Spring 2011 Study Guide 1 COMM 402 Study Guide for Exam 1 Lecture 1 Types of Logical Thinking combination Abduction generate a hypothesis collect data and make a correlation with the o Abductive argumentative Arguments what you do to generate a hypothesis ex police officer comes to crime scene and detective concludes a hypothesis that is nowhere certain best guess Induction summarize the data Deduction General to specific o Inductive Arguments summarize data and make conclusions o Deductive Arguments take general premises and generate hypothesis and other generalizations How do arguments relate to theory and data You have a theory based on data and that is what you create your arguments from Theories offer premises and data test the premise therefore the conclusion is the new theory Procedures how you go about testing Methods how to test the theory best through natural observation Predictions what you believe the patterns implications will be Syllogism an instance of a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn derived from 2 premises Falsification trying to avoid a theory by finding things or instances that are false in relation to the theory Control Groups groups that we observe and reference in comparison to the test implemented groups Test Verification being able to compare the tested subjects in the control group in order to verify the implications and results of the generated theory and being able to validate testing replication of studies every time you do it it comes up with the same results Random Assignment random assignment of participants and control groups to avoid biases Comparison Group the same as a control group Pre tests pre test post test experiment Validity making sure something is true acceptable and valid Ethos the qualities that make you credible and believable Quantitative research research where you have something measureable in numbers if mike dresses up as a clown we can measure how close people sit next to him by measuring the distance people sit next to him Spring 2011 Study Guide 2 Qualitative research seeing how people look at mike the content of the results what people say to him etc it cannot be measured in numbers Interactions surveys interviews Critical research compare alternative models on a different prediction compare two theories to the experiment and which theory explained it better Critical experiment using two theories to get the best outcome In terms of argument quality what is the difference between two group no pretest studies and one shot case studies How do researchers report their success or failure in supporting hypotheses after analyzing the results of their experiments Why is explaining whether their findings supported or refuted the hypothesis so difficult for researchers They submit their findings for peer review They are supposed to be generalized so that they can be applied to different situations Must be able to generalize a model Why can several models describe the same situation Models are supposed to be general and not apply to just one topic This way they can be tested and falsified to determine the trustworthiness of the model Understand the relationship between argument and method Argument is a method to find a conclusion We try to falsify popper not verify logical positivism The more falsification efforts something survives the more confidence we have in the argument This is a community argument What are the qualities of a good theory Truth beauty coolness and justice What are the qualities of good data reliable and valid Authentic reliable and valid Even recognizing the phenomena is not simple operationalization can be controversial ex relational happiness scale Duration Overservers judgement Investigator interpretative or distanced ex data from respondents points of view or quasiobjective Spring 2011 Study Guide 3 What is an operationalization What is falsification and why is it important Lave March textbook Chapter 1 What is a model What are some necessary skills for model building What are four common models the book will consider A model o is a simplified picture of a part of the real world It has some of the characteristics of the real world but not all of them It is simpler than the phenomena it is supposed to represent or explain o Only has some characteristics of reality so it is natural to have several different models of the same thing each of which considers a different aspect o Construct models in order to explain and appreciate the world o Speculative models are central to science history and literature and are apart of normal existence Necessary skills for model building o Ability to abstract from reality to a model Problems in social science are complex and frequently personal It is necessary to form abstract representations of a delicately intricate model o Derive implications from within a model o Competence at evaluating a model Accuracy morality aesthetics o Familiarity with some common models Know how to apply them to a wide variety of situations What are the four general social science models that can help us understand what causes human behavior They are covered in separate chapters by Lave and March Individual Choice the process by which individuals choose among alternatives make decisions and solve problems Rational choice under risk reaction to persuasive messages Exchange a special case of individual and collective choice Trade resources cost benefit relationship maintenance Adaptation modification in behavior by individuals and collectivities in response to experience Probability learning model change relational attitudinal personal development Diffusion the spread of behaviors attitudes knowledge and information throughout a society rumors fads opinions Spring 2011 Study Guide 4 What are our goals for communication theory To explain behavior and identify possible models for reaction that have accuracy morality and aesthetics Lave March Chapter 2 What are the steps in the model building process What is a speculative abduction What are the three rules of thumb for model building Step 1 Observe some facts Step 2 Look at the facts as though they were the end result of some unknown process model Then speculate about processes that might have produced such a result Step 3 Deduce other results implications consequences predictions from the Step 4 Ask yourself whether these implications are true and produce new model models if necessary Rule 1 Think Process o A good model is almost always