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

Learning Objective: 1.2: Identify research questions that might be asked about communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Getting Started in Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Recommended Reading

Difficulty Level: Hard

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.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Theories About Human Behavior Can/Cannot Be Generalized

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Theories About Human Behavior Can/Cannot Be Generalized

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Researchers Should/Should Not Distance Themselves From Their Research Participants

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Research Should/Should Not Be Done for a Specific Purpose

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. The statement that observations about human communication capture an underlying reality is ______.

a. an assumption

b. a demonstrable fact

c. completely untrue

d. exists in quantitative research only

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Observations Capture/Do Not Capture an Underlying Reality

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: There Is/Is Not One Best Position From Which to Observe Human Behavior

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Questions about human communication might focus on which of the following?

a. scientific method

b. quantitative research

c. leadership

d. qualitative research

Learning Objective: 1.2: Identify research questions that might be asked about communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Getting Started in Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

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?

Learning Objective: 1.2: Identify research questions that might be asked about communication.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Some Research Possibilities: What Can We Do With an Ad?

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

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe some of the decisions required when planning communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Series of Unavoidable Decisions

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe some of the decisions required when planning communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Series of Unavoidable Decisions

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe some of the decisions required when planning communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Series of Unavoidable Decisions

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

d. mixed-methods research

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe some of the decisions required when planning communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Series of Unavoidable Decisions

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Approach—Objective or Subjective?

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Easy

18. Communication theorist Kenneth Burke is most closely associated with an approach called:

a. empiricism

b. socialism

c. dramatism

d. modernism

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Content analysis at its most basic involves:

a. interpreting

b. listening

c. reading

d. counting

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Exploring Communication Interest Areas

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Exploring Communication Interest Areas

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Hard

23. When researchers use multiple methods providing multiple perspectives, it is called ______.

a. triangulation

b. comparison technique

c. multistudy analysis

d. comparative analysis

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe some of the decisions required when planning communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Data—Quantitative or Qualitative?

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe some of the decisions required when planning communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Data—Quantitative or Qualitative?

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. Basically, surveys present a series of specific, predetermined questions to a predetermined group of respondents.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Can Readers and Viewers Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Easy

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.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Can Readers and Viewers Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Focus groups depend on bringing together large groups of people.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Can Readers and Viewers Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Critical analysis of communication starts from a basic assumption that communication maintains and promotes power structures in society.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Action researchers engage in research aimed at improving people’s lives.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Researcher—Dispassionate or Involved?

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. The interpretive perspective seeks to understand how humans make sense of events in their lives.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Approach—Objective or Subjective?

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Social scientists assume that human behavior and thought can be measured objectively.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Approach—Objective or Subjective?

Difficulty Level: Medium

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.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Data—Quantitative or Qualitative?

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. A “pilot” study is a follow-up study done after an initial study.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Data—Quantitative or Qualitative?

Difficulty Level: Medium

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.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Theories About Human Behavior Can/Cannot Be Generalized

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. As a general rule, researchers should always distance themselves from research participants.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Researcher—Dispassionate or Involved?

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Research must always be done for a specific purpose.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Research Should/Should Not Be Done for a Specific Purpose

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. There is always one best perspective from which to study human communication.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Approach—Objective or Subjective?

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Research participants may not see a researcher’s questions as important to them.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Perspective—Your Questions or Their Answers?

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. In communication research, a large sample is always better than a small sample.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Sample—Large or Small?

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. Generally, quantitative methods and statistics provide greater insight into human communication than qualitative methods.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Data—Quantitative or Qualitative?

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. Determining why different people prefer different types of music is a research topic for communication researchers.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Identify research questions that might be asked about communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Getting Started in Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. Observation is a tool that can measure all communication phenomena.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Observations Capture/Do Not Capture an Underlying Reality

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. Researchers should always remain distant from their participants.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Researchers Should/Should Not Distance Themselves From

Difficulty Level: Easy

20. The scientific method is the only way to do communication research.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe some of the decisions required when planning communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Does the Ad Work?

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Focus groups are a good research method for quantitative research.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Can Readers and Viewers Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Surveys are a useful method for quantitative research.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Can Readers and Viewers Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Easy

23. Ethos is the use of emotional appeals in rhetoric.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Easy

24. Logos is the use of logic in rhetoric.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. Pathos is the use of emotion in rhetoric.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using words and language when compared with numbers and statistics to record and describe human behavior.

Numbers and counting are an important component of scientific methods, and the number of research findings in agreement with each other helps to suggest the current “truth” of the findings, but the complexities and subtleties of things such as interpersonal attraction or use of social media cannot be captured in mere numbers. The “truth” can best be understood by listening to what research participants and researchers themselves have to tell us, in addition to the numbers.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe some of the decisions required when planning communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Data—Quantitative or Qualitative?

Difficulty Level: Medium

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?

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe some of the decisions required when planning communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Data—Quantitative or Qualitative?

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Explain the basic assumptions behind the rhetorical, critical, and interpretive approaches to understanding.

The rhetorical perspective is essentially qualitative—they analyze the use of language.

The critical approach works from a basic assumption that communication maintains and promotes power structures in society. The interpretive approach seeks to understand how humans interpret or make sense of events in their lives.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Describe some of the decisions required when planning communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. Describe some potential topics or questions for communication research.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Identify research questions that might be asked about communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Getting Started in Research

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. What are the differences between quantitative and qualitative research? How do you know when to use each?

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Data—Quantitative or Qualitative?

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. How are ethos, pathos, and logos used in communication research? Be specific.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Why is triangulation important for research?

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Data—Quantitative or Qualitative?

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. How do content analyses and critical analyses differ?

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: What Can the Content Tell Us?

Difficulty Level: Hard

9. Why is pilot study a useful step in the research process?

Learning Objective: 1.1: Identify basic assumptions behind human communication research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Data—Quantitative or Qualitative?

Difficulty Level: Easy