Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Chapter 1: Getting Started: Possibilities and Decisions
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Understanding human communication through observations is known as
______.
a. empiricism
b. interviewing people
c. analyzing message content
d. surveys
2. Communication Research is a scholarly journal that:
a. specializes in interpersonal communication
b. specializes in social media studies
c. specializes in organizational culture studies
d. covers a variety of topics
3. Which of the following statements is the least contestable?
a. Observations capture an underlying reality.
b. Theories about human behavior can be generalized.
c. Human communication can be understood through research.
d. There is one best position from which to observe human behavior.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
4. The statement that theories about human behavior can be generalized is
______.
a. contestable
b. confirmed by communication research
c. generally agreed to by communication scholars
d. a demonstrable fact
5. The statement that researchers should distance themselves from their
research participants is ______.
a. contestable
b. confirmed by communication research
c. generally agreed to by communication scholars
d. a demonstrable fact
6. The statement that research should be done for a specific purpose is ______.
a. contestable
b. confirmed by communication research
c. generally agreed to by communication scholars
d. a demonstrable fact
7. The statement that observations about human communication capture an
underlying reality is ______.
a. an assumption
b. a demonstrable fact
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
c. completely untrue
d. exists in quantitative research only
8. The statement that there is one best position from which to observe human
communication is ______.
a. a demonstrable fact
b. debatable
c. exists only in qualitative research
d. exists only in quantitative research
9. Questions about human communication might focus on which of the following?
a. scientific method
b. quantitative research
c. leadership
d. qualitative research
10. Which of the following questions might a communication researcher ask
about an advertisement?
a. Does the advertisement work?
b. How much did the advertisement cost?
c. Who paid for the advertisement?
d. Is this the best product?
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Difficulty Level: Hard
11. Which of the following decision(s) are/is unavoidable in communication
research?
a. qualitative research
b. the researcher—dispassionate or involved?
c. quantitative research
d. mixed-methods research
12. Which of the following decision(s) are/is unavoidable in communication
research?
a. the sample—large or small?
b. qualitative research
c. quantitative research
d. mixed-methods research
13. Which of the following decision(s) are/is unavoidable in communication
research?
a. critical worldview
b. positivist worldview
c. the data—quantitative or qualitative?
d. mixed-methods research
14. Which of the following decision(s) are/is unavoidable in communication
research?
a. the report—subjective or objective?
b. qualitative research
c. quantitative research
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
d. mixed-methods research
15. Rhetoricians are essentially interested in the ______ or persuasive tactics
used to persuade an audience to adopt the behavior.
a. fallacies
b. control moves
c. arguments
d. appeals
16. ______scientists often bring the assumption of an external “real” world that
can be observed, understood, and agreed on to the study of human interaction.
a. Hard
b. Reality
c. Social
d. Real
17. Three “classic” appeals identified by Aristotle were:
a. athos, porthos, and aramis
b. ethos, logos, and pathos
c. ethos, logos, and mythos
d. logos, mythos, and nomos
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
18. Communication theorist Kenneth Burke is most closely associated with an
approach called:
a. empiricism
b. socialism
c. dramatism
d. modernism
19. Content analysis at its most basic involves:
a. interpreting
b. listening
c. reading
d. counting
20. NCA, in this course, should be understood as the:
a. National Cardiology Association
b. National Communication Association
c. Nominal Communication Association
d. New England Communication Association
21. ICA, in this course, should be understood as the:
a. Interests in Communication Association
b. International Communication Association
c. Interpersonal Communication Association
d. International Conference Associates
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
22. Which of the following research approaches is most likely to involve statistical
analysis?
a. dramatistic analysis
b. critical analysis
c. content analysis
d. rhetorical analysis
23. When researchers use multiple methods providing multiple perspectives, it is
called ______.
a. triangulation
b. comparison technique
c. multistudy analysis
d. comparative analysis
24. Approaches such as ______ assume that it is respondents’ subjective views
of the world that are of interest but combine that research focus with quantitative,
computational approaches to record and assess these views.
a. X-methodology
b. Q-methodology
c. Q-technique
d. X-technique
True/False
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
1. Basically, surveys present a series of specific, predetermined questions to a
predetermined group of respondents.
2. Focus groups bring together a small group of people in order to elicit their
reactions in their own words to a message, issue, or product.
3. Focus groups depend on bringing together large groups of people.
4. Critical analysis of communication starts from a basic assumption that
communication maintains and promotes power structures in society.
5. Action researchers engage in research aimed at improving people’s lives.
6. The interpretive perspective seeks to understand how humans make sense of
events in their lives.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
7. Social scientists assume that human behavior and thought can be measured
objectively.
8. Triangulation is a process by which a researcher uses multiple methods to
ensure that he or she has a good “fix” on a problem.
9. A “pilot” study is a follow-up study done after an initial study.
10. Researchers using survey or experimental methods typically will want to
assume that the results of their research will apply to people who are similar to
the study participants but not in the study.
11. As a general rule, researchers should always distance themselves from
research participants.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
12. Research must always be done for a specific purpose.
13. There is always one best perspective from which to study human
communication.
14. Research participants may not see a researcher’s questions as important to
them.
15. In communication research, a large sample is always better than a small
sample.
16. Generally, quantitative methods and statistics provide greater insight into
human communication than qualitative methods.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
17. Determining why different people prefer different types of music is a research
topic for communication researchers.
18. Observation is a tool that can measure all communication phenomena.
19. Researchers should always remain distant from their participants.
20. The scientific method is the only way to do communication research.
21. Focus groups are a good research method for quantitative research.
22. Surveys are a useful method for quantitative research.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
23. Ethos is the use of emotional appeals in rhetoric.
24. Logos is the use of logic in rhetoric.
25. Pathos is the use of emotion in rhetoric.
Essay
1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using words and language
when compared with numbers and statistics to record and describe human
behavior.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
2. Suppose you were offered the choice between surveying large numbers of
people and interviewing one informed individual in depth. Which approach would
you prefer, and why?
3. Explain the basic assumptions behind the rhetorical, critical, and interpretive
approaches to understanding.
4. Describe some potential topics or questions for communication research.
5. What are the differences between quantitative and qualitative research? How
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
do you know when to use each?
6. How are ethos, pathos, and logos used in communication research? Be
specific.
7. Why is triangulation important for research?
8. How do content analyses and critical analyses differ?
9. Why is pilot study a useful step in the research process?
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020