Lecture 2

ACM 4063Communication

Research

Five research characteristics

1) Originates and guided with a question or problem

2) Requires clear articulation of a goal or research objectives

3) Follows a scientific methods or procedures

4) Requires collection and interpretation of data

5) Cyclical in nature

What is a good research?Generates dependable data and can be

used reliably for decision makingGood research requires:

- Problems and purpose clearly defined- Research design thoroughly planned- High ethical standards applied- Limitations frankly revealed- Data adequately analyzed- Findings and conclusion clearly explained- Researcher’s experience is reflected

Formulating research problem

Knowing the problem is the key to conducting social research

The research problem is the aspect the researcher worries about, think about, and want to find solution to it

Albert Einstein said “ The formulation of the problem is often more essential than its solution”

Basically problem is the gap between what is the present situation and the preferred situations

Problem can be knowledge gap, industry or community problem

Common sources of problem:- Theory- Personal experiences- Replication of past research

Some examples of possible research problem:- mass media are not educating the society- social media bring about negative effects- youths are not going to the mosque- children are not taking care of their parents- young couples break up after short marriage

Do not try to solve the world problem with your small research

Follow the following steps in problem identification and selection:- Know your area of study or interest- Narrow down the area to possible topics- Evaluate the potential or significant of the problem or topic, select one topic or problem

- Develop a good problem statement that shows the gap

- Develop research questions from the problem selected

- Formulate the possible or working research topic. Good to have research title after the

research has been completed

Characteristics of good topic

According to Gay and Airasian, (2000): * Interesting – hold the researcher interest throughout the research process* Researchable – can be investigated through the collection of data* Significant – contribute to the improvement and understanding of knowledge and practices* Manageable – fits the researcher’s level of skills, resources and restrictions* Ethical – does not embarrass or harm participants

Some factors in identifying problem

That are not fully investigatedTo have advance understandingCan be investigatedThat are interesting and relevantCan lead to more questions

Sources of research problem

Academic or professional journalsMagazines and periodicalsThesesConference papersInternetEveryday experience, situation or

personal observation

Different types of research

Nature of questionsMethods used to collect data and

answer research questionsDegree of precision of methodsApplication of findings

Non-experimental research- Describe relationships between variables- Cannot test cause-and-effect relationships

Experimental research- Tries to discover causal relationships- Two types: true experimental and quasi- experimental

True experimental research- Participants are randomly assigned to

groups- There are treatment and control groups

Quasi-experimental research- Participants are pre-assigned to groups- Useful when researcher cannot manipulate the variables

Exploratory research- When we have little idea or knowledge about something- Want to find more about something- Want to gather basic data or pattern- Done on something new- To get as much preliminary data

Action research- Need to ‘solve’ the problem fast

Descriptive research- Describe characteristics of existing phenomena- Provides a broad picture- Serves as basis for other types of research- popular among social science

researchers

Historical research- Describes past events in the context of other past or current events- Utilize primary and secondary sources

of dataApplied research

- Findings or results of applied research has immediate application

Basic research-Findings of basic research not necessarily for immediate application

Qualitative research- Examines behavior, emotions, feelings in natural social, cultural and political contexts- Usually results in non-quantitative data

Quantitative research- Examines perception, facts, etc that deal that generate data in terms of quantity or numbers- Need adequate number of respondents to be reliable or credible

Correlational research- Asks what several events have in common- Asks whether knowing one event can allow prediction of another event- Does not imply causation

Scholarly or academic research- conducted for academic requirement: Bachelor, Master and Ph.D- to further expand the knowledge horizon

Case studies- to study events within their real-life context

Cross-sectional research- study done at one point of time

Longitudinal research- to study phenomena over time- examine change or pattern

Content analysis- study of communication message or

information found in communication media, true communication research

Research and Development (R & D)- conducted to create or develop

something as part of on-going research- involve a lot of time, money and

personnel

What method to use and when?To find out differences between

groups:- If pre-assigned, quasi-experimental- not assigned, true experimental

To find out event that occurred in the past: historical research

To find out events primarily occur at present: descriptive research

To find out the relationship between variables: correlational research

To have data in quantity or numbers that will require statistical procedures for analysis: quantitative research

To have better and in-depth understanding of a phenomenon that does not require statistical analysis: qualitative research

How much money, time, personnel, nature of data and depth of research also need to be considered

Communication researchResearch that focuses on the

elements of communication i.e. source, message, channel or media, receiver or audience, and effect

Study on communication interactions between two or more people

Study on communication media and religions

Study on how people use information and communication technology (ICT)

Study on how people seeks information and how they use the information obtained

Study on how mass media and information effect our daily activities in terms of social, education, politics, religions, cultures, economy etc

Study on how we can use the mass media communication for the betterment of ummah

Examples of communication research problem The mass media is not teaching

the audience about our culture, religion etc

New communication technology has influenced our youth in terms of social interaction

The news published by newspapers are not neutral to the general readers

TV shows violent programs targeted to children

Examples of communication research questions for topic selectionWhy there are so many

commercials targeted to children?

After so many PSAs aired on TV, why there are still many road accidents?

What common news published on daily newspapers?

How Internet had changed our communication skills?

Typical research process

Problem identification Discovery and selection

Conclusion Literature review writing report

Research design Data analysis

Population and Data processingsampling

Data collection

The research processIdentification and selection of research

problemReview of existing research and theory

from literatures, identifying key variablesStatement of hypotheses or statement of

research problem, research questions and research objectives

Determination of appropriate methodology or research design

Identification and selection of population and samples

Research instrument development and pre-testing

Data collectionData cleaning, entry and

processing Data analysisInterpretation of findingsReport writingSharing of research findings