2.3 Methods for Researching Communication

When a new academic discipline arises, scholars have to ask: How do we gain knowledge about this discipline? How can we study it? With people originally coming into the field of Communication Studies from many different directions and bringing their preferred methodologies with them, there are many methods that scholars still use to study communication. As a guide for walking through the most common ones, let’s take the example of one particular phenomenon: participation in group discussions.

As a college student, imagine being placed in a group of eight students in a social psychology class and asked to work on a project that will make up a large percentage of the course grade. After a few weeks of meetings, you notice that there are three members who do a lot of talking, three who speak up occasionally (including you), and two who rarely say a word. This makes you curious about many things: is this unequal participation typical of groups like this? Does it depend on the size of the group? Would it be better or worse if the group was smaller? What other factors affect group participation? Do groups with more equal participation function better than groups where only a few members dominate the discussion? Are methods that enforce equal participation (such as a literal or metaphorical “talking stick”) effective?

You start to think about studying the topic of group participation in more depth, and picture yourself going on to graduate school and conducting actual research to help you answer these questions. But first, before looking at the best research methods to use, it helps to have a solid understanding of a broader distinction: the difference between quantitative and qualitative methods, and the assumptions and habits that go along with each school of thought.