Description
Book SynopsisDesigned as an alternative stand-alone text or supplement to conventional research methods texts, Communication Impact introduces methods through engaging narrative descriptions of actual research projects driven by contemporary real-world questions. The featured case studies demonstrate three important points: 1) Doing communication research is an active, creative process; 2) Actual research projects are very differentand much more excitingthan typical textbook cases; and 3) Communication research generates knowledge that can make a difference to the world. Each chapter addresses a different method, including community-based research, research on organizations and institutions, problem-focused research, cross-cultural research, and research on new technologies.
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Preface: Why Another Book? Part 2 Part I: Community-Based Research Chapter 3 1 Why Did the Scholar Cross the Road? Community Action Research and the Citizen-Scholar Chapter 4 2 Creating Informed Deliberation: The Role of Impact Surveys in Community Decision Making Chapter 5 3 Community Action for Drug Prevention: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Sixteen-Community Study Chapter 6 4 Designing Communication Research for Empowering Marginalized Populations: A Participatory Methodology Part 7 Part II: Organizations and Institutions Chapter 8 5 Gender and Professional Identity among Caribbean Journalists Chapter 9 6 Patient Satisfaction in a Medical Setting: An Emergent Design Approach Chapter 10 7 Interpreting Signs: Reflections on Research Design in Context Part 11 Part III: Problem-Focused Research Chapter 12 8 Peer Influence and Prosocial Behavior: Ten Years of Study Chapter 13 9 Adolescent Memory for Health Information: Mixing "Micro" and "Macro" Variables Chapter 14 10 Communication at the End of Life: Volunteer-Patient Relationships in Hospice Chapter 15 11 Scientific Knowledge and Personal Experience: Mutually Exclusive? Part 16 Part IV: Research across Cultures Chapter 17 12 Stories in the Sand: Field Research with Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Media in Central Australia Chapter 18 13 Adventures in a Foreign Field: Complexity, Crisis, and Creativity in Cross-Cultural Research Chapter 19 14 On Our Way, On the Ground, On Cloud Nine: Research Planning and Adaptation in Belize Chapter 20 15 Choices and Voices: Assessing Television Preferences of Teenage African-American Girls Part 21 Part V: New Technologies and Research Chapter 22 16 Health Communication Research on Hard-to-Reach Populations Using Telephone Interviews Chapter 23 17 Using the Internet to Conduct Communication Research: Two Scholars' Experiences Chapter 24 18 Finding Out What's on the World Wide Web Chapter 25 Afterword: Purpose and Direction
