CA3011 Communication Arts
Research
A. Chulamani C.
A. Parichart W.
1. Science and Research
2. Research Process
LECTURE ONE
CONTENT
Science and Research (Ch.1 in Wimmer
and Dominick, 2011)
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What is research?
The development of mass media research
The methods of knowing
Characteristics of the scientific method
Selecting Research Topic for Beginners
Determining topic relevance
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
1.What is research?
Research is an
attempt to
discover
something.
What is research?
• To ‘research’ means literally to ‘search’ ‘again’
(re-), but the common uses of the word imply
a ‘ careful’ or ‘systematic’ investigation.
• Media and communication research can be
defined as the planned, critical, systematic
and transparent investigation into or gathering
of info. about media and/or communication
processes. (Hansen and Machin, 2013)
Formal VS Informal
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Which format should a radio station adopt?
Which songs should a radio station play?
What do viewers like most and like least about
their favorite TV news program?
Why is a current TV program not performing as
well as was anticipated?
How effective is advertising on TV, radio, the
Internet, and in all types of print?
Why are newspaper subscriptions declining?
What should a politician include in campaign
messages?
Who should be the endorser for a new
customer product?
What types of things do
mass media researchers
investigate?
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Decide which clothes to put on that are
appropriate for the day’s activities
Select something to eat for breakfast that
will stay with you until lunchtime .
Decide when to leave the house to reach
your destination on time.
Figure out the most direct route to your
destination.
Determine how loudly to talk to someone.
Estimate how fast you need to walk to get
across the street so you won/t be hit.
Evaluate the best way to tell a friend
about a problem you have.
We conduct the research
every day. You analyze, test,
or evaluate.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MASS
MEDIA RESEARCH
The development of mass
media research
Can the medium provide
information or entertainment to
more type of people? How can
new technology be used to
perfect the sight/ sound of the
medium? Is there a way to
change the content to be more
valuable or entertaining?
PHASE 1: THE
MEDIUM ITSELF
PHASE 2: USES AND
USERS OF THE
MEDIUM (medium is
developed)
PHASE 4: HOW THE
MEDIUM CAN BE
IMPROVED
What are the social,
psychological and physical
effects of the medium? How
much time do people spend
with the medium? Does it
change people’s perspective?
Are there any harmful effects?
Does the medium help
people?
What is it? How does it
work? What technology
does it involve? What
functions or services does it
provide? Who will have
access to the medium? How
much does it cost?
PHASE 3: EFFECTS OF
THE MEDIUM
(social, psychological,
physical effects)
Source: Research Phases in Mass Media (Wimmer and Dominick, 2011)
How do people use the
medium in real life? What is
the purpose people have
when using the medium? Do
children use it? Do adults
use it? What gratifications
does the medium provide?
Note
• The research is not intended to be linear;
however, it can be conducted simultaneously
in all four phases.
– TV (medium)  investigate satellite-delivered
digital audio and video
– The uses of TV  investigate TV on handheld
devices
– Effects  investigate e.g. violent programming
– Improvements  investigate improvement of
smart TV
THE METHOD OF KNOWING
The Methods of Knowing
There are several approaches in an answering research questions. Four
approaches to finding answers are:
1.
The method of tenacity: follows the logic that something is true because
it has always been true.
Ex. “I don’t advertise because my parents did not believe in ad.”
2. The method of intuition: assumes that something is true because it is
“self-evident” or “stands to reason.”
Ex. Some creative people resist efforts to test their ad methods because they
know how to attract customers.
3. The method of authority: promotes beliefs in something because a trusted
source such as parents, news correspondents, teachers say it is true.
Ex. “Consumers will spend money to receive news updates via mobile phone
because the producers think so.”
The Methods of Knowing
(contd.)
4. The scientific method approaches learning as a small steps.
That is, one study one source provides only an indication of what
may or may not be true; the ‘truth’ is found only through a
series of objective analyses. This means that the scientific
method is self-correcting in that changes in thought or theory
are appropriate when errors in previous research are uncovered.
Ex. In communications, researchers discovered that the early
ideas of the power of the media (the hypodermic needle theory)
were incorrect and, after numerous studies, concluded that
behavior and ideas are changed by a combination of
communication sources and people react differently to the same
message.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Five Characteristics of the
Scientific Method
• There are five basic characteristics that
distinguish the scientific method from other
methods of knowing.
1. Scientific research is public.
• Research must take care in their published
reports to allow other researchers to freely
verify a given study and support or refute the
initial research findings.
Researchers check
the accuracy of the
work.
2 Science is objective
• Science tries to rule out eccentricities of
judgment by researchers.
• When a study is conducted, explicit rules and
procedures are developed and the researchers
must follow them.
• Facts must stand and interpretations fall.
Researchers are not
subjective.
3. Science is empirical
• Researchers are concerned with a world that
is knowable and potentially measurable.
• They must be able to classify what they study
and reject non-sensible explanations of
events.
• They must link abstract concepts to the
empirical world through observations.
Define the variables
clearly
4. Science is systematic and
cumulative
• No single research study stand alone, nor does
it rise or fall by itself.
• Wise researchers always use previous studies
as building blocks for their own work.
• They should review the available literature on
the topic so that the current study will draw
on the heritage of past research.
• They should search for order and consistency
among findings.
Researchers start from
consulting previous
literature
5. Science is predictive
• Science is concerned with the present to the
future.
• Scientists try to develop theories because they
are useful in predicting behavior.
Reference
Wimmer, R. & Dominick, J. (2011). Mass Media
Research: An Introduction (9th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Thompson Wadsworth.
Thank you for your attention