Methods of Research in Communication: Find Books

Overview of over 150 terms, theories and concepts associated with research methods which new researchers can find difficult to grasp. Each entry provides a critical definition of the term, and examines the advantages, disadvantages, applications and difficulties of the methodology or concept in the context of different social science disciplines.

Ethics in research -- Planning research : generating a question -- Practical issues in planning your research -- Measurement and sampling -- Conducting an experiment : general principles -- Experiments with one independent variable -- Experiments with multiple independent variables -- Expanding on experimental designs : repeated measures and quasi-experiments -- Principles of survey research -- Correlational research -- Studying patterns in the natural world : observational approaches -- and more.

Research basics -- Research theory -- Structuring the research project -- Research ethics -- Finding and reviewing the literature -- The nature of data -- Collecting and analysing secondary data -- Collecting primary data -- Quantitative data analysis -- Qualitative data analysis -- Writing the proposal and writing up the research

Covers all major facets of survey research methodology, from selecting the sample design and the sampling frame, designing and pretesting the questionnaire, data collection, and data coding, to the issues surrounding diminishing response rates, confidentiality, privacy, informed consent and other ethical issues, data weighting, and data analyses.

What is qualitative research? -- Types of qualitative research -- Qualitative case study research -- Designing your study and selecting a sample -- Conducting effective interviews -- Being a careful observer -- Mining data from documents -- Qualitative data analysis -- Dealing with validity, reliability, and ethics -- Writing qualitative research reports -- Appendix: the methodology section of a qualitative research study.

Introduces the essential qualitative methods used in media research, with an emphasis on integrating theory with practice. Each method is introduced through step-by-step instruction on conducting research and interpreting research findings, alongside in-depth discussions of the historical, cultural, and theoretical context of the particular method and case studies drawn from published scholarship.

Political sociology -- Research -- Methodology.
Social sciences -- Research -- Methodology.

Quantitative research.
Qualitative research.

Mass media -- Research -- Methodology.
Social sciences -- Methodology.

The authors set out the links between philosophies and theories of how to know about the social world with how to go about researching it using interviews. A series of short chapters explain a range of interview types and practices, providing examples of different interview tools.

Interviewing.
Interviewing in sociology.

Practical approach and methodology: what works, difficulties and dangers to avoid and key questions which must be answered before you set out. Background methodological issues and arguments are considered and drawn upon but the focus is on what is ethical, legally acceptable and productive.