Instructor’s manual Mass Media Research: An Introduction, 7th Edition Roger Wimmer & Joseph Dominick

Part One. The Research Process

Chapter 1: Science and Research What is Research? Getting Started The Development of Mass Media Research Media Research and the Scientific Method The Methods of Knowing

Characteristics of the Scientific Method 1) Scientific research is public 2) Science is objective 3) Science is empirical 4) Science is systematic and cumulative 5) Science is predictive

Two Sectors of Research: Academic and Private Research Procedures 1) Selecting a Research Topic 2) Professional Journals 3) Magazine and Periodicals 4) Research Summaries 5) The Internet

6) Everyday situations 7) Archive Data 8) Advantages of Secondary Analysis 9) Disadvantages of Secondary Analysis

Determining Topic Relevance 1) Is the Topic Too Broad? 2) Can the Problem Really be Investigated? 3) Can the Data Be Analyzed? 4) Is the Problem Significant? 5) Can the Results of the Study Be Generalized? 6) What Costs and Time Are Involved in the Analysis?

7) Is the Planned Approach Appropriate to the Project? 8) Is There Any Potential Harm to the Subjects?

Stating a hypothesis or Research Question Data Analysis and Interpretation Internal Validity 1) History 2) Maturation 3) Testing 4) Instrumentation 5) Statistical regression

6) Experimental mortality 7) Sample selection 8) Demand characteristics 9) Experimenter bias 10) Evaluation apprehension 11) Causal time order 12) Diffusion or imitation of treatments 13) Compensation 14) Compensatory rivalry 15) Demoralization

External Validity Presenting Results Research Suppliers and Field Services Incidence Rates and CPI

Chapter 2: Elements of Research Concepts and Constructs Independent and Dependent Variables Other Types of Variables Defining Variables Operationally Qualitative and Quantitative Research The Nature of Measurement

Levels of Measurement Measurement Scales Transforming Scales Nominal level Ordinal level Interval level Ratio level Measurement Scales Transforming Scales

Specialized Rating Scales Thurstone Scales Guttman Scaling Likert Scales Semantic Differential Scales Reliability and Validity

Chapter 3: Research Ethics Ethics and the Research Process General Ethical Theories Specific Ethical Problems -Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent -Concealment and Deception -Protection of Privacy -Federal Regulations Concerning Research

Ethics in Data Analysis and Reporting Ethics in the Publication Process A Professional Code of Ethics

Chapter 4: Sampling Population and Sample Probability and Nonprobability Samples Types of Nonprobability samples Conveniece sample Volunteer sample Purposive sample

Types of Probability Samples Simple random sampling Systematic sampling Stratified Sampling Cluster Sampling Snowball sampling

Sample Size Sampling Error Confidence Level and Confidence Interval Computing Sampling Error Finite Population Correction Factor Sampling Weighting