2. What is a research
Is the process of asking questions and finding
answers (ex: Apply for university)
Is the discovery of answers to questions through
the application of scientific and systematic
procedures
Communication research: Qualitative (more
subjective) or quantitative research (more
objective) conducted by communication scholars
about communication phenomena
3. What is a research
Research conducted from a:
Social science research
Rhetorical research
Critical research
Social science research:
is conducted through the use of scientific and systematic
methods.
It is based on the assumption that research can uncover
patterns in the lives of people.
Empirical (observed): methods are based on
observations or experiences of communication.
4. Purpose of a research
Is not to
Impress the audience
Tell them all you
know about a subject
Present every little
detail of your work
Is to
Give the audience a
sense of what your
idea/work is
Make them want to
read your paper
Get feedback on your
work
5. Scholarly research
Scholars formalize questions into research
questions or Hypotheses, which provide the
scope and direction of the research project as
well as guide the researcher in selecting
quantitative or qualitative methods to answer
the questions.
These questions or hypothesis direct what data
the researcher collects.
Once the data are collected, the researcher
analyses the data to draw conclusions about the
hypotheses or answer the research questions.
6. Goal of research
The primary goal of research is to describe
communication phenomena as well as discover
and explain the relationships among them
The research process can have one of four
results:
It allows the researcher to describe behavior
Determine causes of behavior
Predict behavior
Explain behavior
7. Goal of research
Describe behavior: variables are related to one
another
Determine the cause of behavior: is of interest
to communication scholars because knowing the
cause of something allows scholars to later plan
interventions or develop training to increase the
effectiveness of communication.
Predicting behavior: if researchers can
describe communication events and identify
their causes, then they can turn to predicting
behavior
8. Goal of research
Explaining behavior means understanding why
a behavior occurs
An explanation is difficult and often requires a
series of sophisticated research projects.
All four outcomes are related
9. Research and theory
A theory is a related set of ideas that explains
how or why something happens.
A theory provides a way for thinking about and
seeing the world
A theory is a set of interrelated concepts,
definitions, and propositions that presents a
systematic view of phenomena.
A theory specifies the relationships among the
concepts with the objective of explaining and
predicting the phenomena being studied.
10. Research and theory
The term theory does not have one precise
meaning.
Theoretically driven research is built on the results
of previous researchers and it provides a
foundation for subsequent researchers.
Theory CAN NOT be formulated, tested and
verified in one research study.
Rather, theory is developed and tested over
time.
What we have to know is the result of many
research studies and the efforts of many
researchers.
11. Communication as a social science
There are many methods of discovery and explanation, or
many ways to solve problems:
Quantitative methods: numeral measurement
Qualitative methods: researcher is the primary observer
or data collector (observation and interview as data)
Both methods are:
part of the social science research tradition as practice in
the communication discipline and reported in communication.
are empirical means the data must be able to be verified
through observations or experiences
Methodology can observe and describe human
communication
Can help researchers in explaining or interpreting what was
observed.
12. Communication as a social science
Research is contextual (related)
1. by the number and type of people participating, By
the type of communication being investigated
2. by where the investigation occurs
3. By the culture in which it occurs
13. The scientific approach
The research process has five general steps:
The first step:
1. research start with a question that interest them. A
question that arise from their personal experience or
from experiences that has been reported to them by
others. Or a question may arise from reading the
scholarly or consumer literature
A question may be stated as a problem
The researcher can not continue the research
process without identifying and specifying the
question or problem
14. The scientific approach
The second step:
1. the research uses the question or problem to
formulate a HYPOTHESIS or a tentative educated
guess or proposition about the relationship
between two or more variable
2. A research question asks what the tentative
relationship among variable might be or asks about
the state or nature of some communication
phenomenon.
15. The scientific approach
The third step:
1. The researcher uses reason and experience to
think through the hypotheses or research questions
that are developed.
The fourth step:
1. The researcher designs and conducts the
observation, measurement or experiment.
The fifth step:
1. The data are analyzed and interpreted in reference
to the question or hypothesis posed
16. The social scientific approach
Starts with:
a problem
A question
An idea
A gap in knowledge
Then the RQ is formulated
Once developed, the RQ is revised and refined
Then the methodology be designed and carried out
As a result, the problem is resolved, completely or
partially, or new questions arise.
17. Characteristic of science
1. Scientific research must be based on evidence
2. Scientific research is testable
3. Researchers must explore all possible explanations in an effort to
demonstrate that their proposition cannot be disproved.
4. The results of a research study are replicable, or repeatable.
5. In order for replication to occur, research must be part of the public
record.
6. Scientific research relies on measurement and observation
7. Scientific research recognizes the possibility of error and attempts
to control it.
8. Scientific objectivity requires the research to minimize personal
bias and distortion
9. Science by its nature rests on an attitude of skepticism
(suspicious)
10. Scientific research has an interest in the generalizability of findings
18. Methodological extremes
1. Methods are useful or effective only to the degree
that they help the researcher answer a specific
question or explore specific hypothesis
2. Kinds of questions should be:
1. Personal interest
2. Social importance
3. Theoretical significance
The nature of question:
1. Questions of fact
2. Questions of policy
3. Questions of value
4. Questions of variable relations (age, education, sex…)
20. Preparing the presentation
Less is more. Fill in with narration not words
Use color to emphasize some points but
limit to 2 or 3
Be consistent! In the choice and use of
color font size/type etc
Use slide real estate appropriately
21. Fonts - Good
Use a decent font size
Use different size fonts for main points
and secondary points
this font is 24-point, the main point font is 32-
point, and the title font is 44-point
Use a standard font like Times New
Roman or Arial
22. Fonts - Bad
If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written
CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY.
IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ
Don’t use a complicated font
23. Color - Good
Use font color that contrasts sharply with
the background
Blue font on white background
Use color to reinforce the logic of your
structure
Ex: light blue title and dark blue text
Use color to emphasize a point
But only use this occasionally
24. Color - Bad
Using a font color that does not contrast
with the background color is hard to read
Using color for decoration is distracting
and annoying.
Using a different color for each point is
unnecessary
Same for secondary points
Trying to be creative can also be bad
25. Background - Good
Use backgrounds such as this one that
are attractive but simple
Use backgrounds which are light
Use the same background consistently
throughout your presentation
26. Background – Bad
Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or
difficult to read from
Always be consistent with the background
that you use
27. Graphs - Good
Use graphs rather than just charts and
words
Data in graphs is easier to comprehend &
retain than is raw data
Trends are easier to visualize in graph form
Always title your graphs
28. Graphs - Bad
January February March April
Blue Balls 20.4 27.4 90 20.4
Red Balls 30.6 38.6 34.6 31.6
29. Graphs - Good
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
January February March April
Blue Balls
Red Balls
31. Graphs - Bad
Minor gridlines are unnecessary
Font is too small
Colors are illogical
Title is missing
Shading is distracting
32. Preparing the presentation
Prepare the slides in advance
Show them to friends
When you think you are done read them
again
Check all animations with the sound on
33. Preparing the presentation
Practice, practice, practice
Give a practice talk to a general audience
Give a practice talk to an audience of expert
Time your presentation (allow for speed up
effect caused by nervousness)
Always assume technology will fail you.
Have backups.
34. Delivering the talk
Be enthusiastic! If you aren’t why should
the audience be?
Make eye contact with the audience
Watch for questions.
Be prepare to digress or brush off when
irrelevant
35. Delivering the talk
Point at the screen not the computer
Do not read directly from the PPT or your
notes
Have the “spill” for the first couple of slides
memorized in case you go blank
Finish in time
