Week 5

Question 1

What is scientific research important for communication?

Answer 1

To identify what communication skills are important, when they should be used, how they should be taught etc

Question 2

What are the six key steps involved in conducting scientific research?

Answer 2

1. Identify your research question
2. Formulate your hypothesis
3. Fine-tune using research and reason
4. Design and conduct your research
5. Analyse and interpret your results
6. Disseminate your results

Question 3

What is a research question?

Answer 3

A type of question that asks about tentative relationship between variables and is the driving force of your research project

Question 4

What are the four types of research questions?

Answer 4

1. Question of fact
2. Question of variable relations
3. Question of value
4. Questions of policy

Question 5

What are questions of fact?

Answer 5

Attempt to identify definitions for things or taking abstract concepts and defining them to make them testable. Eg. What does workplace bullying look like?

Question 6

What are questions of variable relations?

Answer 6

These questions seek to ask if and how two or more variables are relation to each and under that conditions these relationships become obvious. Eg. How one group of people may differ in a case in relation to another group of people and if so, why is this different?

Question 7

What are questions of value?

Answer 7

Attempt to identify a person’s values and beliefs by asking them evaluate issues of phenomena. Eg. Do you believe pornography leads to greater objectification of women?

Question 8

What are questions of policy?

Answer 8

Questions who’s answers may lead to new or altered recommendations or policies. Eg. What is the best way to communication sad news to children?

Question 9

Research questions must be written in a way that are?

Answer 9

Testable and measurable

Question 10

What is operational definitions?

Answer 10

Indicate how something is going to be measured or observed

Question 11

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 11

A tentative propositional statement that articulates a prediction that will be tested in the research project

Question 12

What are the two research designs?

Answer 12

Within-subject designs and between-subject designs

Question 13

What are within-subject designs?

Answer 13

Those where the same group of people are used to explore a certain characteristic or experience across more than one conditions or where multiple variables are assessed within the same group of people - sometimes referred to as repeated measured design

Question 14

What are between-subject designs?

Answer 14

Where different groups of people are used to test a number of different conditions or variables

Question 15

What are the three research methods?

Answer 15

Qualitative, quantitative and mixed method

Question 16

What is quantitative research?

Answer 16

Uses survey, interviews and experiments to collect numerical data for statistical analysis

Question 17

What is qualitative research?

Answer 17

Uses narrative accounts, conversation or discourse analysis or case studies to collect information about the qualities, themes or characteristics of participants, their experience and their behaviour

Question 18

What is mixed method?

Answer 18

Uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches within one research project

Question 19

What are the two types of data?

Answer 19

Self-report and observational

Question 20

What is self-report data?

Answer 20

Data that is collected from research participants directly, typically in the form of questionnaires

Question 21

What is observational data?

Answer 21

Laboratory based or naturalistic observation of participants while they perform a task of relevance to your hypotheses

Question 22

What is significance?

Answer 22

The probability that your result occurred by change verses the probability it occurred because your hypothesis is actually predicting something that really exists

Question 23

What are important characteristics of scientific research?

Answer 23

Scientific research must be evidence based, is testable, researchers must explore all possible explanations in an effort to demonstrate that their proposition cannot be disproved, the results of a research study are replicable and repeatable, research must be part of public record, must be self-correcting, relies on measurement and observation, recognises the possibility of error and attempts to control it, scientific objectivity requires researchers to minimise personal bias and distortion, science by its nature rests on an attitude of skepticism, has an interest in the generalisability of findings, is heuristic in nature (leads to more questions)