COMM 305 tion 1nd Edi Theories of Theories Interpretive Perspectives Outline of Last Lecture 1 Historical background a Empirical Observation b Testable Falsifiable c Putting the Post in Post Positivism 2 Metatheory Bingo a Form Casual statements about constructs b Goal Explanation prediction and control c Commitments Modified realists modified objectivists leaky faucet d Methods Quantitative empirical e Evaluation 3 Examples Outline of Current Lecture 1 Historical Background 2 Metatheory Bingo a Form Casual statements about constructs b Goal Explanations prediction and control c Commitments Modified realist modified objectivist leaky faucet d Methods Quantitative empirical e Evaluation 3 Examples Current Lecture Post scholarists looked at validity Observations should match predictions Good theory is where predictions are born out and where predictions work When post positivist focus on scope they want generalizability They want it to be as broad as possible Post positivist scholars try to come up with universal theories theories that apply to as many contexts as possible If context is important the theory may need to include it as a variable It is important to find out what is true across contexts Post positivist work is etic in scope The goal is to make generalizations across contexts Construct with speech codes Speech codes wants to help you understand a particular moment The concern for scope is different COMM 305 tion 1nd Edi Parsimony emphasize simplicity over complexity in general If two theories have equal powers than if both theories are accurate in there predictions post positivist scholars would prefer the simpler one They want to explain what is happening most of the time The Bell Curve We want our theory to be accurate most of the time That is good enough Heuristic value is about new research What counts as new research It has to be new causal statements New fundamental laws Good observation is observation that has as little impact as possible They let what is happening happen They separate the known and the unknown They didn t want to change what was naturally happening They put the camera out of site Theories of Theories Interpretive Perspectives Outline 1 Historical Background 2 Metatheory Bing a Form Rich holistic analysis and synthesis b Goal Situated understanding c Commitments Important Theoretical Traditions Hermeneutics Meaning through Text We don t want to understand what happens most of the time We want to understand what doesn t fit The hermeneutic Circle Information about creators of the text Theorist s own knowledge you bring framework that focuses on certain parts of the text Applicable theory Historical political cultural context Text as a whole Parts of the text Our approach has to be erative If we think of relationships like texts we will look at certain relationships Interpretive messages that sill predict hermeneutics is a rich understanding of particular texts You don t want to know what is most common but have rich detail and know all cases More than just the case Relational dialectics theory Phenomenology Meaning through consciousness Understanding isn t found through observation but through experience Symbolic Interactionism Meaning arising from interaction COMM 305 tion 1nd Edi
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