Theory  and  Model  Building  

Melinda  T.  Quinones  17  July  2015  

•  Signs  –  stands  for  something  and  causes  the  observer  to  connect  and  deduce;  physical  things  (dark  clouds  are  signs  of  impending  rain)  

•  Symbols  –  something  visible  represenGng  something  invisible  (words  as  symbols)  –  words  can  be  removed  from  its  context  

“Theorizing  about  human  communicaGon  is  a  very  common  human  acGvity”  (Chaffee,  2009)  

Theory  as…  

1. Abstract  ideas  2. Predictable  findings  3. Concept  explicaGon  

Theory  as  Abstract  Ideas  

•  An  abstract  scheme  of  thought  about  communicaGon  – Rhetorical  theory  – Media  criGcism  

•  Theorizing  involves  imagined  events  •  ObservaGon  is  the  main  business  of  empirical  research  

Theory  as  Predictable  Findings  

•  Consistent  research  result  (posiGvist  view  of  knowledge)  –  Individuals  who  do  not  know  much  about  an  issue  is  unlikely  to  seek  informaGon  about  it,  for  instance,  but  when  an  argument  reaches  them  they  may  be  more  readily  persuaded  than  are  those  with  a  stronger  backlog  of  knowledge.  

A  schemaGc  view  of  theorizing  

Independent  Variable  

Dependent  Variable  Proposi'on  

Op.  def.  IV-­‐1  

Op.  def.  IV-­‐2  

Op.  def.  DV-­‐1  

Op.  def.  DV-­‐2  

Explica'on  of  IV  

Explica'on  of  DV  

Conceptual  Level  

OperaGonalLevel  

Hypotheses  

Variable  

•  A  variable  is  an  object,  event,  idea,  feeling,  Gme  period,  or  any  other  type  of  category  you  are  trying  to  measure  

•  Independent  –  stands  alone  and  isn’t  changed  by  the  other  variables    

•  Dependent  –  something  that  depends  on  other  factors  

Easy  way  to  remember  the  difference  in  IV  and  DV  

•  (Independent  variable)  causes  change  in  (Dependent  Variable)  and  it  isn’t  possible  that  (Dependent  Variable)  could  cause  a  change  in  (Independent  Variable)  

Concept  ExplicaGon  

•  Process  of  describing  some  definable  phases  in  thinking  through  one’s  plan  for  a  study  1.  Preliminary  idenGficaGon  •  Oxymoron  –  combinaGon  of  words  that  are  mutually  

contradictory  (public  opinion,  mass  communicaGon,  opinion  change,  virtual  reality)  

•  Eponymic  honor  (a  person  giving  their  name  to  their  discovery  –  Likert,  Pearson)  

2.  Preliminary  DefiniGon  -­‐  Study  the  ways  other  researchers  have  been  using  the  concept,  what  they  mean  by  it  and  how  it  is  represented  in  their  studies  

-­‐  Percepts  –  meaning  that  we  perceive  them  in  ourselves  and  others  

-­‐  Concepts  connect  percepts  

3.  ObservaGon  -­‐  Observe  human  acGvity  -­‐  Gather  evidences  

-­‐  Read  newspapers,  record  statements  -­‐  Observe  children  watch  TV  -­‐  Edit  a  video  presentaGon  in  an  experimental  lab  -­‐  Call  randomly  selected  phone  numbers  -­‐  Observe  people  in  a  meeGng  

PrimiGve  and  derived  terms  

•  ConceptualizaGon  is  built  of  words,  and  we  must  find  the  best  place  to  start  building  

•  PrimiGve  words  –  commonly  understood  or  given  (Hempel,  1952)  

•  DerivaGve  terms  –  derived  from  primiGve  words  (i.e.  person  –  communiGes/socieGes,  word  –  sentence/message)  

•  Time  and  space  

Validity  

•  Does  the  operaGonal  definiGon  represent  the  concept  as  we  have  defined  it?  Are  we  measuring  what  we  intend  to  measure?  

•  Internal  validity  –  what  is  done,  what  is  found  and  what  is  inferred  within  a  single  study  

•  External  validity  –  generalizability  of  a  parGcular  study  to  other  seengs,  Gmes,  or  units  of  study  

•  Reliability  –  replicability  of  a  result  across  a  series  of  observaGons  or  studies  

Problem:  measure  radio-­‐listening  habits  of  people    QuesGon:  Did  you  listen  to  news  on  the  radio  yesterday?            Reliable  but  not  valid  

 QuesGon:  How  many  days  a  week  do  you  typically  listen  to  news  on  the  radio?  

Units  of  Analysis  

•  Is  it  an  ahribute  of  individual  persons,  of  aggregates  such  as  communiGes  or  naGons,  of  messages,  of  events,  or  of  some  other  unit?  

•  Inconsistency  in  the  unit  of  analysis  is  a  common  error  in  communicaGon  research  

RelaGonship  to  Time  

•  If  a  concept  is  an  ahribute  of  individuals,  does  it  vary  across  persons  at  a  given  point  in  Gme  (cross-­‐secGonal  variance)  or  across  Gmes  for  a  given  person  (process  variance)?  

Cross  secGonal  

Aetude   Aetude  change  Process  

Literature  Review  

•  ExplicaGon  can  help  to  bound  a  search  on  a  concept,  by  sorGng  out  those  few  wriGngs  that  deal  with  the  idea  being  developed  

•  Skim  quickly  past  arGcles  that  involve  the  term  being  used  but  not  the  same  meaning,  at  the  same  Gme  looking  for  research  involving  the  concept  even  though  the  name  is  not  the  same  

No  related  literature?  

You  are  on  to  something  new  or  in  a  blind  alley  

Meaning  analysis  

•  Sort  out  the  various  meanings  and  terms  into  groups  

•  Linz  and  Malamuth  (1993)  

Obscenity  

ConservaGve-­‐moralist  

Pornography  

Feminist  

Ero5ca  

Liberal  

OperaGonal  conGngencies  

•  A  literature  review  can  organize  studies  alongside  one  another  and  explore  differences  among  them  

•  Take  note  of  historical  Gme,  place,  and  research  method  

•  SorGng  out  literature  in  terms  of  these  operaGonal  conGngencies  helps  you  comprehend  the  potenGal  range  of  measures  and  adjudicate  conflicGng  findings  

 

Synthesis  

•  Literature  review  omen  becomes  a    study  in  itself  •  Diffusion  of  InnovaGon    (Rogers,  1964,  1983)  

Empirical  DefiniGon  

•  Begin  with  reading  few  studies,  then  moves  to  explicaGon,  refines  the  preliminary  definiGon,  and  returns  to  the  literature  search  with  a  sharper  definiGon  

•  Rules  of  inclusion  and  exclusion  

Models  

Conceptual  Models  

•  Stake  out  significant  concepts  in  the  field,  to  codify  scahered  findings  of  the  past  and  weave  them  into  a  single  conceptual  framework  which  will  help  give  direcGon  and  focus  future  work  (Westley,  1958,  p.  313)  

•  A  model  “seeks  to  show  the  main  elements  of  any  structure  or  process  and  the  relaGonship  between  [and  among]  these  elements”  (McQuail  &  Windahl,  1993,  p.  2)  

Simple  model  directs  research  ahenGon  to  the  source,  the  message,  the  channel,  the  receiver,  and  the  outcome  or  consequences  

Berlo  (1960)  elaborated  his  own  source-­‐message-­‐channel-­‐receiver  paradigm  that  became  a  standard  for  the  analysis  of  human  communicaGon  processes  for  a  decade  

Osgood  &  Schramm  Model  of  CommunicaGon  

CommunicaGon  is  dynamic  process  where  there  is  a  healthy  interacGve  relaGonship  between  the  source  and  the  receiver  

Advantages  of  Models  1.  Organizing  funcGon  –  Gives  general  picture  of  a  range  of  different  

parGcular  circumstances  

2.  Explain  –  Provides  simplified  informaGon.  Models  have  

heurisGc  funcGon  

3.  Predict  outcomes  –  Provides  basis  for  assigning  probabiliGes  and  

formulaGng  outcomes  

Sample  Research  

•  The  study  explored  the  risk  percepGon  among  residents  and  whether  or  not  they  have  done  any  miGgaGon  effort  in  the  event  of  “the  big  one”.    

•  How  is  the  earthquake  miGgaGon  behavior  of  residents  of  Brgy.  Barangka,  Marikina  affected  by  their  subjecGve  knowledge,  self-­‐efficacy,  and  risk-­‐percepGon?    

Living  on  a  Fault  Line  Earthquake  Preparedness  Profile  of  Residents  of  

Barangay  Barangka,  Marikiina  City    

Subjec5ve  Knowledge  

Risk Perception

Self-Efficacy

Informa5on  Seeking  

Information Sharing

Actual Mitigating Practices

Socio-­‐Demographic  

•  Age  •  Gender  •  Civil  Status  •  EducaGonal  Ahainment  

Mi5ga5ng  Behavior  

Sample  Study  

•  What  is  the  impact  of  the  Dove  Real  Beauty  Campaign  on  the  concept  of  beauty,  brand  image,  and  purchase  behavior  among  selected  female  university  students?    

Sample  Study  

•  How  do  media  rouGne,  organizaGonal  characterisGcs  and  editorial  independence  come  into  play  in  developing  the  programming  model  of  Philippine  public  television?  

Factors  AffecGng  Public  TV  Programming  

A  schemaGc  view  of  theorizing  

Independent  Variable  

Dependent  Variable  Proposi'on  

Op.  def.  IV-­‐1  

Op.  def.  IV-­‐2  

Op.  def.  DV-­‐1  

Op.  def.  DV-­‐2  

Explica'on  of  IV  

Explica'on  of  DV  

Conceptual  Level  

OperaGonalLevel  

Hypotheses