Quantitative Research Methods in Communication: The Power of Numbers for Social Justice (Routledge Social Justice Communication Activism Series)

This textbook is an advanced introduction to quantitative methods for students in communication and allied social science disciplines that focuses on why and how to conduct research that contributes to social justice. Today’s researchers are inspired by the potential for scholarship to make a difference for society, to push toward more just and equitable ends, and to engage in dialogue with members of the public so that they can make decisions about how to navigate the social, cultural, and political world equipped with accurate, fair, and up-to-date knowledge. This book illustrates the mechanics and the meaning behind quantitative research methods by illustrating each step in the research design process with research addressing questions of social justice. It provides practical guidance for researchers who wish to engage in the transformation of structures, practices, and understandings in society through community and civic engagement and policy formation. It contains step-by-step guidance in quantitative methods—from conceptualization through all the stages of execution of a study, including providing a detailed guide for statistical analysis—and demonstrates how researchers can engage with social justice issues in systematic, rigorous, ethical, and meaningful ways. This text serves as a core or supplementary textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in research methods for communication and social sciences and fills a gap for a methods text that is responsive to the desire of scholars to conduct socially impactful research. Cover 1 Half Title 4 Series 5 Title 6 Copyright 7 Brief Table of Contents 8 Detailed Table of Contents 10 Author Biographies 16 Preface 18 Acknowledgments 22 1 Foundations and Definitions 24 Purpose of Social Science Research 25 Approaches to Social Science Research 27 Quantitative Research 27 Qualitative Research 28 Mixed Methods Research 28 Community-Based Research 29 Research Paradigms 29 Positivist and Post-Positivist Paradigm 29 Constructivist Paradigm 30 Critical Paradigm 30 Types of Social Justice Research 30 Why Do Numbers Have Power? 31 The Rise of Quantitative Criticalism 34 Key Features of Quantitative Social Science Research 36 The Principle of Objectivity 38 Aggregation of Numerical Data 41 Deductive Reasoning 41 Summary 43 Discussion Questions 43 References 44 2 Ethical Considerations 46 The Significance of Ethics within Social Justice Research 46 History of Ethical Violations in Scientific Research 49 Belmont Report and Institutional Review Boards 50 Types of Ethical Research Guidelines 56 Procedural Ethics 56 Professional Ethics 57 Personal Ethics 57 Ethics and Social Justice Research 58 Self-Reflexivity and Cultural Responsiveness in Social Justice Research 59 Avoiding Exclusion, Tokenism, and Deficit-Based Thinking 62 Ethical Considerations Specific to Quantitative Communication Research 64 Summary 67 Discussion Questions 68 References 68 3 Operationalization and Otherness 70 An Introduction to Measurement 70 Two Types of Definitions: Conceptual and Operational 72 Operationalizing Indicators and Dimensions of Concepts 72 Variables, Values, and Attributes 73 Using Closed-Ended Measures 75 Levels of Measurement 78 Categorical Variables 78 Nominal Variables 78 Ordinal Variables 79 Continuous Variables 79 Interval Variables 79 Ratio Variables 80 Deciding What Level of Measurement to Use 81 Validity 83 Reliability 86 Balancing Validity and Reliability 87 Social Justice, Measurement, and Avoiding Othering 91 Summary 93 Discussion Questions and Activities 94 References 94 4 Sampling and Representation 96 Samples and Populations 97 The Representativeness of Samples 98 Probability Sampling 102 Nonprobability Sampling 106 Getting Mathy 108 Having “Confidence” in Your Sample 111 Determining Sample Size 113 How Do You Actually Use This Information? The Realities of Research 115 Representing Minoritized Groups 116 Summary 120 Discussion Questions and Activities 120 References 120 5 Soliciting Opinions Through Survey Research 122 Advantages and Disadvantages of Surveys 123 Role of Surveys in Social Justice Research 124 Cross-Cultural Survey Research 125 Omnibus Surveys and Publicly Accessible Datasets 127 Cross-Sectional Versus Longitudinal Survey Designs 129 Trend Studies 129 Cohort Studies 130 Panel Studies 130 Creating Reliable and Valid Survey Measures 131 Are the Items Necessary, Unbiased, and Clear? 132 Are the Response Options Appropriate? 133 Are Respondents Able to Answer the Items? 134 Are Respondents Willing to Answer the Items? 134 Deciding the Order and Presentation of Selected Items 135 Organizing the Items in the Right Order 135 Making the Questionnaire Accessible 137 Pretesting Questionnaires 139 Deciding How to Administer Surveys 140 Personal or Face-to-Face Interviews 140 Telephone Interviews 140 Mail Surveys 141 Online Surveys 141 Finding Ways to Improve Survey Response Rates 142 Summary 146 Discussion Questions and Activities 147 References 147 6 Studying Responses Through Experimental Methods 149 Independent, Dependent, Control, and Confounding Variables 150 Role of Experiments in Establishing Causation and Causal Mechanisms 151 True Experiments 153 Quasi-Experiments 157 Pre-Experiments 157 Field or Natural Experiments 158 Using Experiments for Social Justice Research 159 Designing and Conducting an Experimental Study 162 Recruiting Participants 163 Obtaining Consent 163 Manipulating the Independent Variable 164 Randomly Assigning Participants to Conditions 167 Controlling for Extraneous Variables 168 Measuring the Dependent Variable 169 Debriefing 170 Improving the Internal Validity of Experiments 172 Increasing the Generalizability of Experiments 173 Summary 174 Discussion Questions and Activities 175 References 175 7 Examining Communication Content in Content Analysis Research 177 Using Content Analysis for Social Justice 179 Coding and Coders 181 Steps Involved in Content Analysis 182 Making Sound Observations 185 Sampling Considerations in Content Analysis 187 Determining Units 189 Intercoder Reliability 191 Digital and Interactive Media 198 Critiques of Big Data Analysis and Critical Approaches to Datafication 199 Summary 201 Discussion Questions and Activities 202 References 202 8 Calculations and Complexity 205 Individual Data Points Aggregated Together 206 Different Types of Statistics 210 Hypothesis Testing 211 Error, Uncertainty, and Rejection: Oh, My! 216 Making an Inference 218 Introducing the Probability Value 218 What Explains Statistical Significance? 221 Some Finer Points Regarding Statistical Significance 222 Summary 223 Discussion Questions and Activities 224 References 224 9 Statistical Analysis: From Principles to Practice 226 Steps Involved in Creating and Analyzing Quantitative Data 227 Creating a Data File in SPSS 228 Dealing with Missing Values 233 Measures of Central Tendency 234 Measures of Variability 242 Data Reduction and Transformation 249 Recode 249 Creating an Index and Testing Its Reliability 256 Compute 261 Select Cases 266 Inferential Statistics 271 Tests of Differences: T-Tests 271 Tests of Differences: Analysis of Variance 277 Tests of Relationships: Cross Tabulation with Chi Square 280 Tests of Relationships: Pearson’s Correlation 285 Tests of Relationships: Multiple Regression 289 Summary 296 Discussion Questions and Activities 297 References 298 10 Mixed Methods: Triangulating with Qualitative Research 299 Triangulation: Approaching Research from Multiple Perspectives 300 Mixed Methods Approaches in Communication 301 An Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Social Justice Research 302 Types of Qualitative Methods 305 Textual Analysis 305 Ethnography 306 In-Depth Interviewing 308 Focus Group Discussions 309 Case Study Approach 310 Arts-Based Research 310 Types of Mixed Methods Approaches 312 Mixed Methods for Social Justice in Communication: Some Considerations 318 Summary 321 Discussion Questions and Activities 322 References 322 11 Community Partnerships and Participatory Research 324 Types of Communities 325 Community-Based Research in Communication 326 Socio-Ecological Approach to Social Justice Research 326 Level of Community Participation 328 Participatory Action Research 329 Community-Based Participatory Research 329 Program Evaluation Research 330 Engaged Scholarship 330 Identifying the Topic in Community-Based Research 330 Establishing Partnerships with Relevant Stakeholders 331 Developing Research Materials for Community-Based Projects 335 Implementation of Community-Based Research Projects 336 Evaluation and Feedback in Community-Based Research Projects 337 Making Research Findings Available to Communities 338 Practical Considerations in Community-Based Research Approaches 340 Summary 343 Discussion Questions and Activities 344 References 344 12 Communicating Research for Publication, Policy, and the Public 346 Writing for Publication 346 Forms of Academic Writing 347 Elements of a Journal Article 350 Peer Review 357 Limitations of the Publication Landscape 358 Writing for the Wider Public 360 Engaging with the News Media 365 Writing to Shape Policy 368 Forms and Guidelines for Policy-Related Writing 369 Examples of Quantitative Communication Research Connected to Policy 374 Summary 375 Discussion Questions and Activities 376 References 377 Index 378 "This textbook is an advanced introduction to quantitative methods for students in communication and allied social science disciplines that focuses on why and how to conduct research that contributes to social justice. Today's researchers are inspired by the potential for scholarship to make a difference for society, to push toward more just and equitable ends, and to inform members of the public so that they can make decisions about how to navigate the social, cultural, and political world equipped with accurate, fair, and up-to-date knowledge. This book illustrates the mechanics and the meaning behind quantitative research methods by drawing extensively from studies conducted by researchers addressing questions of social justice and the transformation of structures, practices, and understandings in society through community and civic engagement and policy formation. It contains step-by-step guidance in quantitative methods--from conceptualization through all the stages of execution of a study--and demonstrates how researchers can engage with social justice issues in systematic, rigorous, ethical, and meaningful ways. This text serves as a core or supplementary textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in research methods for communication and social sciences and fills a gap for a methods text that is responsive to the desire of scholars to conduct socially impactful research"-- Provided by publisher