SMC Paradigms and Theory in Communication Studies Essay

Instructions: This examination is designed to assess your overall mastery of: 1) Thevarious paradigms relied upon in communication studies, and 2) Theory and theory
evaluation. Carefully read all questions and offer your response as a typed word
document.
Essay Questions
1. Identify and discuss the three major paradigms that in uence inquiry in
communication studies. In your response, be sure to:
a. De ne what paradigms are and how they function
b. Review the disciplinary in uences from which each paradigms borrow
c. Discuss the major assumptions which ground each paradigm
d. Highlight the methodological approaches to data collection for each
paradigm
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2. In simplistic terms, theory can be thought of as an explanatory tool. De ne theory
in detail, and discuss the framework offered for evaluation. In your response, be
sure to:
a. De ne theory by synthesizing: Notes on theory and your assumptions
b. Offer a brief overview of the various criteria that constitute the framework
for evaluating theory
c. Offer a detailed explanation of each criterion
d. Discuss which criteria you deem most important in evaluating theory
Communication Studies Paradigms
Paradigms Defined
! Thomas Khun (1962) popularized the term:
! The Structure of Scientific Revolution
! Paradigms: Frameworks within which scientific thinking and practice
operate
! Framework containing the basic assumptions, ways of thinking,
and methodology that are generally excepted by members of
the scientific community
! Worldview or lens of a particular scientific subject
! Gives the researcher a way of “looking” at phenomenon
! Informs research – providing guidance as to how the researcher
should conduct inquiry
Scientific Paradigms
! Borrows from hard sciences and psychology
! Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Earth sciences, Physics, Psychology
! Dispassionate Researcher
! Assumes researchers can truly be neutral, and thus the knowledge
produced neutral
! Employs quantitative methodology
! Experimentation
! Hypothesis / Testing
! Manipulation of variables
! Closed-end Surveys
! Knowledge produced neutral
Interpretive Paradigm
! Borrows from the social sciences:
! anthropology, economics, education, geography, history, law, linguistics, political science,
social work, sociology
! Social constructivist: examine the ways in which individuals and groups
participate in the c0-creation of their social reality
! Socially constructed realities are: ongoing, dynamic processes
! Rejects the idea of the dispassionate researcher. We infect our work (literally):
By the assumptions we hold, the phenomenon we select to study, and our
methodological approaches
! Employs qualitative methodology:
! Ethnography/Observation
! Interviews/Open-end Surveys
! Focus Groups
Critical Paradigm
! Critical theory was defined by Max Horkheimer of the Frankfurt School of social science
in 1937
! Focuses on: Power and Power structures, Inequality, and social change
! Major Assumptions: Hard science and/or social sciences can never be truly objective or
value free
! Research should be conducted with the expressed goal of social change
! Employs a mixed methods approach dependent on phenomenon under critique:
Quantitative and Qualitative
! Core concepts are:
! (1) Critical social theory should be directed at the totality of society
and
! (2) Critical Theory should improve understanding of society by integrating:
Economics, Sociology, History, Political Science, Anthropology, and Psychology.
Mixed Methods Approach
! Approach to inquiry and research that combines quantitative and
qualitative methods into one study in order to provide a broader
perspective
! Mixed methods research involves collecting and analyzing both
quantitative and qualitative data
! Advantages:
! Mixed methods approaches can offset weaknesses of the qualitative and
quantitative paradigms
! Researchers can use all available tools to collect data
! Final results of research will include both observational and statistical data,
thus validating the study
! Combining multiple paradigms and methodological approaches helps to
reduce researcher bias
Mixed Methods Cont.
! Challenges:
! More time-consuming to collect both quantitative and qualitative
data
! Study may require more resources to collect data
! Methodologies require clear presentation when published, so peers
within the field and accurately understand the procedures and the
findings
Theory Evaluation
Notes on Theory
● Theory aids in interpreting events in more flexible,
useful, and discriminating ways
● Multiple definition put forth to define theory:
● A systems of assumption that attempt to explain how a
phenomenon works
● Theories emerge out of the paradigms that have shaped
inquiry in Communication Studies
● Theory provides a framework for unifying approaches to
scholarship within Communication Traditions
Nature of Theory
● Abraham Kaplan – the formation of a theory is not just
the discovery of a hidden fact. Theory is a way of looking
at the facts, of organizing and representing them
● Stanley Deetz – a theory is a way of seeing and thinking
about the world. As such it is better seen as the ‘lens’
one uses in observation than as a ‘mirror’ of nature
● James Anderson – theory contains a set of instructions
for reading the world and acting in it.
Process of Inquiry & Theory
Development
● Stage 1 – Asking Questions
● Gerald Miller & Henry Nicholson believe that inquiry is
nothing more than the process of asking interesting and
significant questions, and providing disciplined, systematic
answers to them
● Stage 2 – Observation
● Researcher looks for an answer to questions
● Methods of observation vary significantly from one Paradigm to
another
● Stage 3 – Constructing Answers
● Researcher attempts to define, describe and explain, make
judgments
Framework for
Evaluating Communication Theory
● Theoretical scope
● Comprehensiveness and inclusiveness
● Theoretical explanations must be sufficiently general to cover a
range of events beyond a single observation
● Appropriateness
● Are the theory’s assumptions and methodologies
appropriate for the research questions being addressed
● Heuristic value (Heuristic = Way of thinking/Shortcut)
● Will the theory generate new ideas for future research and
additional theory generation
Evaluating Communication Theory Cont.
● Validity (Logically and Functionally Sound)
● Value, or worth—importance or utility, whether
the theory has value.
● Correspondence, or fit—whether the concepts
specified by the theory observable
● Generalizability—the extent to which the
tenets of the theory apply across situations.
Evaluating Communication Theory Cont.
● Parsimony
● Theory involves logical simplicity. If two theories are
equally valid, the one with the simplest logical explanation
is said to be the best
● Openness
● This criterion is especially important in the Interpretive
paradigm: Theory is open to other answers
● Views theory as:
● Tentative
● Contextual
● Qualified