© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Chapter 2 The Research Process: Getting Started Researcher as a detective –Seeking answers to questions 1. Answer exists, but is unknown to you 2. If the answer is not known or available, conduct research to find the answer Research process depends on your abilities to search for and track down information

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 2 The Research Process Model Rules and traditions to be followed Multiple paths exist Proceeds logically and steadily, yet is circular and cyclical Be aware of obstacles and pitfalls

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 3 The Deductive Research Model Theory guides the investigation Gather data to assess whether theory is correct Move from known position to data

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 The Inductive Research Model Gather and analyze data framed around research question Formulate theories based on data Move from specific data to more general explanation

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 Identifying the Research Problem Ideas from your experiences Ideas from the media Turn broad topics into preliminary questions –What do your questions assume? –Rephrase for clarity

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 Evaluating Your Questions 1. Clearly stated? 2. Do others agree about its clarity? 3. Asks only one question? 4. Communication orientation? 5. Biased? 6. Can it be observed or measured? 7. Time and resources? 8. Who would be interested? 9. How could the information be used?

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 7 Library Resources Scholarly articles in academic journals –Communication journals –Multidisciplinary journals Scholarly books –Single-authored –Edited collections

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8 Basic Library Search 1. Identify key terms 2. Keyword search for each term in university catalog 3. Keyword search to combine terms 4. Examine resources for alternative keywords 5. Communication databases 6. Expanded Academic Index 7. Read articles and books 8. Can you answer your question?

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 Detailed Library Search Communication Yearbook Handbooks of communication Web of Science Other databases and resources Read articles and books Can you answer your question?

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 10 Web Resources Search engines Meta-search engines Determine validity and utility of posted information –Date –Author or sponsor

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 11 Adjusting the Question Adjust your question as you learn more Incorporate information you find into your question Did you uncover any relevant theories? Do theories provide competing explanations?

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12 Reading Scholarly Books & Articles Evaluate the quality of the information Get a historical overview Start with a literature review Identify primary ideas and conclusions Track down others’ references Summarize what you’ve found

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 13 The Role of Theory in Research Generally, quantitative research starts with theory Generally, qualitative research answers questions to develop theory Theories are... –Developed and tested incrementally over time –Never complete

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 14 Theory-Research Link Theory –provides patterns for interpreting data –links one study to another –provides a framework for understanding how communication concepts and issues are important –helps us interpret the meaning of research findings

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 15 Theory-Research Link Scientific inquiry is a process of developing and testing theory Process is not always linear Meaningful inquiry drives theory or is theory-driven Multiple studies used to develop or challenge theory

© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 16 Continuing with the Research Process Repeat work of others if it is flawed or dated Disagreement among scholars may suggest a study Develop research studies to fill in the gaps Develop research studies to answer the questions previous research results raise