3 Weighing the Words

Weighing the Words What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Slide 2 Weighing the Words What Makes an Objective Theory Good? What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Contested Turf and Common Ground Among Theorists

Slide 3 Weighing the Words The work of social scientists and interpreters is so different that it is natural they often have trouble understanding and valuing their counterparts’ scholarship

What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Slide 4 What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Twin objectives of scientific knowledge Explains past and present Predicts the future Four additional criteria for theories: Relative simplicity Testability Practical utility Quantifiable research

What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Slide 5 What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Scientific Standard 1: Explanation of the Data Objective theory draws order out of chaos Describes process, focuses attention on what’s crucial, helps us ignore that which makes little difference The reason something happens becomes as important as the fact that it does

What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Slide 6 What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Scientific Standard 2: Prediction of Future Events Objective theory predicts what will happen Only possible when dealing with things we can see, hear, touch, smell, and taste over and over again In social sciences, a certain humility on the part of the theorist is advisable

What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Slide 7 What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Scientific Standard 3: Relative Simplicity Objective theory should be as simple as possible Rule of parsimony (Occam’s Razor) – Given two plausible explanations for the same event, we should accept the simpler version

What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Slide 8 What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Scientific Standard 4: Hypotheses That Can Be Tested Objective theory is testable Falsifiability – requirement that scientific theory must be stated in a way that it can be tested and disproved if it is wrong Some theories are so loosely stated that it’s impossible to imagine empirical results that could disprove their hypotheses

What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Slide 9 What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Scientific Standard 5: Practical Utility Good objective theory is useful Lewin: There is nothing as practical as a good theory

What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Slide 10 What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Scientific Standard 6: Quantitative Research Most scientific research depends on a comparison of differences

What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Slide 11 What Makes an Objective Theory Good? Scientific Standard 6: (continued) Experiment – research method that manipulates a variable in a tightly controlled situation in order to find out if it has the predicted effect Survey – research method that uses questionnaires and structured interviews to collect self-reported data that reflects what respondents think, feel, or intend to do

What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Slide 12 What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? No universally approved model for interpretive theories Create understanding Identify values Inspire aesthetic appreciation Stimulate agreement Reform society Conduct qualitative research

What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Slide 13 What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Interpretive Standard 1: New Understanding of People: Interpretive theory offers fresh insight into human condition Typically examines a one-of-a-kind speech community that exhibits specific language style Self-referential imperative – include yourself as a constituent of your own construction

What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Slide 14 What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Interpretive Standard 2: Clarification of Values Interpretive theory brings people’s values into the open Theorists should reveal ethical commitments Ethical imperative – grant others that occur in a construction the same autonomy that one practices in constructing it

What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Slide 15 What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Interpretive Standard 3: Aesthetic Appeal Interpretive theory can capture readers’ imaginations Critic’s job to spark appreciation

What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Slide 16 What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Interpretive Standard 4: Community of Agreement Interpretive theory must be supported by other scholars Must become the subject of widespread analysis

What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Slide 17 What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Interpretive Standard 5: Reform of Society Interpretive theory often generates change Critical interpreters are reformers who can have an impact on society Critical theorists – scholars who use theory to reveal unjust communication practices that create or perpetuate an imbalance of power

What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Slide 18 What Makes an Interpretive Theory Good? Interpretive Standard 6: Qualitative Research Interpretive scholars use words to support their theories Textual analysis – research method that describes and interprets characteristics of any text Ethnography – method of participant observation designed to help a researcher experience a culture’s complex web of meaning

Contested Turf and Common Ground Among Theorists Slide 19 Contested Turf and Common Ground Among Theorists Points of contact Explanation creates understanding Prediction and value clarification look to the future Simplicity has aesthetic appeal Achieves a community of agreement Theory that reforms unjust practices is practical Commitment to learn more

Figure 3-1: Summary of Criteria for Evaluating Communication Theory Slide 20 Figure 3-1: Summary of Criteria for Evaluating Communication Theory