Communication: Applied Communication Research
Argument?
Wiltz, A. (2020, October 31). How you can cosplay |
There's bias and subjectivity just about everywhere* yet we long for an objective & rational way to understand things -here's where the deep body of the scholarly conversation comes in the form of peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations, books (of course), etc.
*If you ask a sociomateriality scholar, then it is irreducibly everywhere we can observe :-)
Polling/Surveys/Public Opinion
Pew Research Center
Roper iPoll
CQ Magazine
Gale Opposing Viewpoints
google contextual search tip!
opinion polling:food
public survey:cosplay
statistics:food trucks
Academic/Scholarly/Peer Reviewed Databases
Communication & Mass Media Complete (great!)
Sociological Abstracts (sociology & social work -one of my favorites)
PsycINFO (psychology, but with many applications in social sciences)
Education Full Text & ERIC (education, family development)
Business Source Premier (business)
EconLit
PAIS (public policy and analysis)
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (politics)
OTHER STUFF: NOT NECESSARILY SCHOLARLY -BUT GOOD!
IBISWorld Market Research -like reading a bank report on a particular industry
Social Explorer -access U.S. Census data in a graphic format -quick start video
SAMPLE KEYWORD STRINGS
beliefs OR values OR identity OR culture OR community
"social media" OR tiktok OR facebook OR instagram
Methods search tips!
Looking for research methods in scholarship is easy! Let's look at some of the chapters of your textbook and experiment with the library search interface and different keywords -change stuff around and see what you find! All of the links are sample searches for the library catalog.
(YouTube primer for this exercise)
Semiotic Analysis (sample: semiotic* OR "semiotic analysis" AND restaurant* OR grocer* OR "street food" OR "food truck*")
Rhetorical Analysis (sample: rhetoric OR "rhetorical analysis" AND public AND bathroom)
Data Visualization (sample: "data set" AND "baby boomer*") note: want help with the "visualization" part?
Participant Observation (sample: "participant observation" AND festival OR "farmers market" OR "community event")
Usability Test (sample: "usability test" OR "usability testing" OR "user experience test*" OR "UX test*" AND website*) Note! since there were so many books on this topic -I narrowed by "articles" only -how can you do this, too?
Surveys (sample: survey OR surveys AND cosplay OR comicon OR "comic convention" OR "pop culture convention")
Brief review of what Dale did in class to narrow to recent stuff, peer reviewed stuff, etc.
Really short examples
Semiotic Analysis
Signs and symbols used to create meaning
pink hair symbolizes youthfulness and non-comformity
Rhetorical Analysis
Strategies of the communicator (rhetor) that aren't necessarily what is directly being said
"Jesus cries when you don't brush your teeth" is logical fallacy and a rhetorical appeal to fear
Participant Observation
Researcher observes and notes people in a natural setting
when the train became full, conversations became more likely as people were pressed together
Usability Test
Observing users when they interact with a specific product or service
many of the older users became frustrated with the interface and gave up
Survey
What, if any, is your religious affiliation?
Jedi. (note, answering "Jedi" is a census phenomenon!")
Subject Guide
I love to help with your research: from just seeing the assignment, to wrapping up with citation management -drop me a line or come by 1726C on the first floor of the Marriott Library
OFFICE HOURS
Send me an e-mail -I'd love to hear from you!