Communication Research Questions and Answers

Q: In research, the hypothesis which predicts that there is no relationship or no significant difference between two variables is called :

It is called the null hypothesis.The null hypothesis (H0) states that there is no relationship between the variables, or no significant difference between groups. A researcher tests it statistically and either rejects it or fails to reject it; rejecting it supports the alternative (research) hypothesis that a relationship or difference exists.A positive (directional) hypothesis predicts the direction of a relationship, and a non-directional hypothesis predicts that a difference exists without saying which way. Both assert a relationship, which is the opposite of the null. 'Integrated hypothesis' is not a standard term in research methods.

Q: A qualitative strategy in which the researcher derives an abstract theory of process, action or Interaction grounded in the views of participants in the study is called as :

The strategy is grounded theory.Grounded theory, developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss in 1967, is a qualitative design in which the researcher builds a general, abstract theory of a process, action or interaction from data collected from participants, by coding and constantly comparing it, instead of starting from a theory and testing it.Ethnography describes the shared patterns of a cultural group through long field immersion rather than generating a process theory. An experimental design is quantitative, testing cause and effect under control. Triangulation is the use of several methods or data sources to check findings, not a strategy for building theory.

Q: Which of the following is not a source of data which is appropriate for qualitative research ?

The source not appropriate for qualitative research is experiments.Qualitative research seeks depth and meaning from words, texts and observation in natural settings. Experiments manipulate variables under controlled conditions and measure the effect numerically, which makes them the classic quantitative method.Historical records and biographies are documents that qualitative researchers analyse for meaning, and participant observation, where the researcher joins the group being studied, is a central qualitative technique.

Q: A non-probability sampling technique that is used by researchers to identify potential subjects in studies where subjects are hard to locate is called :

The technique is snowball sampling.When members of a population are hard to find, such as drug users, undocumented migrants or members of a closed network, the researcher starts with a few known participants and asks each to refer others, so the sample grows like a rolling snowball. It is non-probability sampling because each member's chance of selection is unknown and depends on social ties.Random sampling is a probability method that needs a full sampling frame, which is exactly what is missing here. Quota sampling fills set numbers for categories such as age or sex, but still requires the subjects to be reachable. Theoretical sampling, from grounded theory, chooses cases to develop emerging concepts, not to locate hidden people.

Q: Many media organisations carry out public opinion polls by appealing people to participate in it by sending SMS or visiting websites. What major objection can be raised on the scientific validity of such research on the basis of sampling ?

The objection is that unqualified volunteer sampling in such polls leads to bias.In SMS and website polls the respondents select themselves. Those who take part are people who saw the appeal, have the technology, feel strongly about the issue and can be motivated to respond, sometimes more than once. Such a self-selected or volunteer sample does not represent the population, so its results cannot be generalised however large the number of responses.The other options misname the method. These polls are not random, since nobody chooses respondents by chance; random sampling is in fact the remedy for this bias. They are not purposive, which means the researcher deliberately picks informed respondents, and not quota, which means the researcher fills set categories.

Q: Which of the following is not the direct and useful measure to ensure external validity of a research ?

The measure that is not a direct one is conducting a thorough literature review (spelt 'through' in the paper).External validity is the extent to which findings can be generalised beyond the study, to other people, places and times. A literature review helps frame the problem and design the study, but it does nothing by itself to make the results generalisable.The other three act on generalisability directly. Random sampling makes the sample representative of the population. Replicating the research over a heterogeneous sample shows whether results hold for different groups. Running the study over a long period shows whether results hold across time rather than reflecting one moment.

Q: Which of the following is the most appropriate method to study the nuances of gate-keeping process that shapes news selection and presentation in a typical news room ?

The most appropriate method is field observation.Gatekeeping is a process that happens inside the newsroom: editors and reporters decide which events become news, how they are framed and where they appear. To study its nuances the researcher has to watch those decisions being made, as in the newsroom ethnographies of Gaye Tuchman (Making News) and Herbert Gans (Deciding What's News), which rely on observation and interviews over months.Content analysis and semiotic analysis examine only the finished news, the output of gatekeeping, not how it was produced. A survey of readers measures audience opinion and tells nothing about decisions made in the newsroom.

Q: A research design that does not involve random assignment of subjects to experimental groups is called :

Such a design is a quasi-experiment.In a true experiment the researcher randomly assigns subjects to the treatment and control groups, so the groups are equivalent before the treatment. In a quasi-experiment there is a treatment and a comparison, but the groups are pre-existing (two classes, two towns, viewers and non-viewers), so differences between them may explain the result. Campbell and Stanley's classic typology of research designs set out these designs and their threats to validity.A controlled experiment normally includes random assignment. 'Semi-random experiment' and 'neo-quasi experiment' are not established research-design terms.

Q: "When you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is better." This approach is termed as :

The approach is termed parsimony.The principle of parsimony, also known as Occam's razor after the fourteenth-century philosopher William of Ockham, says that among explanations that account for the facts equally well, the one with the fewest assumptions should be preferred. In research it guides theory building and model selection: a simpler theory that predicts as much is easier to test and less likely to fit by chance.Surveying is a method of collecting data from respondents. Levelling is a term from Allport and Postman's study of rumour, where details drop out as a story is retold. Disharmony is not a research principle at all.

Q: In research, a combination of concepts that is created to describe specific situation is called :

It is called a construct.A concept is an abstraction formed from observing particular things, such as 'weight' or 'income'. A construct is a higher-order idea that the researcher deliberately creates by combining concepts, in order to describe a particular situation or theory; 'media literacy', 'source credibility' and 'socio-economic status' are constructs. Because they cannot be observed directly, constructs have to be measured through indicators.An abstract is a short summary of a research paper. An aim is what a study sets out to achieve. A hypothesis is a testable statement about the relationship between variables, which may use constructs but is not itself one.

In research, the hypothesis which predicts that there is no relationship or no significant difference between two variables is called :

A.Positive hypothesis
B.Null hypothesis
C.Non-directional hypothesis
D.Integrated hypothesis

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: B

It is called the null hypothesis.

The null hypothesis (H₀) states that there is no relationship between the variables, or no significant difference between groups. A researcher tests it statistically and either rejects it or fails to reject it; rejecting it supports the alternative (research) hypothesis that a relationship or difference exists.

A positive (directional) hypothesis predicts the direction of a relationship, and a non-directional hypothesis predicts that a difference exists without saying which way. Both assert a relationship, which is the opposite of the null. 'Integrated hypothesis' is not a standard term in research methods.

Discuss in Forum

A qualitative strategy in which the researcher derives an abstract theory of process, action or Interaction grounded in the views of participants in the study is called as :

A.Ethnography
B.Experimental research design
C.Grounded theory
D.Triangulation method

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: C

The strategy is grounded theory.

Grounded theory, developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss in 1967, is a qualitative design in which the researcher builds a general, abstract theory of a process, action or interaction from data collected from participants, by coding and constantly comparing it, instead of starting from a theory and testing it.

Ethnography describes the shared patterns of a cultural group through long field immersion rather than generating a process theory. An experimental design is quantitative, testing cause and effect under control. Triangulation is the use of several methods or data sources to check findings, not a strategy for building theory.

Discuss in Forum

Which of the following is not a source of data which is appropriate for qualitative research ?

A.Historical records
B.Experiments
C.Biographies
D.Participant observation

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: B

The source not appropriate for qualitative research is experiments.

Qualitative research seeks depth and meaning from words, texts and observation in natural settings. Experiments manipulate variables under controlled conditions and measure the effect numerically, which makes them the classic quantitative method.

Historical records and biographies are documents that qualitative researchers analyse for meaning, and participant observation, where the researcher joins the group being studied, is a central qualitative technique.

Discuss in Forum

A non-probability sampling technique that is used by researchers to identify potential subjects in studies where subjects are hard to locate is called :

A.Random sampling
B.Snowball sampling
C.Quota sampling
D.Theoretical sampling

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: B

The technique is snowball sampling.

When members of a population are hard to find, such as drug users, undocumented migrants or members of a closed network, the researcher starts with a few known participants and asks each to refer others, so the sample grows like a rolling snowball. It is non-probability sampling because each member's chance of selection is unknown and depends on social ties.

Random sampling is a probability method that needs a full sampling frame, which is exactly what is missing here. Quota sampling fills set numbers for categories such as age or sex, but still requires the subjects to be reachable. Theoretical sampling, from grounded theory, chooses cases to develop emerging concepts, not to locate hidden people.

Discuss in Forum

Many media organisations carry out public opinion polls by appealing people to participate in it by sending SMS or visiting websites. What major objection can be raised on the scientific validity of such research on the basis of sampling ?

A.Purposive sampling in such polls leads to bias
B.Unqualified volunteer sampling in such polls leads to bias
C.Random sampling in such polls introduces bias
D.Quota sampling in such polls produces bias

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: B

The objection is that unqualified volunteer sampling in such polls leads to bias.

In SMS and website polls the respondents select themselves. Those who take part are people who saw the appeal, have the technology, feel strongly about the issue and can be motivated to respond, sometimes more than once. Such a self-selected or volunteer sample does not represent the population, so its results cannot be generalised however large the number of responses.

The other options misname the method. These polls are not random, since nobody chooses respondents by chance; random sampling is in fact the remedy for this bias. They are not purposive, which means the researcher deliberately picks informed respondents, and not quota, which means the researcher fills set categories.

Discuss in Forum

Which of the following is not the direct and useful measure to ensure external validity of a research ?

A.Conducting a through literature review
B.Using random sampling method
C.Conducting a research over a long period of time
D.Replicating research over heterogeneous sample

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: A

The measure that is not a direct one is conducting a thorough literature review (spelt 'through' in the paper).

External validity is the extent to which findings can be generalised beyond the study, to other people, places and times. A literature review helps frame the problem and design the study, but it does nothing by itself to make the results generalisable.

The other three act on generalisability directly. Random sampling makes the sample representative of the population. Replicating the research over a heterogeneous sample shows whether results hold for different groups. Running the study over a long period shows whether results hold across time rather than reflecting one moment.

Discuss in Forum

Which of the following is the most appropriate method to study the nuances of gate-keeping process that shapes news selection and presentation in a typical news room ?

A.Survey of readers
B.Field observation
C.Content analysis of news
D.Semiotic analysis of news

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: B

The most appropriate method is field observation.

Gatekeeping is a process that happens inside the newsroom: editors and reporters decide which events become news, how they are framed and where they appear. To study its nuances the researcher has to watch those decisions being made, as in the newsroom ethnographies of Gaye Tuchman (Making News) and Herbert Gans (Deciding What's News), which rely on observation and interviews over months.

Content analysis and semiotic analysis examine only the finished news, the output of gatekeeping, not how it was produced. A survey of readers measures audience opinion and tells nothing about decisions made in the newsroom.

Discuss in Forum

A research design that does not involve random assignment of subjects to experimental groups is called :

A.Controlled experiment
B.Semi-random experiment
C.Quasi-experiment
D.Neo-quasi experiment

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: C

Such a design is a quasi-experiment.

In a true experiment the researcher randomly assigns subjects to the treatment and control groups, so the groups are equivalent before the treatment. In a quasi-experiment there is a treatment and a comparison, but the groups are pre-existing (two classes, two towns, viewers and non-viewers), so differences between them may explain the result. Campbell and Stanley's classic typology of research designs set out these designs and their threats to validity.

A controlled experiment normally includes random assignment. 'Semi-random experiment' and 'neo-quasi experiment' are not established research-design terms.

Discuss in Forum

"When you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is better." This approach is termed as :

A.Surveying
B.Parsimony
C.Levelling
D.Disharmony

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: B

The approach is termed parsimony.

The principle of parsimony, also known as Occam's razor after the fourteenth-century philosopher William of Ockham, says that among explanations that account for the facts equally well, the one with the fewest assumptions should be preferred. In research it guides theory building and model selection: a simpler theory that predicts as much is easier to test and less likely to fit by chance.

Surveying is a method of collecting data from respondents. Levelling is a term from Allport and Postman's study of rumour, where details drop out as a story is retold. Disharmony is not a research principle at all.

Discuss in Forum

10.

In research, a combination of concepts that is created to describe specific situation is called :

A.Abstract
B.Construct
C.Aim
D.Hypothesis

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: B

It is called a construct.

A concept is an abstraction formed from observing particular things, such as 'weight' or 'income'. A construct is a higher-order idea that the researcher deliberately creates by combining concepts, in order to describe a particular situation or theory; 'media literacy', 'source credibility' and 'socio-economic status' are constructs. Because they cannot be observed directly, constructs have to be measured through indicators.

An abstract is a short summary of a research paper. An aim is what a study sets out to achieve. A hypothesis is a testable statement about the relationship between variables, which may use constructs but is not itself one.

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