Communication: A Research
Discipline
presented to
The Methodology Committee
of the
National Research Council
September 30, 2002
Communication Research . . . .

focuses on how people use messages to
generate meanings within and across various
contexts, cultures, channels, and media.

encompasses studies of private and public as
well as individual and mass communication

examines communication processes and their
effects
Communication Research: A Brief History

Foundations in Classical Greece, Rome and China—emphasis on
Rhetoric

Early 20th Century
– Emergence of Departments of “Speech”
– Emphasis on Speech and Rhetoric

World War II and Post-War Era
– Concerns with attitude formation and change
– Emergence of social and behavioral science approaches

Late 20th Century
– Concerns with mass communication, communication policy,
and media
– Concerns with new communication technologies, cultural
approaches
Communication Research Areas

Communication Studies: Scientific and critical research on
human communication, including interpersonal, organizational, public, and
intercultural communication and communication in various social, cultural,
and political contexts

Mass Communication and Media Studies: Research on
media institutions, media texts, media effects, and how media are used to
produce and transform culture

Speech and Rhetorical Studies: Research focused on political
and social rhetoric, audience analysis, argumentation, rhetorical criticism,
and rhetorical theory

Telecommunication Studies: Research on the development,
use, regulation, and effects of telecommunication technologies, including
radio, television, telephony, and the internet
Departments and Schools
Communication research is carried out in academic programs
with school and department titles such as:








Communication
Communication Arts and Sciences
Communication Studies
Information Studies
Journalism
Mass Communication
Media Studies
Speech Communication
Significant areas of communication
research include:
– Audience analysis
– Communication and
public policy
– Family communication
– Health communication
– Instructional
communication
– Intercultural
communication
– Interpersonal
communication
– Legal communication
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Media economics
Media effects
Media literacy
New communication
technology
Nonverbal communication
Organizational
communication
Persuasion and social
influence
Political and social rhetoric
Risk communication
Visual communication
Interdisciplinary Connections
Communication scholars from discipline-based departments
conduct major research projects with colleagues in such fields as:
–
–
–
–
–
–
American Studies
Art History
Engineering
English
Environmental Science
Ethnic and Women’s
Studies
– Geography
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
History
Information Systems
Linguistics
Political Science
Public Health
Sociology
Psychology
Communication Research Approaches
Communication research employs a wide range of methodologies,
including all types of quantitative and qualitative social scientific
research methods as well as humanistic and critical/cultural
approaches:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Analysis of dynamic processes
Content and textual analysis
Critical and cultural analysis
Discourse analysis
Ethnographic research
Experimental research (including controlled experiments)
Historiography
Mathematical modeling and simulations
Rhetorical criticism
Survey research
Communication is a Research-Based Field

Scholarly journals

Research funding from Government Agencies and Private
Foundations

Guggenheim and Fulbright Awards

Communication scholars serve or have served as program
officers at NIC, NIH, NSF, NIOSH

Communication societies are affiliated with ACLS, AAAS and
COSSA
“Core” Journals in Communication
















Argumentation
Argumentation & Advocacy
Communication Education
Communication Monographs
Communication Quarterly
Communication Research
Communication Studies
Communication Theory
Critical Studies of Media
Communication
European Journal of Communication
Health Communication
Human Communication Research
Journal of Applied Communication
Research
Journal of Communication
Journal of Family Communication
Journal of Health Communication















Journal of Media Economics
Journalism and Mass Communication
Media Studies Journal
Philosophy and Rhetoric
Political Communication
Quarterly Journal of Speech
Rhetoric and Public Affairs
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Rhetorica
Science Communication
Southern Communication Journal
Telecommunication Policy
Text and Performance Quarterly
Western Journal of Communication
Women’s Studies and Communication
“Related” Journals to Communication









Discourse and Society
Harvard International Journal of Press
and Politics
International Journal of Conflict
Management
International Journal of Public
Opinion Review
Javnost-Public
Journal of Cultural Studies
Journal of Social and Personal
Relationships
Language Communication
Learn Publ











Media, Culture and Society
Narrative Inquiry
Presidential Studies Quarterly
Public Culture
Public Opinion Quarterly
Publish Research Quarterly
Public Understanding of Science
Research Language and Social
Interaction
Signs
Symbolic Interaction
Written Communication
Selected Funding Sources of
Communication Research













Agency for Health Care Policy and
Research
AMC Cancer Center
Center for Substance Abuse
Prevention
Centers for Disease Control
Council for European Studies
Department of Defense
Department of Health and Human
Services
Department of Transportation
Environmental Protection Agency
Ford Foundation
Lilly Corporation
Markle Foundation
Mediascope, Inc











National Aeronautics and Space
Administration
National Cancer Institute
National Endowment for the
Humanities
National Foreign Language Center
National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health
National Institute of Health
National Institute of Mental Health
National Science Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
W. K. Kellogg Foundation
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Communication Doctorates

115 Doctoral Granting Institutions

1,143 Doctorates granted 1986-1990 (National Research
Council)

407 doctoral students per year (mean) 1995-1999 (Council
of Communication Associations)

85% of Communication Ph.Ds enter research-related
careers (Council of Communication Associations)
– 75-79% enter academic institutions
– 6-10% enter research careers in health organizations or
research organizations