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Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM-1
Chapter 5
Measurement
Activity: Recognizing That Statistics Are Part of Everyday Life
Divide the class into groups to generate a list of statistics with which the students are familiar. If a group
is having trouble generating the list, suggest that group members think of health campaigns, political
Activity: Using Calculators
Ask students to bring their calculators to class (or use the calculator on their laptop). Give students a
simple math exercise sheet—addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square roots, and converting
decimal displays to percentages. (I use a worksheet supplied by the developmental math program on my
campus.) Ask the first three students who finish the sheet to write their answers on the board. Why three?
Activity: Documenting the Need for Standardizing Techniques
1. Ask students to think of the many ways in which they are evaluated at work or at school.
Examples
• course grades
2. Now discuss with students the advantages of using some standard format for making these
numerical evaluations.
Examples
Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM-2
3. Discuss with students the following questions:
• What would happen if the American League computed batting statistics differently from the
National League?
• What are the consequences when clothing sizes are not standardized?
4. Help students draw conclusions about the utility of using standardized methods of collecting data
about how people communicate.
Examples
• allows for comparability
Activity: Getting Specific with Measurement
Assemble students into groups of three; two students in each group form a dyad to simulate the type of
interaction behavior they might expect at a reception or at a networking meeting. Once in this formation,
ask the third student in each group, in the role of researcher, to measure the distance between the two
students in the dyad by estimating how far apart they are. These estimates should be written down and
not compared. Now give the observers tape measures, rulers, or yardsticks and ask them to measure the
distance again. This measure should also be written down. Use the following questions to debrief this
activity:
• How well did your measure with the tape measure, ruler, or yardstick compared with the first
measurement?
• At what place or point did you start and stop your measurement the first time? The second time?
• How do the measures of distance compare across dyads? What would account for the similarities
or differences?
Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM-3
Activity: Assessing Reliability and Validity in Journal Articles
If you want to take students through a more thorough analysis of reliability and validity, the following
questions can help guide students as they analyze these issues in a journal article:
• How precise is the measurement?
• What is really being measured? Could the instrument or method be measuring something other
Additional Resources
Nelson, C. L., & Fife, E. M. (2013). RateMyProfessors.com: A validity exercise. Communication Teacher, 27, 6-10.
doi:10.1080/17404622.2012.730621
Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM-4
Worksheet—Measurement
1. Explain the difference between measurement and interpretation of the measurement.
2. Identify the four nominal variables on the attached Communicative Adaptability Scale questionnaire.
a.
3. How would you assess the categories of these variables according to the criteria of exhaustive,
mutually exclusive, and equivalent?
5. Are the data in #4 ordinal, interval, or ratio level?
6. Describe how the researcher would create a communicative adaptability score for each participant.
7. What are the minimum and maximum scores any participant could have if he or she responded to all
of the items?
Keyton: Communication Research, 5e IM-5
Communicative Adaptability Scale
Instructions: The following are statements about communication behaviors. Answer each item as it relates
5
Almost always
true of me
4
Often true of me
3
Sometimes true of
me
2
Rarely true of me
1
Never true of me
1.
I feel nervous in social situations.
5 4 3 2 1
2.
People think I am witty.
5 4 3 2 1
3.
When speaking I have problems with grammar.
5 4 3 2 1
4.
I enjoy meeting new people.
5 4 3 2 1
5.
In most social situations I feel tense and constrained.
5 4 3 2 1
6.
When someone makes a negative comment about me, I respond with a witty
comeback.
5 4 3 2 1
7.
When I embarrass myself, I often make a joke about it.
5 4 3 2 1
8.
I enjoy socializing with various groups of people.
5 4 3 2 1
9.
I try to make the other person feel important.
5 4 3 2 1
10.
At times I don’t use appropriate verb tense.
5 4 3 2 1
11.
I often make jokes when in tense situations.
5 4 3 2 1
12.
While I’m talking I think about how the other person feels.
5 4 3 2 1
13.
When [I am] talking, my posture seems awkward and tense.
5 4 3 2 1
14.
I disclose at the same level that others disclose to me.
5 4 3 2 1
15.
I find it easy to get along with new people.
5 4 3 2 1
16.
I sometimes use words incorrectly.
5 4 3 2 1
17.
When I self-disclose I know what I am revealing.
5 4 3 2 1
18.
I try to be warm when communicating with another.
5 4 3 2 1
19.
I am relaxed when talking with others.
5 4 3 2 1
20.
When I am anxious, I often make jokes.
5 4 3 2 1
21.
I sometimes use one word when I mean to use another.
5 4 3 2 1
22.
I do not mix well at social functions.
5 4 3 2 1
23.
I am aware of how intimate the disclosures of others are.
5 4 3 2 1
24.
I am verbally and nonverbally supportive of other people.
5 4 3 2 1
25.
I sometimes use words incorrectly.
5 4 3 2 1
26.
I have difficulty pronouncing some words.
5 4 3 2 1
27.
I like to be active in different social groups.
5 4 3 2 1
28.
I am aware of how intimate my disclosures are.
5 4 3 2 1
29.
My voice sounds nervous when I talk with others.
5 4 3 2 1
30.
I try to make the other person feel good.
5 4 3 2 1
