Description
Using an engaging how-to approach that draws from scholarship, real-life, and popular culture, this textbook offers students practical reasons why they should care about research methods and a guide to actually conducting research themselves. Examining quantitative, qualitative, and critical research methods, this new edition helps undergraduate students better grasp the theoretical and practical uses of method by clearly illustrating practical applications. The book features all the main research traditions within communication including online methods, and provides level-appropriate applications of the methods through theoretical and practical examples and exercises, including new sample student papers that demonstrate research methods in action.
Also featuring dedicated student resources on the Routledge.com book page and instructor resources at https://routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/instructor_downloads/. These include links, videos, outlines and activities, recommended readings, test questions, and more.
Table of Contents
Introduction to Research and Research Paradigms
Chapter 1 – Introduction & Ethics
Chapter 2 – Social Scientific Paradigm
Chapter 3 – Interpretive Paradigm
Chapter 4 - Critical Paradigm
Research Design
Chapter 5 – Data
Chapter 6 – Evaluating Research
Chapter 7 – Hypotheses and Research Questions
Research Methods
Chapter 8 – Ethnography
Chapter 9 – Interviewing
Chapter 10 – Focus Groups
Chapter 11-Social Media
Chapter 12 – Content Analysis – Qualitative
Chapter 13 – Content Analysis – Quantitative
Chapter 14 – Discourse Analysis
Chapter 15 – Surveys
Chapter 16 – Descriptive Statistics
Chapter 17 – Inferential Statistics
Chapter 18 – Mixed Methods
Chapter 19 – Rhetorical Criticism
Chapter 20 – Critical Cultural Methods
