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UTS:
KEY TERMS & DEFINITIONS
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Theory
Theoretical Assumptions (incl. ontological,
epistemological and axiological)
Paradigms
Models
Methodology
Methods
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
Professor of Public Communication
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Uh oh … theory!
 Theory =
 “An organised set of concepts, explanations and
principles of some aspect of human experience”
(Littlejohn & Foss 2008, p. 14)
 A set of concepts used to define and/or explain
some phenomenon (Silverman 2000)
 “Theory consists of plausible relationships produced
among concepts and sets of concepts (Strauss &
Corbin 1994, p. 278)
 “Theories are explanations of phenomena” (Balnaves,
Donald & Shoesmith 2009, p. 278)
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Key terms
 Concept
 Terms and definitions that classify and label variables
being studied according to perceived patterns (eg.
symmetric communication)
 Explanation
 The “logical force” behind a theory, answering the
question “why?” Can be causal or practical
 Principles
 The final dimension of theories – guidelines that
enable interpretation of an event and aid interpretation
and decisions on how to act
 Taxonomies
 List of categories without explanation of how they
relate (taxonomies generally fall short of theory as
they lack explanation and principles)
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Key terms
 Ontology
 Branch of philosophy that studies the nature of
existence
 Key questions:
• What is truth? Is there ‘one truth’ waiting to be
discovered – or multiple truths (i.e. valid perspectives,
views, beliefs)?
• What is reality? Scientific realism or social constructed –
i.e. realist or relativist?
• Are humans agentic (pragmatist) or determined by
external conditions (determinist)
• Is human behaviour mainly traits or states?
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Key terms
 Epistemology
 Branch of philosophy that studies how knowledge is
created – how people know what they know
 “the nature and status of knowledge” (Silverman 2000)
 Key questions asked:
• Is knowledge immutable and absolute (universalist) or
constructed through perceptions, experiences, etc
(relativist)
• Can we be ‘objective’ or are we subjective – or
intersubjective (sharing subjectivities)?
• Can we be independent in our assessments or
interdependent?
• Does knowledge arise through rationalism, empiricism
or constructivism?
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Key terms
 Axiology
 Branch of philosophy that studies values – what values
guide or influence thinking and action and the implications
of those values
• Can we be value free – or are we value-laden (i.e. biased) in
various ways?
• Do we conduct value-conscious scholarship – or value-free
scholarship?
• To what extent does the process of inquiry itself affect what is
being seen?
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Positivist v Naturalistic/Interpretative
Paradigms
ASSUMPTION
KEY QUESTIONS
POSITIVIST
PARADIGM
INTERPRETATIVE
PARADIGM
Ontological
Assumption
What is the nature
of reality?
Singular (one reality)
One truth
Realist
Multiple realities
Multiple truths
Relativist
Epistemological
Assumption
What is the
relationship of the
researcher to that
being researched?
Independent
Objectivist
Interdependent
Subjectivist
Constructionist
(Constructionism
denies any access
to reality other than
representations)1
Axiological
Assumption
What is the role of
values in the
research process?
Value-free
Unbiased
Value-laden
Biased
Rhetorical
Assumption
What is the
language used?
Formal
Impersonal Voice
Informal
Personal voice
(How do we
acquire
knowledge?)
Based on Creswell, J. 1994 cited in Frey, et al. 2000, p. 18. (1) Grossberg, et al. 2006, p. 205.
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Positivist v Naturalistic/Interpretative
Paradigms
ASSUMPTION
QUESTION
POSITIVIST
PARADIGM
INTERPRETATIVE
PARADIGM
Methodological
Assumption
What is the
process of inquiry
or research?
Deduction
Search for cause an
effect relationships
between variables
Static design
Researcher
controlled setting
Quantitative
methods
Context-free
generalisations
Goals of
explanation,
prediction and
control
Induction
Holistic
understanding of
patterns/behaviour
Emergent design
Natural setting
Based on Creswell, J. 1994 cited in Frey, et al. 2000, p. 18.
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
Qualitative methods
Context-bound
findings
Goals of
understanding and
social change
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Types of theory
 Nomothetic theory
 Seeks universal and general laws
 Method is (1) develop questions; (2) form hypotheses;
(3) test hypotheses; (4) formulate answers (theory)
• Deductive
• Rationalist and empirical
 Practical theory (ideographic)
 Seeks to capture differences and diversity to provide
understanding that helps people to weigh up
alternatives
 Recognises knowledge is created by humans, it is
created socially, is historically based, and is value
laden
• Inductive
• Constructionist
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Nomothetic
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Objective
Scientific
Empirical
More quantitative
Effectiveness in
persuasion
Systematic/logical
Causal/linear
The truth is out there
Knowledge is discovered
through observation
Ideographic/Practical
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57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
Interpretive
Humanist
Contextual
More qualitative
Participation and
negotiation
Free human agency
Non-linear, no sequence
Truth lies within – we
create our own truths
Knowledge arises out of
interaction between knower
and known
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Theory and practice?
 “There is nothing so practical as a good theory”
(Kurt Lewin 1951, p. 169)
 “Theory and practice vitally interact, and one
renews the other” (Boyer 1990, p. 23)
 Theory and practice can and should be
integrated, each informing the other
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Three Approaches to Scholarship
 Scientific
 The ‘natural sciences’
 Informed by ‘The Enlightenment’ and Modernism –
rationalist, empirical
 The “discovered world” – objective ‘truth’ is out there
 Socio-scientific
 Birth of the social sciences
 Uses elements of the scientific approach, but focuses
on humans – particularly in a social setting
 How they behave in creating, exchanging and
interpreting meaning
 Humanist
 Individual subjectivity, human interpretation
 “The discovering person” – ‘truth’ is constructed inside
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Some terms
 Paradigm
 A framework within which theories are formulated, a
theoretical framework (eg. postmodernism,
constructionism)
 From the Greek word paradeigma meaning a pattern
 As well as providing a clearly articulated and accepted
framework for understanding reality, paradigms can
be confining (Kuhn)
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Some terms
 Model
 Some such as Silverman (2000, p. 77) use ‘model’ in
the same sense as paradigm for an “overall
framework for looking at reality”
 A more common use is in referring to a set of
procedures to follow,a mapping of an approach
 A practical demonstration or visualisation or a theory
or concept
 “An abstract representation of a process, a description
of its structure or function” (Trenholm 2008, p. 23)
 Models are always incomplete because they are
simplified representations of complex processes
(Trenholm 2008, p 24)
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
Some terms
 Methodology
 The overall approach to studying research topics –
often used in place of ‘method’ (see below).
 “Methodology is the ontological beliefs that give
shape to the process of knowing (the science of
method)” (Balnaves, Donald & Shoesmith 2009, p.
278)
 Usually considered to be quantitative or qualitative, or
overall research approaches such as ethnographic
 Method
 A specific research technique – eg. experiments,
surveys, interviews, case studies, observation, etc
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC
THINK. CHANGE. DO
UTS:
References
Boyer, E. 1990, Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate,
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Princeton, NJ.
Grossberg, L. Wartella, E. Whitney, D. & Macgregor Wise, J. 2006, Media
Making: Mass Media in a Popular Culture, 2nd edn, Sage Publications,
Thousand Oaks, CA.
Frey, L. Botan, C. & Kreps, G. 2000, Investigating Communication: An
Introduction to Research Methods, Allyn & Bacon, Needham Heights, MA.
Lewin, K. 1951, Field Theory in Social Science: Selected Theoretical Papers,
D. Cartwright (ed.), Harper & Row, New York.
Littlejohn, S. & Foss, K. 2008, Theories of Human Communication, 9th edn,
Thomson-Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.
Silverman, D. 2000, Doing Qualitative Research, Sage, London.
Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. 1994, ‘Grounded theory methodology: An overview’
in N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (eds), Handbook of Qualitative Research, Sage,
Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 262-72.
57022 – Managing Communication
Professor Jim Macnamara PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC