Data produced by focus groups do not need to be analyzed if the moderator followed
the focus group outline.
Regardless of which introductory technique is used, the objective of the author of a
qualitative research report is to draw the reader into the experiences of the participants
in the communication environment studied.
Regardless of the researcher’s level of experience, it is always wiser to develop a new
and unique questionnaire or scale rather than modifying or adapting existing
questionnaires or scales.
The objective of the researcher reporting qualitative data is to increase the reader’s
understanding of how humans construct and share meaning.
Researchers should draw readers’ attention to those limitations that are most likely to
influence the research results.
A significance level of .05 means that 5 out of 100 findings that appear to be valid will,
in fact, be due to chance.
The list of references at the end of relevant articles or books is an appropriate place to
find helpful resources for your research.
The inference that a significant result for a sample will also hold true for the population
is based on the principle of probability.
Generalizability is the extent to which conclusions developed from data collected from
a population can be extended to the sample.
Even when the results do support the researchers’ expectations, the results must be
reported.
As you discover information in the library, it may be necessary to adjust or revise your
initial question or topic.
Statistically significant results ensure practical application of the results.
Qualitative research relies on logic of formal and statistical arguments.
Qualitative methods are also referred to as naturalistic research, ethnography, field
research, or participant observation.
The choices in a response set to closed questions should be exhaustive and mutually
exclusive, but do not need to be equivalent.
To use a correlation as a statistical test, each participant must have provided
measurements on two separate variables.
In content analysis, the frequency with which elements occurs is always a direct
reflection of this element’s value.
The substantive content of the research question or hypothesis drives the selection of
the method.
Another term for independent variable is criterion variable.
In preparing for observing in the field, a researcher using qualitative methods would
restrict the literature review to only studies that also report qualitative methods.
Qualitative research is that in which data are analyzed for their qualities, not their
quantities.
It is okay to include some items in a questionnaire for which you are unsure that
participants will have adequate knowledge to respond. If this is the case, participants
will know to ignore this item and go on to the next.
Hypotheses are seldom used in qualitative research.
Grounded theory to demonstrate the relationship between researcher and participants.
Most distributions of scores have only one score that occurs most often.
Chi-squares are limited to testing differences between two levels of any variable.
Inferential statistics tell the researcher which participant’s score is the most significant.
A research question is preferred over a hypothesis if the researcher cannot formulate a
tentative proposition after reviewing the existing literature.
There is one agreed-upon and published set of ethical standards and practices for
conducting communication research.
For content analysis, even when the unit of analysis is obvious, explicit rules should be
set to guide researchers in their identification of the unit.
Data are said to be theoretically saturated when new categories are not emerging from
the researcher’s analysis.
Surveys on the same topic written to achieve different objectives will be composed of
the same questions and response choices, and be subject to the same interpretations.
In field interviewing, debriefing the respondent is not necessary because the data
collected are qualitative in nature.
A manipulation check verifies that participants regarded the independent variable in the
various ways that the researcher intended.
Researchers using qualitative methods try to provide a degree of objectivity to their
research report by minimizing the voice of participants.
Discrete data are sometimes referred to as nominal data or categorical data.
Match the following terms and their descriptions:
1)Interdisciplinary triangulation
2)Investigator triangulation
3)Data triangulation
A. Using researchers from a variety of disciplines to collect and interpret data in the
same study.
B. Using several different researchers or evaluators in one study.
C. Using a variety of data sources in one study.
Match the following terms and the descriptions of research designs. Some responses
can be used more thanonce.
1) Researcher manipulation of independent variables and random assignment of
participants to conditions
2) Mainpulation of independent variables, but no random assignment of participants.
3) Temporal order of variables is not clearly determined.
4) The terms predictor variable and criterion variable are substituted for the terms
independent variable and dependent variable, respectively.
5) Initially developed for study in the physical sciences.
6) Relies on natural variation of the independent variable
7) Also called correlational or non-experimental studies.
8) The classic model against which other forms of experimentation are evaluated.
A. Descriptive research design
B. Experimental research design
C. Quasi-experimental research design
Ethnography is best described as the
A.study of communication in its natural environment.
B.holistic description of interactants in their cultural or subcultural environment.
C.collection of data with the researcher in the role of the complete observer.
D.study of communication phenomena which have been fully explored.
E.study of a large number of similar communication events.
Many qualitative research reports begin with:
A.the presentation of the study’s hypotheses.
B.the full disclosure of research participants’ identities.
C.an introductory premise to frame the descriptions and analyses.
D.information that would explain to the reader why qualitative methods were used.
E.an explanation of why statistical tests were not used in the study.
In content analysis, manifest content is the:
A.description of the characteristics of the content itself.
B.interpretations about the content that imply something about the nature of the
participants or effects on participants.
C.method the researcher uses to collect the content.
D.procedure the researcher uses to analyze the content.
E.interpretation of the content made by the participants themselves.
Match the following terms and descriptions of statistical tests of differences. Some
responses can be used more than once.
1) Stetistical test for determining if differences among categories are statistically
significant.
2) Can test for an interaction effect.
3) Statistical test for determining differences between two group of the independent
variable on a continuous level dependent variable.
4) The data for all variables in this statistical test must be nominal or categorical.
5) Is an extension of the t-test.
6) Two nominal variables are displayed in a contingency table.
7) Represented by
8) This test cannot determine causal statements about the data.
9) The one independent variable must be a nominal variable composed of only two
groups.
10) Is represented by the symbol F
A. ANOVA
B. Chi-squre
C. t-test
Likert-type scales:
A.are a common response set for closed questions.
B.assign numerical values to each response choice.
C.are interval level data.
D.can contain a neutral middle response.
E.all of the above.
A null hypothesis
A.is explicitly stated in a research article.
B.is the basis of the statistical test.
C.provides another alternative in addition to the research hypothesis.
D.is the statement of no relationship or relationship between the variables.
E.both b and d.
Match the components of the model for qualitative research with the descriptions:
1)Credibility
2)Research purpose
3)Research methods
4)Conceptual context
5)Research questions
A. Addresses the extent to which interpretations of the data are true, correct, and
dependable.
B. Identifies the goal of the research project and the concerns of the communicators.
C. Based upon the skills the researcher possesses or can learn.
D. Addresses the theories, previous findings, and conceptual framework related to the
phenomenon the researcher wants to study.
E. Helps researcher uncover what is unknown.
Inferential statistics are used to:
A.describe the basic properties of scores.
B.determine the normality of the data.
C.draw conclusions about a population by examining the data from a sample.
D.compute the standard deviation.
E.describe the practical significance of the results.
In qualitative research, research questions:
A.are quite similar to research questions for quantitative research.
B.provide the researcher with a focus.
C.give the researcher considerable latitude.
D.usually ask “how” or “what.”
E.all but a.
Gaining access is a critical step in qualitative research.
A.Gaining access is always easy.
B.Interactants in all interaction environments would welcome the observations of
researcher.
C.Observing some interaction events may not be practical, or is difficulteven denied.
D.If a gatekeeper or sponsor is used, no ethical issues will be raised.
E.Once granted access, the researcher will be more effective if he or she maintains his
or her typical communication style and demeanor.
Match the following terms and descriptions of pretesting a survey or questionnaire:
1)Those familiar with research methodology or the content of the survey or
questionnaire point out potential problems.
2)Helps uncover questions which can be interpreted in multiple ways.
3)Individuals like the persons who will be selected for the research project complete the
survey or questionnaire just as participants will in the research project.
4)A third person monitors the researcher asking questions of the participant.
A. Expert panel pretesting
B. Cognitive pretesting
C. Conventional pretesting
D. Behavior coding pretesting
An independent variable
A.is the operationalization of the dependent variable.
B.can be substituted for a dependent variable.
C.is also referred to as antecedent, experimental, treatment and causal variable.
D.confuses or obscures the effect of one variable on another.
A hypothesis is
A.necessary for quantitative research.
B.an educated guess or a presumption based on the review of the research literature.
C.the definition of one variable.
D.in the form of a question.
E.used when conflicting results are found in the research literature.
Match the following terms and descriptions:
1)Information about communication phenomena, of which numbers are one type.
2)Participants’ numerical responses to questionnaire.
3)Summary information about the data set as a whole.
4)Information about the relationships between or among variables.
5)All participants’ responses compiled together.
A. Data
B. Raw data
C. Descriptive statistics
D. Inferential statistics
E. Dataset
Qualitative methodologies are more subjective and initially less structured than
quantitative methodologies. Thus, the researcher does not need to design the research
process before collecting data.
A population is:
A.selected from the sample.
B.selected from the sampling frame.
C.determined by identifying the characteristics the researcher wants participants to
have.
D.is based on access and availability.
E.c and d.
In a longitudinal design:
A.there are multiple measurements of the dependent variable.
B.the length of time between measurements is relative to the topic of study.
C.the greater the length of time between measurements, the more likely it is that other
factors can influence the dependent variable.
D.are particularly effective for evaluating the degree to which training has been
effective or the degree to which knowledge has been retained.
E.all of the above.
Measurement is:
A.the same as evaluation.
B.identifying variables as independent or dependent.
C.collecting data through a questionnaire, or counting the number of instances a
particular event occurs.
D.the same as interpretation.
E.everything the researcher does to arrive at the numerical estimate.
A correlation matrix is used to:
A.display how every variable is correlated with every other variable.
B.display the shared variance between pairs of variables.
C.identify all of the possible hypotheses in a research study.
D.determine which relationships are significant and worthy of further study.
E.none of the above.
Match the following terms and descriptions about question types:
1)Often uses the responses of strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree, strongly
disagree.
2)Using this type of question in a written survey or questionnaire, leave more space
than you believe respondents will need.
3)Responses must be exhaustive, mutually exclusive, and equivalent.
4)Respondents indicate degree to which they agree or disagree with one of two anchors.
A. Likert-type scale
B. Open question
C. Closed question
D. Differential scale
Analysis:
A.is the process of the labeling and breaking down raw data.
B.brings order and structure to the data.
C.is messy, ambiguous, and time consuming.
D.reflexive.
E.all of the above.
Both the deductive and inductive research models begin with
A.reviewing and building from existing theory.
B.collecting data.
C.identifying the research problem.
D.interpreting the findings.
E.none of the above.
A spurious correlation is:
A.the relationship between two unrelated variables.
B.a nonsignificant relationship.
C.one in which a third variable influences the nature of the relationship between the two
variables tested.
D.a positive linear relationship.
E.a negative linear relationship.
Probability sampling means that selection of participants is:
A.random.
B.probable, but not plausible.
C.probably good enough to generalize the results to the population.
D.based on one characteristic of the population while ignoring another.
E.none of the above.
Match the following terms and these descriptions associated with threats to validity and
reliability. Some responses can be used more than once.
1) Can be threatened when researcher selects participants through convenience.
2) Can be threatened by the research’s influence on participants
3) Participant change over time
4) Can be threatened when researchers used questionnaires that are dated
5) Participants drop out of study that occurs over long time period
6)Particularly problematic when researcher uses university students as participants to
generalize results to other populations and samples.
A. Internal validity
B. Morality or attrition
C. Maturation
D. External validity
E. Ecological validity
Maximum variation sampling is:
A.the number of times a researcher will ask an individual to participate in a research
project.
B.based on informational redundancy; a researcher seeks participants until the data
received are the same as previously collected data.
C.a form of probability sampling.
D.the degree to which the sample varies from the population on important
characteristics.
E.the number of variables included in the research design.
A field interview:
A.is a simple linear process of asking questions and getting answers.
B.is most effective when conducted over the telephone or e-mail.
C.is most effective when the interviewer can draw on terminology, issues, and themes
introduced into the conversation by the respondent.
D.is rigidly structured with the interviewer asking the same set of questions of each
respondent.
E.occurs spontaneously without prior planning by the interviewer.
Regression is superior to correlation because it:
A.is more flexible.
B.can predict some variables by knowing others.
C.can be used with more than two variables.
D.can test for the influence of more than one independent variable.
E.all of the above.