Comms. Research Methods

1. 1 Comms. Research Methods

2. 2 Empirical? Bryman&Bell ch 1. on the difference between research and practice; Empiricism?

3. 3 Locating the article My website in pdf format, OR EMERALD FULLTEXT GO TO LMU Library Online Click on the A-Z under Quick Find E for Emerald (scroll down) Connect using ATHENS password Use ADVANCED SEARCH ‘Kottasz’ in Author field ‘Reputation’ in Title field Choose pdf format for the article Full reference needed in Harvard style

6. 6 Area topic Purpose Rise of reputation mngt - exlained “upsurge of interest” .224 Why? “General signficance” p.225. “volume of literature expanded” AIM – p.226. (page refs to the article)

7. 7 Backgd, context, concepts See ‘Reputation mngt in theory and practice’ section for contextualisation, definitions (eg identity, image), history, rep. mngt, etc. and a GAP in the research in some areas. (p.226)

8. 8 Backgd, context, concepts Key concepts ‘reputation’ , ‘identity’, ‘image’ discuss in detail and the origins of the ‘academics definition’. How is this constructed? (Table 1) Does it seem a valid definition to you? To practitioners?

9. 9 Res q’s “To what extent have contemporary academic interpretations of and approaches towards reputation mngt spread among senior PR practitioners? ”p.225 Worthy of investigation? “other ..issues.”

10. Literature Review In particular can you find where the author(s) refers to: A point of view that they agree with, accede to,or wish to defend? A new point of view which they seek to propose? A point of view which they concede has certain merits, but which needs to be qualified in some way? A point of view which needs to be reformulated such that a new version makes for a better explanation? A point of view which they dismiss on account of its inadequacy, irrelevancy, or incoherence? Authors try to reconcile two positions, which seem at variance, by appeal to some third principle?

11. 11 Literature Review ‘Reputation mngt in theory and practice’ section also forms a major part of the Literature Review Eg Balmers(1998) review of the theory Attempts at measurement in Fortune (US business mag.)

12. 12 Perpectives – the range According to Johnson and Duberley(2000) and Benton and Craib(2001) there are many EPISTEMOLOGIES, including: Positivism Interpretivism Critical theory Feminism Postmodernism

13. 13 Perpective of the B&K Mainstream empiricism based on Positivist Epistemolgy. See Bryman&Bell ch. 1 What is Positivism? Esp, ch.3 on Quantitative methods overview. What is a concept? Indicator?

14. 14 Perpective Do the authors follow the steps of quants researching as laid down by B&B? Define reliability and validity – do they have relevance in this study? Any criticisms of quants research?

15. The process of quantitative research

16. 20 Steps in conducting a social survey Decide on topic/area to be researched Review literature theories relating to topic /area Formulate research questions Consider whether a social survey is appropriate (if not, what is?) Consider what kind of population will be appropriate? Consider what kind of sample will be employed Explore whether there is a sampling frame that can be employed Decide on mode of administration (face to face; telephone; e mail; web; postal) Develop questions and devise answer alternatives for closed questions………….cont’d……..

17. 20 Steps in conducting a social survey p.2 Review questions and asses face validity Pilot questions Revise questions Finalize questionnaire /schedule Sample from population Administer questionnaire /schedule to sample Transform completed questionnaire /schedules into computer readable data (coding) Analyse data Interpret findings Consider implications of findings for research questions Publish results

18. 18 Research process in the real world The previous slide represents an idealisation of the research process; In the ‘real world’ the process is seldom as pure or stylised; Set out a diagram showing the process that you think the authors use in this article. Describe the links and main components. Both qual and quants can be combined.

19. 19 Substantive Theory Exploratory research AIM re-stated: “to establish frameworks for future analysis rather than to specify and test specific hypotheses.” (p.226) Emphasis on conceptual development Quants methods used in the survey.

20. In general follow B&B’s typology…. STRATEGIES Quantitative or Qualitative or Hybrid? DESIGNS Experimental Cross sectional Longitudinal Case Study Comparative Data Collection METHODS Q’aire Interviews Documentational and Website analysis Focus Groups etc

21. 21 Methods and data Cross sectional survey design (B&B ch2.) Data collection via E mailed Questionnaire – (4 sections, use of Likert scaling). (B&B ch.6, 7) Pre tests. Why? Follow-up? Sampling : justify the size, techniques, frame, response rate. (B&B, ch. 4)

22. 22 Consent, ethics? Who is excluded and why? Possibility of bias?

23. 23 Research reporting Descriptive stats – use of %’s Regression – what are independent and dependent variables? What (in plain words) are the authors trying to show?

24. Model to illustrate how variable connect

25. Model to illustrate how variable connect

26. 26 Research reporting What factors (from a range of 5 in Table 2) lead people to either agree or strongly agree with the academic definition of ‘reputation’ (the dependent variable) Which are the most important?

27. 27 Research Opportunities Never the last word. See last paragraph.