Research Methods for Communication Science

I. PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE, EMPIRICISM, AND THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD. 1. The Nature and Utility of Scientific Theory. 2. Elements of Scientific Theories: Concepts and Definitions. 3. Elements of Scientific Theories: Relationships. 4. Testing Hypotheses: Confounds and Controls. 5. Populations and Samples: The Principle of Generalization. II. THE BASIC TOOLS OF RESEARCH: SAMPLING, MEASUREMENT, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS. 6. Sampling. 7. Measurement. 8. Describing Data: Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion. 9. Distributions: Population, Sample and Sampling Distributions. 10. Sampling Distributions and the Central Limit Theorem. 11. Describing Bivariate Relationships. 12. Testing Hypotheses. III. RESEARCH DESIGNS, SETTINGS, AND PROCEDURES. 13. Principles of Research Design. 14. Controlled Environments: Experimental Research. 15. Semi-Controlled Environments: Field Research. 16. Natural Environments: Observational Research. 17. Over-Time Research Designs. 18. Research Procedures. 19. Selecting Statistical Tests. 20. Qualitative Research. Appendix A: Table of Areas Under the Standard Normal Curve. Appendix B: Power Tables. Appendix C: Table of Chi Square. Appendix D: Table of t-Values. Appendix E: Table of F-values.