Review Keyton (2019) Chapter 2: The Research Process – Getting Started, pp. 22-33, Structure of the Communication Studies Discipline and Developing a Research Topic + Formulating Research Questions to answer the questions below about your proposed research topic and objective in order to formulate a research question (RQ) for your proposed study.
1. What is the communication concept/variable you are interested in exploring if you were to design a quantitative study?
2.Are you writing a “relationship between variables” question? If so, what is (are) your other variable(s)?
3.Are you interested in focusing on the “nature of the communication variable?” Or are you interested in the “relationship between” the communication variable and some other variable?
4.Is your research question written in a question format, specifying Who, What, Where, When, Why, or How, with at least one variable being a communication variable?
5.Based on your answers to the above questions, in the space below, write out your Research Topic, Study Objective, and Research Question that you would explore in your Research Proposal:
Directions Part II (10 pts): Formulating Hypotheses
Now that you have identified a communication variable(s) and research question, answer the questions below about your RQ in order to form a hypothesis for your study.
Consider your variables. What are you testing or assuming about the two (or more) variables? [Example of variables: social media and self-esteem; assuming social media has an effect on self-esteem.]
1.Are you testing association or causation? If causation, which variable is independent (IV)? Which one is the dependent (DV)? [For example: Assuming that social media (IV) causes someone to have low self-esteem (DV). Alternatively, you may assume social media is associated with self-esteem but there is no obvious independent or dependent variable.]
2.Is the Hypothesis written in a simple statement, used to predict a relationship between or among the variables? [Example of causation hypothesis: Excessive use of social media will cause a lessening in self-esteem.]
3.What is the context in which you are testing or predicting? Is it causation or association? [Example of causation and context: Excessive use of social media will cause a lessening in self-esteem among college students.]
4.Can the Hypothesis be written in Null form? [Example of Null causation: Excessive use of social media will NOT cause a lessening in self-esteem among college students. Example of Null association: The use of social media will not have an effect on self-esteem among college students.]
5.Based on your answers to the above questions, in the space below, write out your Hypothesis for your Research Proposal:
Link if needed for clarification: (skip to slides in video)
