Introducing Communication Research

Congratulations! You have just finished a tough academic year (let's assume). Now it's time for that trip you have been dreaming about. Two inescapable questions come to mind immediately: Where will you go, and how will you get there?

Generally, you will have some goal in mind. Perhaps, as a lover of art, music, or history, you will be thinking of the great museums or concert halls of the world. Or perhaps you have always been intrigued by the cultures of Asia and think of Asia as a destination. Or perhaps you really want to spend time with Great-Aunt Minerva, who is an endless source of funny stories and whom you have not seen in years. Your trip is triggered by some basic inter-est, but interest alone is not enough to make it happen. To get to your desti-nation, you must have a specific address, and you must decide whether you will get there by plane, train, car, ship, bicycle, walking, or any combination of these. Two further questions have answers that will shape the nature of your trip: What is my budget, and how much time do I have? Then there's the question of how you will experience your destination when you get there. Some of us like to "put down roots" and stay in one area to experience it as fully as pos-sible. Others are movers every day a new attraction. The first approach gives you an in-depth experience; the second gives you a broad experience.

Of course you will want to record events and perhaps let others know about your trip, and so questions of recording and communication arise.

How will you document your trip video, audio, photography, notepad, or all of the above? What will you record when you do record, for example, a memorable dining experience the details of that great meal you had in the restaurant with the harbor view, photographs of the harbor view, or names and addresses of the interesting people you met at the restaurant?

Most journeys are fun, interesting, and intellectually and emotionally sat-isfying. But you cannot undertake two journeys simultaneously, and you had better know where and how you are going or you won't get there.

Researching human communication is very similar. At heart, it is simply a journey from not knowing something to knowing something or knowing and intellectually revardinebrochatatenews, love artis interest momile, social nervorkinse, Wah chat soap operas, famil cratires, podasts, advertising, "tweets" and group decision making is dust a few manifestations of the complies interactions that we call human communication and that we can research.

other travel analogies apply. Itis difficult to take two journeys simulta-cously, so most researchers opt to study one area at a time. They also have Inspecific "travel plan" in the form of decisions about the phenomena they wil study, the method(s) they will use, and the people they will invite to be in their study. And they will undoubtedly seek the advice of those who have been there before to help them avoid the pitfalls and to maximize the return on the time, effort, and intellectual energy that good research demands. As with any journey, time and funding will also shape a research project.

Just as travel agents, Web sites, and guidebooks are your guides to satisfying travel experiences, this book is in a sense your travel guide to satisfying communication research experiences.

Chapters 1-3 examine some of the basic assumptions and disagreements about human communication and how best to understand it, as well as the ethical implications of becoming involved in people's lives as you study them. These chapters give you the language and customs of the territory you will be visiting scholarly research in communication.

Chapter 4 will help you identify your specific areas of interest and how to find out more about them. It will help you identify the detailed reading you will need to do to get comfortable with the specific area you will be visiting.

Chapters 5-11 discuss mainstream research methods, statistics, and sampling. Metaphorically, these discussions of methods, sampling, and statistics will help you with your mode-of-travel decision. Automobiles can stop anytime you need them to; trucks consume more fu,el but carry more weight. Planes are fast and provide a wonderful overview of the ter-ritory, weather permitting, but may not take you exactly where you want to go. So it is with research methods. There is no such thing as one best method, only a most appropriate method for your voyage of discovery.

We finish with a chapter on writing your research results so that others can get a good picture of where you went and how you went there, what you discovered, and how you have chosen to interpret it.

Each chapter has starter questions to get you thinking about your research, a chapter summary of key ideas, and an ethics panel to help you think about the implications of your research. Terminology that may be new to you is shown in boldface like this the first time it appears in the book. The glossary at the end of the book briefly defines each highlighted term.

Chapters 8-12 have a "Research in Practice" page, written by an industry professional, that shows you an example of communication research methods in practice. You will find additional study resources at www sagepub.com/treadwellicr.  Communication research is almost inescapable in a communication career. If you are not involved in designing or initiating research at some level, you will almost certainly be in the position of having to interpret the research of others. Therefore, I suggest that you keep this book and find a place for it on your office bookshelf. The ideas and questions that you run into in your research courses will almost certainly come back to visit you in your professional career.

Welcome to that most fascinating of journeys research in human communication.