Instructor Resource
Dainton, Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Lecture Notes
Chapter 2: Theory Development
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you will be able to . . .
2. Explain the major research methods used by communication theorists, including what
they reveal and what they conceal about the communication process
4. Recognize the differences between humanistic and social scientific approaches to
communication study
5. Summarize the ways theories change and grow
Summary
Chapter 2 introduces research, as well as a discussion of the connection between theory and
research, and the necessity of understanding theory and research in tandem. While difficult to
truly differentiate, some believe theory should come before research (deduction), and others
believe research should come before theory (induction). Research aids in the growth of theory by
supporting the addition of new elements to the theory (extension) and also in deeper
understanding of existing elements (intension).
Outline
I. Theory-Research Link
A. Inductive theory development, also known as grounded theory, emerge from the
results of systematic study (research before theory)
2. Preliminary theories may be proposed but the data continue to be collected and
analyzed
B. Deductive theory development, based on the scientific method, requires that a
hypothesis be developed before any research is conducted
1. Once a theory has been developed, theorist collects data to test or refine the
theory
II. What Is Research?
A. Research is described as the “disciplined inquiry that involves studying something in
B. Types of research
III. Research Methods in Communication
A. Experiments
1. Experimental research allows researchers to determine causality because
2. Researchers concerned with two variables (a variable being any concept that has
4. Experiments take place in two settings
a. Laboratory experiments take place in a controlled setting
B. Surveys
1. The most common means of studying communication
3. Strength this method is that it is the only way to find out how someone thinks,
feels, or intends to behave
4. There are two types of survey research
a. Interviews ask participants to respond orally
5. Questions and sampling are two key concepts associated with surveys
a. Questions take two forms
i. Open-ended questions allow respondents to answer in their own words,
taking as long or short as they like
ii. Closed-ended questions require respondents to respond using set types of
answers
b. A sample is a small number of people in the population of interest
i. Researchers are concerned with large groups of people called populations,
C. Textual analysis
2. It can also be used to evaluate messages, focusing on their strengths, weaknesses,
effectiveness, or even ethicality
3. There are three forms that textual analyses take in the communication discipline
Instructor Resource
Dainton, Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
a. Rhetorical criticism refers to “a systematic method for describing, analyzing,
b. Content analysis seeks to identify, classify, and analyze the occurrence of
types of messages (Frey et al., 2002)
i. Typically, content analysis involves four steps: the selection of a text, the
D. Ethnography
2. This method of research is naturalistic and emergent. It must take place in the
natural environment for the group under study
3. Researchers conducting ethnographies need to decide on the role they will play in
2002)
b. Participant-observer roles involve the researcher becoming fully involved
with the culture or context, but he or she has admitted his or her research
agenda before entering the environment
IV. Social Science and the Humanities
Instructor Resource
Dainton, Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
A. The distinctions between the humanities and social sciences are based on different
philosophical beliefs
1. In the humanistic approach, the interpretation of meaning is of central concern
(Littlejohn, 2002)
2. In the social sciences, objectivity is a central feature
a. Social scientists believe that through careful standardization, researchers can
observe patterns of communication that can hold true for most people, most
of the time
B. Because the humanities and social sciences have different areas of interest, they treat
theory and research differently
1. Belief about human nature
a. Social scientists take a deterministic stance which means that they believe
2. Goal of theory
a. Social scientists believe that theory is both to understand and predict
communication processes. Because social science is interested in
generalizations, the ability to predict is paramount
3. Process of theory development
4. Focus of research
a. The social scientific method of research requires standardization and control
i. Social scientists incrementally study narrowly defined areas at a time,
5. Research methods
a. Experimental methods, with their concern for causation and control, are
uniquely suited for the social sciences
b. Ethnography, which leans to the understanding of communication in contexts
V. How Theories Change and Grow
A. Theory development continues the loop between research and theory, refining,
modifying, and extending the theory. Kaplan (1964) argues that theories can change
by extension or by intension
1. Growth by extension means that the theory adds more concepts and builds upon
what was already established
