20 02 2013 08 12 00 How to Build A Theory Observe Phenomenon Develop Explanation theory for phenomenon o Defines concepts o Create logical explination Test your explination theory of the phenomenon Refine modify and or change your theory How to test a theory Quantitative Approaches o Empirical Social Scientists Law Theorists o Data are numbers Statistics o Surveys o Experiements Qualitative Approaches o Humanists Rhetoricians Sometimes Rules Theorists o Data are words o Textual Analysis o Specific Text Identified o Rhetorical Theory used as analytical tool o Rules Theorists Middle of the Continuum Conversational analysis In Depth Interviews Tests of Theorists are Published in Academic Journals o Communication monographs o Communication theory o Quarterly Journal of Speech How to Evaluate Theory o Scope the range of communication behaviors a theory is trying to explain or understand having adequate scope Braod enough to explain a lot of concrete communication events but its not so broad as it is trying to do to much o Precision how well you lay out your explination if you took one of the bullets away the argument wouldn t make as much sense o Logical Consistency if your theory is not precise you cannot possibly be logically consistent do you make a good argument will others read the argument and want it o Testable develop theories in a way that either we or someone else can test them one you can figure out a way of testing it and you need to test your theory in a way that its possible you might be wrong o Heuristic Value good theories generate a lot of research how much research the theory generates does the theory generate research the more research the better the theory o Validity theories represent reality but they aren t reality in and of themselves how well does the theory represent reality how close to reality does this theory get Utility how useful is the theory to you in a practical sense using the concepts and the explinations in the real world to achieve the desired goal Correspondence of Fit adequately is able to predict then it solves its problem is the theory doing what it says it is o Parsimony cheap frugal with its word a good theory explain a doing lot in a few words Questions to ask About Theories How does theory define communication What is the goal of the theory What are the theories concepts and explanations Hwo was the theory tested What the theorists metatheoretical assumptions Is it a good theory of communication evaluate the theory 20 02 2013 08 12 00
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