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organizational communication
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communication between and within organizations
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mass communication
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communication through a medium such as internet, radio, or newspaper.
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What is primary research good for?
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unique questions that have not been previously answered
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direct communication
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also called hypodermic needle or magic bullet theory.
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indirect communication
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mass comm message communicated between audiences
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opinion leader
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has direct influence over an audience
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4 types of research questions
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definition, fact, value, policy
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Questions of definition
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define a subject before you can understand or apply it. Both qualitative and quantitative research can be used.
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Questions of fact
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how much, how many. counting/measuring. quantitative
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Question of value
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how well? Evaluation. Qualitative
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questions of policy
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"what should we do with what we know?"
-application |
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qualitative vs. quantitative
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- one is no inherently better
- method which best helps answer the research question should be used |
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qualitative and quantitative similarities
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- rely on empirical evidence
- provide useful info for describing, understanding, and explaining - needed to develop complete picture of communication |
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quantitative
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uses numbers, participants randomly selected, removes some context, relies on formal logic.
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qualitative
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uses descriptions, participants carefully selected, deep context, interpretive frame
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Types of qualitative sampling
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snowball sampling, network sampling, purposive sampling
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snowball sampling
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asking participants for referrals
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network sampling
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seek individuals who fit profile
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purposive sampling
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Seek individuals who meet criteria
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Developing Research Purpose Statements and Research Questions
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- create thesis (the purpose is to..)
- write as many relevant research questions as possible - rank research questions by importance - underline variables in each question - does purpose statement reflect all underlined variables? - rewrite purpose statement to concisely reflect all values |
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ways of observing people
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in-depth interview, focus groups, participant observation
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In-Depth Interviews
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Fewest participants (one-on-one)
Most control Most expensive of all informal research methods |
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In-Depth Interviews: Advantages
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- Rich depth of understanding of interviewee and situation
- Allows for thoughtful introspection - May yield surprises, serendipitous insights |
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In-Depth Interviews: Disadvantages
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- Money and time: Travel, paying interviewee for time, transcription
- Time costs - Heavy prior research: Prepare best possible questions - Key players: Access, candor |
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3 stages to conduct an in-depth interview
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setting up, writing a schedule & conducting interview, transcribe and analyze
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Interview question types & order
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topical questions, funnel questions, probe questions, transitional questions
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How to conduct in-depth interview
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Record entire interview (and tell interviewee)
Transcribe notes asap Qualitative analysis Quantitative analysis |
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Focus Group
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interview with more participants at once
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Characteristics of Focus Group
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many participants
some control less expensive |
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Focus group advantages
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- Get ‘lay of the land’ before designing more expensive, qualitative methods (e.g., surveys)
- Get rich understanding of group’s thinking, including body language |
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Focus Group disadvantages
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- time and money
- hard to control group - word questions so as not to influence the group |
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7 steps of conducting a focus group
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- choose type of focus group (traditional, known)
- select/train staff - write discussion guide - select participants - prepare room - conduct & record session - describe/analyze data |
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Focus group step: focus group types
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traditional and known
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Focus group step: select & train staff
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- moderator/assistant
- recorder/transcriber - location/equipment costs - participants |
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Focus group step: write discussion guide
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introductory statement
10 types of questions 5-7 questions per 2 hour focus group |
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Focus group step: select participants
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randomly chosen vs. known
5-12 participants Rule of 10 |
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Focus group step: prepare the room
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neutral space
table recording equipment nametags writing materials/ poster easels |
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Focus group step: conduct/record session
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stay in control
stay on track bring out non-participants |
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Focus group step: 3 phases of transcribing data
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Discuss informally
Listen to and transcribe tapes Systematically analyze discussion Share findings with participants Assure confidentiality |
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Field observation
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many participants
little control very expensive |
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Functions of Participant Observation
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Provides entry to a culture
Provides understanding of a culture--what does it mean? Why do they do it? Empowers and/or solve problems via comparison/contrast of alternatives Produce theories |
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Forms of Participant Observation
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complete participant
participant as observer observer as participant complete observer |
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Advantages of Participant Observation
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everyday setting
rich detail |
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Disadvantages of Participant Observation
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cost of time
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3 stages of conducting participant observation
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- understand participant norms/expectations
- participate in daily activities - compare what you found to what you expected |
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Participant Observation: Understand participants
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rules, roles, routines
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Participant Observation: Participate in daily activities
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interact with population, don't take notes until afterwards, take notes immediately afterwards
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Participant Observation: Analyze the data
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compare observed and expected interactions
use to identify unforeseen problems, novel solutions, and new approaches |
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Field Notes
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- created on the spot; a sequential record of what was observed
- Read through and reflect immediately after leaving the scene (Jot down additional detail or questions, Number and date each page) - Take lots of notes – more than you believe are necessary |
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Audio or Videotaping
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- Depends on the situation and researcher role
- Some people are uncomfortable with recording devices - Even the best recordings cannot capture the full spectrum of nonverbal behavior - Recording devices can fail - Ethically maintain the recordings – they cannot be played for others or circulated |
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Common problems with observation
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- Naivete - excessive distance and loss of validity
- “going native” - excessive subjectivity and loss of reliability - Reactivity - Hawthorne Effect |
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Researcher Impact on Observation
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- Your sex, age, and ethnicity affect what you observe and how you observe it
- Report similarities and differences that you believe affected data collection or interpretation - Research teams should be diverse ---Males and females ---Age ---Ethnic, racial, or cultural groups |
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Organizational Schemes for Paper
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topical, chronological, problem-cause-solution, general-to-specific, known-to-unknown, comparison/contrast, specific to general
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Topical order
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Organize by main topics and emphasizes the relationship of the issues to the main problem
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Chronological order
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Organizes by historical progression in terms of time
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problem-cause-solution order
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organizes so that the review moves from a problem to a cause to a solution
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general to specific
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examines broad-based research first and then focuses on specific studies
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known to unknown
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Examines current literature about the problem and then identifies at the end what still is not known
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comparison/contrast
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shows how research studies are similar to and different from each other
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specific to general
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tries to make sense out of specific studies so that general conclusion can be drawn
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Content analysis
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- systematic, objective, and quantitative method for researching messages
- Use coding system to count the number of times that specific words or themes appear in a document |
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Quantitative content analysis
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denotative
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Qualitative content analysis
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connotative, themes and implications
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Steps to conduct analysis
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- lit review
- decide what kind of content to analyze - decide what categories to count (units of analysis=things that are counted) - write up categories (how to define categories? What kind of scale?) - Select the documents (wich ones and what kind) - coding into categories (validity (is the measurement acurate), reliability (same results every time)) |
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Quantitative content categories
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- word or symbol
- character - stated themes/topics - time/space - values - implications |
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Rules for Quantitative content categories
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- reflect purpose of research
- be exhaustive - be mutually exclusive - be truly independent and different from one another |
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4 types of measurement
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nominal, ordinal,
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nominal
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labeling
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ordinal
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arranging objects in order (ranking)
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interval
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measuring at even intervals
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ratio
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interval with an absolute zero (weight, income, etc.)
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2 classes of measurement type
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continuous, categorical
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Categorical
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Nominal, Ordinal
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Continuous
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Ratio, Interval
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Likert Scale
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A series of item statements that are reacted to on a continuum of predesignated responses
(example: "I like cheese - strongly agree/neutral/strongly disagree"). Equal interval property is not guaranteed |
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Advantages/Disadvantages of Likert Scale
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adv: Can be constructed quickly
Easy to follow dis: May not really be interval People may not respond well to preset categories |
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Semantic Differential numbers
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Numerical rating. On a set scale.
Bipolar continnuum (two extremes. ex: rate 1-10. 10 being attractive and 1 being ugly) |
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Adv/Dis of Semantic Differential
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Advantages:
Respondents won’t be stumped by pre-written categories Disadvantages: Harder to fill out = more errors Have to complete in person (no phone surveys, only mail or f-2-f) |
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How to measure test validity
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Face validity
Content validity Criterion-related validity Construct validity |
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Measures of Central Tendency
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Mean, Median, Mode
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Measures of Dispersion
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Range (dis: overly sensitive to maximums and minimums), deviation, variation, standard variation
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deviation
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raw score - mean
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variation
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find deviation, square it, add them.
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standard variation
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average deviation from the mean
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Population and Sample: Population
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(Universe):
All the people who possess a particular characteristics of interest |
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Population and Sample: Element
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one unit from population
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Population and Sample: Sample
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A subgroup selected from a population or universe.
A set of elements that form a subset of population |
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Simple random sampling
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Requirement: A complete list of the population
Steps 1. Assign numbers to each population member 2. Randomly select numbers (using random number table or computer programs) |
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Systematic random sampling
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every nth number of the population
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Stratified sampling
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population divided into groups, then sampled from each group representative of their population percentage.
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non-probability sampling
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Convenience
Volunteer Purposive Quota Network |
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convenience sampling
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people selected by availability
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volunteer sampling
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people volunteer for the study
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Main advantage of surveys
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generalizable
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Five questions to start survey process
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what you're studying. target audience, method of selection, measure of accuracy, type of survey
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longitudinal
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Trend (Diff. people over time)
Panel design (Same people over time) Cohort trend design (Diff. people over time, but they have to meet certain characteristics) |
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telephone surveys
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better response rate than mail. Problems: call screening, equipment, trained interviewers
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mail surveys
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cheapest, lowest response rate, anonymity issues
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Dillman’s 5-stage method of conducting mail surveys
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One week in advance: Pre-notice letter
Mail survey packet with cover letter One week later: Thank-you letter/reminder to respond Two-to-four weeks later: Replacement survey packet with cover letter One week later: Contact respondent for final plea |
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person to person
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detailed questions, better response rate, richness of data, most expensive, little anonymity,
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questionairre construction parts of a questionairre
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Introduction
Body of questions Demographic information Concluding statement |
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questionairre introduction
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introduces questionairre, emphasizes at-will participation and confidentiality.
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questionairre body
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instructions, transitions
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questionairre conclusion
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thanks, repeat reward offer
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information to include in survey report
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Type of survey
Dates of survey Who conducted survey Number of attempted contacts Number of completed surveys Response rate Error rates (sampling error and measurement error) Actual questions used (appendix) Descriptive statistics for each question |
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survey problems
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bias
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Questionnaire writing tips
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closed ended questions, but not yes or no. pretest. no jargon. reward.
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presentation
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outline procedures, strengths/weaknesses, suggestions, conclusion
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factors influencing search engine results
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Factors influencing results: size of database, how often updated, its search capabilities
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search engine differences
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Search speed
Search interface design Ways they display results Amount of help you get |
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subject-specific search engines
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examples: WebMD, Wall Street Journal
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Portal Sites
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Indexes of subject categories
Maintained by humans (browsing?) Less results, but more relevant results (ex: yahoo, msn) |
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Validity of info
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Date
Author or sponsor |
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Meaningful Inquiry
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Theory-driven
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Deductive Research Model
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Theory drives research
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The Inductive Research Model
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Theory is derived from research
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Presentation - Intro
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purpose of study/rq
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Presentation - Lit Review
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summarize/organize findings most relevant to topic and variables. identify patterns. RQ from focus group.
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Presentation - Focus Group
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how are your rq's more appropriately analyzed?
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Presentation - Research methods
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describe participants, procedures, and how you assured anonymity
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Presentation - Data Analysis
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explain how data was analyzed
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Presentation - Strengths and Weakness
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limitations and recommendations
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Presentation - Survey
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rationale, participants, sampling, procedure, variables, data analysis
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