Ten pages Paper

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KEY TERMS & DEFINITIONS

 Theory
 Theoretical Assumptions (incl. ontological,
epistemological and axiological)
 Paradigms
 Models
 Methodology
 Methods

Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC

Professor of Public Communication

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Uh oh … theory!

• Theory =
• “An organised set of concepts, explanations and principles of some aspect of human experience” (Littlejohn & Foss 2008, p. 14)
• A set of concepts used to define and/or explain some phenomenon (Silverman 2000)
• “Theory consists of plausible relationships produced among concepts and sets of concepts (Strauss & Corbin 1994, p. 278)
• “Theories are explanations of phenomena” (Balnaves, Donald & Shoesmith 2009, p. 278)

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Key terms

• Concept
• Terms and definitions that classify and label variables being studied according to perceived patterns (eg. symmetric communication)
• Explanation
• The “logical force” behind a theory, answering the question “why?” Can be causal or practical
• Principles
• The final dimension of theories – guidelines that enable interpretation of an event and aid interpretation and decisions on how to act
• Taxonomies
• List of categories without explanation of how they relate (taxonomies generally fall short of theory as they lack explanation and principles)

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Key terms

• Ontology
• Branch of philosophy that studies the nature of existence
• Key questions:

What is truth? Is there ‘one truth’ waiting to be discovered – or multiple truths (i.e. valid perspectives, views, beliefs)?

What is reality? Scientific realism or social constructed – i.e. realist or relativist?

Are humans agentic (pragmatist) or determined by external conditions (determinist)

Is human behaviour mainly traits or states?

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Key terms

• Epistemology
• Branch of philosophy that studies how knowledge is created – how people know what they know
• “the nature and status of knowledge” (Silverman 2000)
• Key questions asked:

Is knowledge immutable and absolute (universalist) or constructed through perceptions, experiences, etc (relativist)

Can we be ‘objective’ or are we subjective – or intersubjective (sharing subjectivities)?

Can we be independent in our assessments or interdependent?

Does knowledge arise through rationalism, empiricism or constructivism?

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Key terms

• Axiology
• Branch of philosophy that studies values – what values guide or influence thinking and action and the implications of those values

Can we be value free – or are we value-laden (i.e. biased) in various ways?

Do we conduct value-conscious scholarship – or value-free scholarship?

To what extent does the process of inquiry itself affect what is being seen?

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Positivist v Naturalistic/Interpretative Paradigms

Based on Creswell, J. 1994 cited in Frey, et al. 2000, p. 18. (1) Grossberg, et al. 2006, p. 205.

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Positivist v Naturalistic/Interpretative Paradigms

Based on Creswell, J. 1994 cited in Frey, et al. 2000, p. 18.

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Types of theory

• Nomothetic theory
• Seeks universal and general laws
• Method is (1) develop questions; (2) form hypotheses; (3) test hypotheses; (4) formulate answers (theory)

Deductive

Rationalist and empirical

• Practical theory (ideographic)
• Seeks to capture differences and diversity to provide understanding that helps people to weigh up alternatives
• Recognises knowledge is created by humans, it is created socially, is historically based, and is value laden

Inductive

Constructionist

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Nomothetic Ideographic/Practical

• Objective
• Scientific
• Empirical
• More quantitative
• Effectiveness in persuasion
• Systematic/logical
• Causal/linear
• The truth is out there
• Knowledge is discovered through observation

• Interpretive
• Humanist
• Contextual
• More qualitative
• Participation and negotiation
• Free human agency
• Non-linear, no sequence
• Truth lies within – we create our own truths
• Knowledge arises out of interaction between knower and known

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Theory and practice?

• “There is nothing so practical as a good theory” (Kurt Lewin 1951, p. 169)
• “Theory and practice vitally interact, and one renews the other” (Boyer 1990, p. 23)
• Theory and practice can and should be integrated, each informing the other

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Three Approaches to Scholarship

• Scientific
• The ‘natural sciences’
• Informed by ‘The Enlightenment’ and Modernism – rationalist, empirical
• The “discovered world” – objective ‘truth’ is out there
• Socio-scientific
• Birth of the social sciences
• Uses elements of the scientific approach, but focuses on humans – particularly in a social setting
• How they behave in creating, exchanging and interpreting meaning
• Humanist
• Individual subjectivity, human interpretation
• “The discovering person” – ‘truth’ is constructed inside

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Some terms

• Paradigm
• A framework within which theories are formulated, a theoretical framework (eg. postmodernism, constructionism)
• From the Greek word paradeigma meaning a pattern
• As well as providing a clearly articulated and accepted framework for understanding reality, paradigms can be confining (Kuhn)

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Some terms

• Model
• Some such as Silverman (2000, p. 77) use ‘model’ in the same sense as paradigm for an “overall framework for looking at reality”
• A more common use is in referring to a set of procedures to follow,a mapping of an approach
• A practical demonstration or visualisation or a theory or concept
• “An abstract representation of a process, a description of its structure or function” (Trenholm 2008, p. 23)
• Models are always incomplete because they are simplified representations of complex processes (Trenholm 2008, p 24)

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Some terms

• Methodology
• The overall approach to studying research topics – often used in place of ‘method’ (see below).
• “Methodology is the ontological beliefs that give shape to the process of knowing (the science of method)” (Balnaves, Donald & Shoesmith 2009, p. 278)
• Usually considered to be quantitative or qualitative, or overall research approaches such as ethnographic
• Method
• A specific research technique – eg. experiments, surveys, interviews, case studies, observation, etc

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References

Boyer, E. 1990, Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Princeton, NJ.

Grossberg, L. Wartella, E. Whitney, D. & Macgregor Wise, J. 2006, Media Making: Mass Media in a Popular Culture, 2nd edn, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Frey, L. Botan, C. & Kreps, G. 2000, Investigating Communication: An Introduction to Research Methods, Allyn & Bacon, Needham Heights, MA.

Lewin, K. 1951, Field Theory in Social Science: Selected Theoretical Papers, D. Cartwright (ed.), Harper & Row, New York.

Littlejohn, S. & Foss, K. 2008, Theories of Human Communication, 9th edn, Thomson-Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.

Silverman, D. 2000, Doing Qualitative Research, Sage, London.

Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. 1994, ‘Grounded theory methodology: An overview’ in N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (eds), Handbook of Qualitative Research, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 262-72.