Lynnia Chari @ Chali (BA18110387)

Experiments method in communication is not necessary to use equipments such as Bunsen burner or beaker inside as long as there are ultimately concerned with causation and control. Experiment is the only research method that allow researchers to conclude that one thing causes another. 

In experiment research, the researcher is concerned with two variables. One of the variables is the presumed cause. This is known as the independent variable. The other is the presumed effect that also known as dependent variable. For example, if you want to determine whether friendly customer service causes greater customer sastifaction, whether advertisers’ use of bright colors produce higher sales or whether sexuality in film leads to more promiscuous society, the only way to determine these things is through experimental research. Therefore, if you are interested in knowing whether bright colors in advertisements cause increased sales, your independent variable is the color and the dependent variable is the amount of sales dollars. 

Experiments research take two settings. Laboratory experiments take place in a controlled setting. In communication field, laboratories are often rooms that simulate living rooms or conference room. Some experiments don’t take place in the laboratory and these are called field experiments because they take place in participant’s natural surroundings. These sort of experiments always take place in public places, such as shopping malls, libraries, or schools, but they might take place in private areas as well. 

Nurkhalisa Farhain Binti Dulmaid (BA18161013)

Survey Research is one of the methods communication. The most common means of studying communication is through the use of surveys. Survey research is that it is the only way to find out how someone thinks, feel, or intends to behave. Generally, there are two types of survey research. . Interviews ask participants to respond orally. Example they might take place to meet each other or talking over the phone. Questionnaires ask participants to respond in writing. They can be distributed by mail or administered with the researcher present. Particular types of research are more suited for interviews rather than questionnaires. For example, interviews allow the researcher to ask more tough or complex questions because he/she can clarify misunderstandings through probing questions. However, questionnaires might be more appropriate for the collection of sensitive information because they provide more anonymity to the respondent (Salant & Dillman,1994).

Besides, the key concepts associated with either type of survey research are questioning and sampling. First, the purpose of a survey is quite simple; surveys provide a means to ask questions of a group of people to understand their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Questionnaires might take two forms. Open-ended questions allow respondents to answer in their own words, taking as long (or short) as they would like. Closed-ended questions require respondents to respond using set types of answers.

The second key concept associated with survey research is sampling. Researchers are typically concerned with large groups of people when they conduct surveys. These groups are known as a population, which means all people who possess a particular characteristic (Frey et al.,2002). For example, marketing firms want to study all possible consumers of a product.

In addition, Survey researchers study a Sample, or a small number of people in the population of interest. If the sample is well selected and of sufficient size, the results of the survey are likely also to hold true for the entire group. Random samples, in which every member of the target group has an equal chance of being selected, are better than nonrandom samples, such as volunteers, convenience samples (people who meet a particular requirement, such as age, race, etc.). Survey researchers may use any of the random sampling methods identified. Simple random sampling, stratified sampling, stratified sampling, and cluster sampling are among the most frequently chosen. Usually researchers will select the methods that is most cost effective and will satisfy the goals of obtaining a representative sample. In some cases, survey research questions specifically call for a nonrandom sampling method. For example, network studies emphasize the uniqueness of each network as a whole system. Basically, random sample of consumers is more likely to give representative as stopping people at the mall on a particular day to answer a few questions.

In conclusion,social methodology largely depends upon survey methods in its research endeavor as it has the advantage of to have a great deal of information from a larger population. It can also be adapted to obtain personal and social facts, beliefs and attitudes.

Michelle Chong Hui Mui (BA18110481)

Textual analysis is one of the research methods which is often to be used by communication scholars. According to Frey et al. (2002), a text is defined as any written or recorded message. For example, a television show, a transcript of a medical encounter, an employee bulletin and so on. So, what is actually meant by textual analysis? Textual analysis is the method in which communication researchers use to describe and interpret the characteristics of a recorded or visual message (Frey, L., Botan, C., & Kreps, G., 1999).

One of the objectives of textual analysis is to uncover or describe the content, structure, and nature of the messages contained in one text. Other than that, textual analysis is also used to evaluate messages by focusing on their strengths, weaknesses, and effectiveness. Thus, by using the examples of text stated above, textual analysis can be used to study the amount of violence on television, the way of power dynamics play out during doctor-patient intake evaluations, or even the strategies used to communicate a corporate mission statement. The significant considerations in textual analysis are to select the types of studied texts, acquire appropriate texts, and determine on which particular approach to employ in analyzing the texts.

There are four major approaches to textual analysis including rhetorical criticism, content analysis, interaction analysis, and performance studies.

For scholars, the word rhetoric is associated with Aristotle’s definition: “the available means of persuasion” and criticism is the “systematic process of illuminating and evaluating products of human activity” (Andrews, 1983, p. 4). According to Frey et al. (2002), rhetorical criticism refers to “a systematic method for describing, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating the persuasive force of messages”. There are five important functions of rhetoric criticism by Andrews (1983). Firstly, sheds light on the purposes of a persuasive message. Secondly, aiding in understanding historical, social, and cultural contexts. Thirdly, to be used as a form of social criticism to evaluate society. Fourthly, contributing to theory building by showing how theories apply to persuasive discourse. Lastly, serving a pedagogical function by teaching people how persuasion works and what constitutes effective persuasion. The four steps to conducting rhetorical criticism are choosing a text to study, choosing a specific type of rhetorical criticism, analyzing the text according to the method chosen, then writing a critical essay.

There are numerous specific types of rhetorical criticism, such as historical criticism (how history shape message), oral histories (personal experience via speaking to know history), historical case studies (text related to salient historical to understand roles of communication), biographical studies (how the messages used by individuals to accomplish what they did), social movement studies (persuasive strategies used to affect historical development), Neo-Aristotelian criticism (whether the specific set of criteria given in Aristotle’s Rhetoric were used to create the rhetorical texts intended to influence audience), genre criticism (evaluating particular types of messages, such as political speeches, or corporate image restoration practices), dramatistic criticism (analyzing texts according to philosopher Kenneth Burke’s view that all communication can be seen in terms of five essential elements that comprise a dramatic event including act, purpose, agent, agency, and pentadic analysis), metaphoric criticism (one can never know reality directly), narrative criticism (all persuasive messages function as narratives such as storied, accounts, or tales), fantasy theme analysis (based on the work of Ernest Bormann, examines the common images used to portray narrative elements of situations described in a text), and feminist criticism (how beliefs about gender are produced and reproduced in messages).

Content analysis seeks to identify, classify, and analyze the occurrence of particular types of messages (Frey et al., 2002). There are two types of content analysis which are qualitative and quantitative content analysis. In qualitative content analysis, researchers are more interesting in the meaning related to messages than with the number of times message variables occur. However, quantitative content analysis refers to the systematic, step-by-step procedure used to answer research questions and test hypothesis. This type of textual analysis is considered as an unobtrusive technique. This is because researchers only study texts that already exist rather than asking people to produce new texts. Content analysis usually involves four steps: the selection of a particular text like newspaper articles, the development of content categories (for instance, “favorable organizational coverage,” “neutral organizational coverage,” “negative organizational coverage”), placing the content into categories, and an analysis of the results.

Next, interaction analysis which is typically focusing on interpersonal or group communication interactions that have been recorded, with a specific emphasis on the nature or structure of interaction. In order to describe interaction, researchers focus on some characteristics as below:
(a) linguistic features: Studies range from the analysis of particular words and sentence components (verbs), to nonverbal features (eye contact & touch), to more interpretive aspects of language (powerful vs. powerless speech);
(b) types of topics that people talk about;
(c) the purposes of specific actions and utterances in an interaction. Conducting interaction analysis involves two general tasks namely obtaining a sample of interaction, and analyzing that sample. In gathering a sample of interaction, researchers make choices which can affect both the type and the quality of the data obtained, including the type of interaction data that are needed, the desired location of the interaction, and the appropriate means to gather the data. In analyzing the sample of interaction, the specific analysis depends on whether the goal is to describe interaction or relate it to other variables.

Last but not least, performance studies is also one of the types of textual analysis. Performance studies refer to the process of dialogue form engagement with one’s own and others’ aesthetic communication through the means of performance. There are six steps in generating and reporting vision in performance studies including selecting communication act or text to be examined, playing different vocal and bodily behaviors, establishing the range of legitimate understandings, choosing valid interpretations to isolate one possible understanding to pursue, repeating to set and refine the chosen interpretations, and presenting of what has been discovered through public performance.

In conclusion, it will be an obstacle for researches to do research by using textual analysis because the actual effects on audience cannot be determined solely by focusing on text.

Chau Yen Ching (BA18110410)

Scholars of communication will do the first research method in communication which is Experiments research, while Survey Research is the second research, the third research is Textual Analysis and Ethnography research is the final research method used by scholars of communication to Research Methods in Communication. The concepts of Ethnography research is that the researcher will involve themselves in a particular culture or context to understand the curtain community communication rules and meanings. For example, an ethnographer might study an organizational culture, such as Johnson & Johnson’s corporate culture, or communication in the hospital emergency rooms. Ethnography research is a naturalistic and emergent research, which means that the ethnographer’s research must take place in the natural environment through certain methods to avoid the bias of the environment research occurs.

Therefore, ethnographer research has two kinds of research role. First is Complete Participants and the second one is Participant Observer. Ethnographer researchers should know their role as a Complete Participants which they can’t let the participants know that they are studying them. This approach requires the ethnographer researcher to know more about the environment. Meanwhile Participant Observers means that the ethnographer researcher’s role is to let the participants know that they are studying them and admit ethnographer researchers to enter the environment. Through Participant Observers the ethnographer researcher may choose to be complete observers, which can let them record data and simultaneously limiting insight into participants’ own meaning of the observed communication.

Usually, through these four methods of research, it will let the researchers in communication to collect useful data to support the research of communication

Perra Anak Lanting (BA18110487)

Belief about human nature

Social science takes a deterministic stance (determinism). This mean they believe that past experiences, personality predispositions and a number of other antecedent conditions cause people to behave in certain ways. This approach propose that people in general tend to react to situations. Social scientists look at the causes and effects of communication.

Humanities believe that people have control over their behavior. They believe that peole make conscious choices to communicate to meet their goals. This approach called pragmatist (pragmatism); means that people are practical and they plan their behavior. In nutshell, this approach suggest that human beings are not passive reactors to situations, but dynamic actors. Humanists focus on choices people make.

Goal of theory

Social scientific both to understand and predict communication processes; due to their interest in generalizations. Theorists able to predict how any individual might communicate.

Those in humanities believes opposite; interpretations are always subjective. They believe that theorists can never actually predict how a person will behave. Thus, humanities goal is just try to just understand human communication.

Process of Theory Development

Social scientific use deductive. Means that, from theory to data.

Humanities apply inductive; start from data then subsequently develop theories.

Focus of Research

Social scientific using particularism approach which they believing the whole picture will be uncovered eventually.

Humanists then believe in looking at the big picture and propose that all pieces of puzzle contribute to an understanding of the problem. They utilize holism; the entire situation as the focal point of research.

Methods of Research

Social science uses experimental methods; by having research that supports the causes and effects for the predictions. They also tend to use either quantitative surveys or textual analyses. Using numbers to seek to predict.

Humanistic on the other hand uses ethnography; understanding in contexts and cultures. They also tend to use qualitative survey and textual analyses. They eschews the use of numbers and uses verbal descriptions.