COMMUNICATION SCIENCE (SBB3802) LECTURE NOTES - Week 5

8/9/2019 COMMUNICATION SCIENCE (SBB3802) LECTURE NOTES - Week 5

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SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

Week 5

Dr. Edlic SathiamurthyNo. 6, Annex. FST

[email protected]



Week Lecture Activities Hour

1 Introduction 15 minutes 2

- ourse a m an o ec ves

-Course focus

-Instruction and assessment method etc.

*

essay on course

objectives

Form groups and

person2 Fundamentals of Communication 5msp 3

-

-Ethics

3 Practical Aspect of Communication – 1 5msp 3-

4 Practical Aspect of Communication – 2

- How to design a poster

Designing a poster

exercise

3

os er op c5 Scientific research methodology – 1

-Qualitative and quantitative

5msp 3

- n uct ve an e uct ve approac

-Research process-Research design









•

• What is the difference between scientific-

• Is scientific research confined to scienceson y ow a ou soc a s u es

• What is methodology?

• So… what is scientific researchmethodolo ?



•

using scientific method

• Read the following article and identify keypo n s a ou sc en c me o





Basic Research Principles

• Research

–

– Calls attention to theories that may be helpfulin r i in f r x ri n

– Performed in many arenas and may be done

in a variet of wa s

©2006 All rights reserved.




• Two types of research - basic and applied

• B i r r h

– The investigator is not concerned with theimmediate applicability of his results butrather he or she tries to look for

understanding of natural processes• – The investigator has some kind of application

some way contribute to society





• Research Methodology

–

• Quantitative• Qualitative






–

• Describes events, persons and so forth without theuse of numerical data

• Consists of interviews, observations and written

documents•






–

• Uses numbers, to describe the study, includingsome comparisons of the population and statisticalanalysis to describe the results

• Consists of observations, experiments and surveys




Source: Gauch, 2003







• Rational thinking in science – based on logic or

• Inductive and deductive logic are appliedscientific research approach (quantitative andqualitative)

• Reason is based on evidence and proof data

• Reliable data is gathered from objective

measurement using a systematic way orscientific method

• ….a limitation to scientific reasoning



•

• Can you proof God exists?

• s sc ence at e st c ntr ns ca y

• Some fundamentally flawed scientificrationalism

• There is NO truth in science onl

probability at varying levels

• , ,





Inductive lo ic• Argues from the real world to the mind• a e conc us ons rom o serve p enomena• Example:

– – observed has a heart

– Conclusion – Every donkey has a heart • Problems:

– How man observations are needed to form a stron

conclusion? – Can we observe every case or phenomenon? –

form of bias?

– How about our perception?



Deductive lo ic• The opposite of inductive logic – argues from the mind to

the real world

• Make conclusions concerning a phenomenon based ona tested assumption or hypothesis•

– Premise 1: Every mammal has a heart

– Premise 2: Every donkey is a mammal – • Basis of mathematics• Problems:

• Can it be purely imagination without real existence?• How valid is the hypothesis or assumption?• How man tests t es of arameters and observations

are needed to support a conclusion?

• How sure are we that they are relevant?



Inductive

Deductive




• Research Process

– Define the problem

–

– Design the research

– o ec e a a

– Analyze the data

– raw onc us ons





• Define the problem – Forming a question regarding a topic you would like to study

•study

– Often an analysis of historical data, or secondary information,has gone into the problem definition

• Looking at the past to see what has been done before

• Prevents “reinventing the wheel”

• In previous research, the investigator may have made

– Problems may also be broken down into sub-problems orsmaller problems

– -

included in the study





• Review the literature

– An investigation of all the information about a topic

– Three reasons for Literature Review• Has research already been done to answer your question?

• re ere any a a sources you can use n your s u y

• May help make your hypothesis more specific

• Sources of revious work – Journals, books, position papers, conference

presentations, videos, interviews and online

su scr pt on serv ces





• Design the research and Collect the data

• Several t es of research desi n

– Exploratory – Historical

– Conclusive

• Includes descriptive and causal

– orre a ona

– Evaluation

–






– Exploratory research

• Undertaken because a problem is not very clearly defined

• Allows the researcher to study the problem and gatherinformation about the problem

• May generate a hypothesis

• Generally informal and relies on literature review and

informal discussions with others in order to find out moreabout a problem

• This type of research may not help you answer your problembut rather ma rovide ou with some insi hts to the roblem






– Historical research

• Involves investigation and analysis of events of thepast

• This type of research does not focus solely on thepast, but it also allows the researcher to apply a

revious researcher’s ex eriences and conclusions from their study into currentprofessional practice






– Conclusive research

• Performed in order to come to some sort ofconclusion or help in decision making

• May be done using primary research

– Data collected specifically for your study; or

– Includes a literature review to see if previous studies canbe used to answer your question

– ay a so nc u e summar es o pas wor s







• There are two types of conclusive research: – Descriptive research

– Causal research







• Descriptive research - also called statisticalresearch

– Provides data about the population you are studying,including the frequency that something occurs

– The two most common collection techniques ofdescriptive research are observations and surveys







• Causal research - tries to answer questions aboutwhat causes certain things to occur

– This type of research is difficult because there mayalways be an additional cause to consider

– Uses experimentation and simulation as its datacollection methods






– Correlational research

• Studies that try to discover a relationship between variables

– Variable - anything under study

• The strength of the relationshi is measured

– There may be a positive relationship or a negative relationship

between variables

• This type of research only determines if there is arelationship between two or more variables

– It does not determine the cause of those relationships

– Uses questionnaires, observations and secondary data as its

data collection methods






– Evaluation research

• A process used to determine what has happenedduring a given activity

• The purpose of evaluation is to lead to betterunderstanding of whether a program is effective,

whether a olic is workin or if somethin that was agreed upon is the most cost-effective way ofdoing something






– Experimental research• Entails manipulation of a situation in some way in

order to test a hypothesis

•independent or experimental variable ismanipulated

•dependent variables

– Independent variables are the factors that researchers

– Dependent variables are the measured variables





• Statement of the Hypothesis – In formal research, a hypothesis is formed

– A statement of the predicted relationship of what the

researcher is studying – A ro osed solution or ex lanation at which the

researcher has arrived through the review of theliterature

– –

– The statement of the hypothesis is important becauseit allows the researcher to think about the variables to

nc u e n e s u y an ype o researc es gn ouse in the study





• Statement of the Hypothesis

–

be positive or negative (correct or incorrect)• If the h othesis is re ected, that is, incorrect, it

does not necessarily mean that the research ispoor, but only that the results are different from

– The formulation of the hypothesis in advancef h - h rin r i n r f r

an unbiased investigation





• Statement of the Hypothesis

–

• The null hypothesis – This hypothesis states that there is no difference

between the population means or proportions that arebeing compared; or that there is no association between

the two variables that are being compared – For example, in a clinical trial of a new medication, the

null hypothesis is: The new medication is no better thanthe current medication





• Statement of the Hypothesis• The alternative h othesis

– This hypothesis is a statement of what the study is set upto establish

– , alternative hypothesis is: The new medication is betterthan the current medication





• Collect the Data

–

• Data you get from observations, surveys andinterviews

– Includes secondary research

• Literature review or summaries of original studies – Irrespective of the data collection method the

research must be valid and reliable





• Collect the Data – Validit

• The degree to which scientific observationsactually measure or record what they purport to

• For example, if you are using a written

questionnaire to collect data, the researcher will- , ,have included in their population to complete inorder to determine if the instrument is well written,

looking for





• Collect the Data – Reliabilit

• The repeatability, including interpersonreplicability, of scientific observations

,researcher reproduce the study using a similar

instrument and get similar results? – A study may be reliable but not valid

– That is, the study may be able to be’,

research question


B i R h P i i l




• Collect the Data – De ends on the t e of research the

investigator wishes to conduct

– For example, if the researcher want toes a s a causa re a ons p, ey s ouconduct one of the experimental studies

– understood area of practice, they may want toconsider an exploratory study in a qualitative

design


B i R h P i i l




• Collect the Data – Surve s

• Gathers data from a relatively large number ofcases at a particular time

– The questions should be well thought out to be sure to

answer the question of the research study

– -

» The investigator only wants certain answers

» Provide for unanticipated response by providing an“ ”

other thoughts


B i R h P i i l





–

• Questionnaire surveys – The questions can be unrestricted - open ended

» This allows the participant to express a freerresponse in his own words

» These questionnaires can be difficult to tabulate,however, they are easier to write


B i R h P i i l





–

• Instead of asking a participant questions, theinvestigator observes the participant

– Non-participant observation, the examiner is a neutralobserver who does not interact with the participants

– Participant observation, the researcher may alsoparticipant in the actions being observed, however theytry to maintain their objectivity







–

• Ethnography or Naturalistic Inquiry – The researcher observes, listens to, and sometimes

converses with the subjects in as free and natural anatmosphere as possible

– The assumption is that the most important behavior ofindividuals in groups is a dynamic process of complexinteractions and consists of more than a set of facts,statistics, or even discrete incidents

– A position of neutrality is important in this type ofresearch







–

• This provides a logical, systematic way to answerthe question, “If this is done under carefullycontrolled conditions, what will happen?”

• Experimentation is a sophisticated technique for






• Selecting an Instrument

– The instrument, also called a tool, is a consistent wayto collect data

– There are many different types of instruments to use

– ou e purpose o e researc

– Researchers should not develop an instrument until

the have established that one does not alread exist – If you decide to develop your own instrument take

your time in developing the questions

• It would be too costly and time consuming to have to repeat asurvey because you neglected a question or two






• Samples

– The selection of subjects for the study

– For example, if your study concerns healthinformation departments in the United States, you

the United States, (this, by the way is referred to as a

census , as you are including all of the population)• That would not be very practical and could be very costly and

time consuming

• The next best thing is a sample

– When chosen correctly samples are considered to berepresentative of the population






• Samples

–

• Two types of sampling techniques – Probability sampling

– Non-probability sampling






• Probability Samples – Simple Random Sample (SRS)

•that every individual has an equal chance of being selected

• The simplest way to select a sample is to place names in a hat (thepopulation) and draw out a handful (the sample)

• Statistics books also include a table of random numbers that can beused for the selection of random samples

• Systematic random sampling

– A s stematic attern is used with random sam lin – For example, let’s say you are choosing a list of discharged patients

from the last month, you choose the first patient randomly, then chooseevery fifth patient (or whatever number you choose) thereafter

– In this sam le the choice of the first atient determines the others






• Probability Samples

–

• First divide the population into groups of similarindividuals, called strata

• Then choose a separate SRS in each stratum andcombine these SRSs to form the full sample

• ,by gender, by patients with private insurance andthose without or separating hospitals by bed size






• Probability Samples

–

• The population is selected from groups or clusters• For exam le, let’s sa our stud includes health

information practitioners working in large cities

– We would choose the cities first – the cluster

– practitioners

– This is called Two-stage cluster sampling






• Non-probability Samples - Almost all qualitativeresearch methods rely on this type of sampling

– Judgment Sampling

• The researcher relies on his or her own judgment to select

• For example, let’s say you are performing a study ontranscription departments in acute care hospitals that use an

– There are a number of large hospitals as well as small andmedium sized hospitals using an incentive plan

– In a ud ment sam lin the researcher decides which hos itals

to use in the groups






• Non-probability Samples

– Quota Sampling

• The population is first divided as in stratified sampling

• Then the researcher uses his or her own judgment to selectthe number of sub ects based on a s ecified ro ortion

• Using our example of transcription departments that use anincentive plan to pay employees

– incentive program and 50 are not, you may choose to performyour study on 20 of the hospitals as that would be 20% of thetotal population of hospitals in your state






• Non-probability Samples – Convenience Sam lin

• The selection is based on availability of thesubjects

,only the hospitals in your city or within a certaindriving distance in order to expedite the study

• ot c ear t s type o samp e s rea yrepresentative of the population

– However, you may be able to get some insights aboutt e quest on you are try ng to answer






• Institutional Review Board (IRB)

–

projects for approval – IRB i h mm n n m n ll

by whatever name an organization chooses

– Pur ose is to ensure that ste s are beintaken by the researcher to protect the rightsand welfare of anyone participating in the

research study






• Institutional Review Board

–

procedures before the study is begun – M r ir ri i r vi w rin h

– May approve, revise or deny requests for

research – Research on humans must be done careful to

ensure that subjects are not abused in any

way





p


–

IRB before any research study is started andprepare a plan for the research

• This includes

– Preparing the instrument

– ec ng ow o se ec a samp e

– Deciding how to collect date

– Getting informed consent forms for the subjects to readand sign





p


–

Committee to ensure that there are no averseeffects on participants

– May recommend closure of research that is

not meeting safety standards, does not havescientific merit or is not meeting the goals ofthe research





p

• Sample Size

– The ideal sample is large enough to serve as anadequate representation of the population about

which the researcher wishes to generalize and small

• In terms of subject availability, expense in both time andmoney, and complexity of data analysis

– e arger e samp e, e sma er e magn u e osampling error

– Surve studies ordinaril have a lar er sam le size

then experimental studies





p

• Sample Size – If ou mail uestionnaires, our res onse rate

could be a low as 20 to 30 percent so a large

initial sample is recommended – you are p ann ng o ave su groups rom

your population, start out with a large group to

make sure ou have enou h artici ants forthe subgroups

– Subject availability and costs are legitimate

considerations in determining a sample size





p

• Analyze the Data

–

data disclose• There are a variet of statistics used to anal zedata

• Most investigators use a variety of techniques to

– Two types of statistical applications are –

Inferential statistics






–

• These are statistics that describe the data• Includes measures of central tendenc and

measures of variation

– Inferential statistics

• These statistics allow the researchers to makeinferences about the population characteristics

’

• T tests and analysis of variance are examples






–

• Help the researcher produce descriptive statistics,graphs and charts





• Draw Conclusions – Any conclusions should be related to the hypothesis,

,identified

– Results for each hypothesis should be described –

data analysis should be reported• For example, our study of transcription departments studied

one cit – this ma be a limitin factor – New hypotheses may be proposed if the data do not

support the original hypotheses – Researchers usuall include tables and ra hs in this

section of the research report to clarify the data





• How to develop research skills – Take at least one course in statistics and

research methodologies

– Begin to read research studies in professionalourna s o see ow o ers ave per ormetheir research

– researcher on a study to gain experience

– Learn how to resent data effectivel both in

written form and verbally





• Draw Conclusions

–

what to study• These become su estions for future research

– The researcher should always include

conclusions as to whether or not this problemis better understood or perhaps even resolvedfrom the research






Documents

COMMUNICATION SCIENCE (SBB3802) LECTURE NOTES - Week 5