Mary Jackson Pitts, Ph.D.
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Mary Jackson Pitts, Ph.D.
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Methods of Research The Proposal A research proposal is designed to help guide you in producing a valid study about mass communication, or any other topic. Methods of Research What should be included in the research proposal? A statement of purpose Several research questions or hypotheses Justification for the study Methodology List of 20 references (APA) Statement of purpose Should identify your area of study The population you plan to examine The method that you plan to use Time of collection Research Questions Wimmer and Dominick(2003) A tentative generalization about the relationship between two or more variables(p. 466). Keyton(2001) Question that asks what the tentative relationship among variables might be or asks about the state or nature of some communication phenomenon(p. 382). Research Questions Exploratory questions about new phenomenon. What is the relationship between media usage and knowledge of copyright? What is the relationship between level of education and knowledge of copyright? What do students know about copyright? Research Hypothesis Singletary (1994) A formal statement of the relationship among variables(p. 456). The more media exposure the more likely a person will believe the world is deviant. Keyton (2001) Tentative, educated guess or proposition about the relationship between two or more variables: often hypotheses take the form of a statement. What is a variable? The variable becomes that thing, construct, concepts that you present in your research questions and hypotheses. The variable is always identified in the research questions or the hypothesis. A phenomenon or event that can be measured or manipulated (Wimmer and Dominick, 2003). Operationalizing the variable Explanation of how variable will be measured and observed (Keyton, 2001). Violence on tv Use of guns Blood Striking with body Justification Make sure you provide literature that supports your contention that this research is important Cited material from articles found in magazines, trade magazines, internet and journals. Use statistics of media usage Use statistics for economics of problem Use research theory to explain implications of issue toward cognition, consumer behavior, consumer knowledge. Methodology Explains how you plan to conduct the study. What method you will use? Sampling method Data Collection dates Data Collection Instrument References 20 references to start with Journal citations of articles Book citations Internet citations Ways to conduct research How you have conducted research in the past Questioning the validity and reliability of the information you retrieve. Secondary forms of research Books, census data, newspapers, magazines, journals, information agencies Secondary forms of information can be used to build argumentation for a person’s given position on a variety of topics Primary research Primary research means you are collecting information, at a given time and place, from a sample of a population, to answer proposed questions about a problem in society. Here we consider a problem and try to determine a way to examine a problem. Primary research Primary research can take two forms: Applied and theoretical Applied research or administrative research.. M edia managers are looking for answers to specific questions often related to media content and audience participation.Theoretical is aimed at understanding and predicting communication behaviors rather than at business issues. is aimed at understanding communication behaviors. And, consumer behavior is something every media manager needs to be interested in. |