COMM1011 CH.2 Perspective PDF

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The lecture talks about different perspectives in human communication....

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Perspectives on Human Communication Chapter 2 University of Colorado Denver

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Perspectives on human comm • A theory is a statement (educated guess) that explains a phenomenon •

They explain and offer insight into communication

• An approach or paradigm is a set of beliefs, ideas, assumptions about knowledge, nature of reality and humanity. It guides the research process (belief system and ethics) • A method is how one implements the study, collecting and analyzing the data • A research question is a more open ended exploratory question that guides research project 2

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Communication Theory ´ Extremely interdisciplinary ´ Paradigms, theories, and methods have been influenced by a number of major fields of study such as psychology, biology, cultural studies, and sociology ´ Communication-specific research journals began to emerge in the 60s and 70s ´ The discipline continues to diversify and grow

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Types of Research Methods ´ Quantitative ´ Convert data to numerical indicators ´ Analyze numbers using statistical analysis to establish relationships and test hypothesis ´ Common data collection techniques are surveys, interactions in a lab, examining media numerically

´ Qualitative ´ Researchers study naturally occurring communication ´ Seeks to understand how others understand and experience the world ´ Common data collection techniques are interviews, focus groups, ethnography

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Contemporary Approaches to Studying Communication ´ The Social Science Approach ´ The Interpretive Approach ´ The Critical Approach

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The Social Science Approach ´ Seeks to discover universal laws applicable across situations and contexts. Social scientists believe communication and human behavior is patterned and predictable

´ Seek causality ´ View reality as external to humans

´ Methods: observation, surveys, interviews, and experiments converted into quantitative data ´ Identifies communication patterns, but neglects societal and cultural factors. Also, cannot obtain a full picture.

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The Interpretive Approach ´ Seeks to understand and describe communicative behavior within a particular cultural community or context ´ Reality is internal, we cannot take results from studies and broadly apply them across different groups and contexts

´ Methods: Interviews, focus groups, ethnography, content and rhetorical analysis (examining texts or public speeches as they occur in society with the aim of interpreting meaning and impact) ´ While it offers an in-depth understanding of communication, it is limited because it does not illuminate broader laws of human behavior, and researchers are often outsiders to the communities they study

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The Critical Approach ´ Seeks to discover the impact of societal forces on human communication by focusing on power dynamics and macrocontexts (sociopolitical, historical, economic, etc.) ´ Social justice work is situated in the critical approach

´ Views reality as subjective and material, and human behavior as participative and resistive (power and privilege)

´ Methods: qualitative analysis and rhetorical and textual analysis ´ While acknowledging the importance of politics, history, economy, and power, it is not generalizable

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Multiple Approaches ´ Researchers do not inherently follow one paradigm and one paradigm alone. It depends on the type of question you are asking. ´ Do you want to predict? ´ Do you want to understand? ´ Do you want to examine wider structures of power?

´ It is possible to use a mixed method approach

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Ethics in Research ´ Institutional Review Boards (IRB) ´ Do no harm! ´ Informing participants about the research honestly ´ Ensuring privacy ´ Presenting findings accurately ´ Arguing for your lack of relationship or the importance of relationship

´ Critical ´ Can we speak for a group?

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Think, Pair, Share ´ How might we study this image using social scientific, interpretive, and critical approaches, and how you might go about examining it using each of the three methods

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