Data Description and Visualisation
Summary
Week 1
Two worldviews about research:
Nomothetic approach (worldview 1) Idiographic approach (worldview 2)
• Empirical • Interpretative
• Human behaviour = predictable • Human behaviour =
• Focuses on establishing universal subjective/unique
laws and generalizations • Focuses on understanding individual
• Relies on quantitative methods experiences
(eg. Surveys and experiments) • Relies on qualitative methods
(eg. Interviews and focus groups)
Critical theory (another approach): studies whose interests are advanced by communication
(Example: communication about vaccination)
This course: focuses on empirical/quantitative research
Ethics in communication research
Key principles of ethical research:
(according to the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity)
1. Honesty
2. Scrupulousness
3. Transparency
4. Independence
5. Responsibility
Research ethics: key points
• Participants should be informed (through an information form)
• Participants should give consent (through a consent form)
• Participation must be voluntary
• Participants should be debriefed after the study (especially in cases of deception)
, • Data should be anonymised and confidential
• Data should be stored responsibly and participants should be informed about data
storage
• Researchers must be honest and must refrain from plagiarism
Principles of good data visualization
-> Focus on clarity and simplicity
When plotting data:
• Avoid creating false impressions, scale the axes accurately.
• Make sure axes are labelled correctly and clearly
• Avoid chartjunk (distractions) -> eg. patterns, 3D effects, images
Week 2
Thought Processes
Induction: Starting with curiosity/questions about observations and looking for a theory
(answer).
Observations → hypothesis formation
Example: a researcher observes that crime rates are high in many areas with high
unemployment rates -> formulates an hypothesis that crime rates might be linked to
unemployment
Deduction: Starting with a theory and testing it through experiments/observations
Hypothesis -> testing through experiments/observations
Examples: A researcher might think that students that don’t drink achieve higher exam
results -> his next step will be testing this hypothesis to see if it is true
Abduction: looking for causes/explanations for a specific unusual observation
Unusual observation -> theory/explanation
Example: after observing a group of young children at a university building (unusual
observation) -> one might look for explanations -> and discover that it is ‘bring your child to
work day’
, Research Questions
Questions about the relation between constructs or variables.
Can be:
1. Open-ended (non-directional) -> ask whether there is a relationship between
constructs/variables.
Example: Is there a relationship between involvement in video gaming and academic
performance?
2. Close-ended (directional) -> focus on the direction of an hypothesized relationship
Example: Does academic performance decline as involvement in video gaming
increases?
Hypotheses
Statements about expected relationships between constructs/variables.
Can be:
1. Two-tailed hypotheses (non-directional) -> state that there is a relationship between
the constructs/variables
Example: There is a relationship between level of involvement in video gaming and
academic performance.
2. One-tailed hypotheses (directional) -> predict the direction of the relationship
between constructs/variables
Example: As time spent in video gaming increases, academic performance decreases.
3. Null hypotheses (H0) -> predict that there is no relationship between the
constructs/variables
Example: There is no relationship between level of involvement in video gaming and
academic performance
Research questions: more open-minded, speculative, less focus on a specific answer
Hypotheses: focus on supporting or discarding a specific idea - testable predictions
Summary
Week 1
Two worldviews about research:
Nomothetic approach (worldview 1) Idiographic approach (worldview 2)
• Empirical • Interpretative
• Human behaviour = predictable • Human behaviour =
• Focuses on establishing universal subjective/unique
laws and generalizations • Focuses on understanding individual
• Relies on quantitative methods experiences
(eg. Surveys and experiments) • Relies on qualitative methods
(eg. Interviews and focus groups)
Critical theory (another approach): studies whose interests are advanced by communication
(Example: communication about vaccination)
This course: focuses on empirical/quantitative research
Ethics in communication research
Key principles of ethical research:
(according to the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity)
1. Honesty
2. Scrupulousness
3. Transparency
4. Independence
5. Responsibility
Research ethics: key points
• Participants should be informed (through an information form)
• Participants should give consent (through a consent form)
• Participation must be voluntary
• Participants should be debriefed after the study (especially in cases of deception)
, • Data should be anonymised and confidential
• Data should be stored responsibly and participants should be informed about data
storage
• Researchers must be honest and must refrain from plagiarism
Principles of good data visualization
-> Focus on clarity and simplicity
When plotting data:
• Avoid creating false impressions, scale the axes accurately.
• Make sure axes are labelled correctly and clearly
• Avoid chartjunk (distractions) -> eg. patterns, 3D effects, images
Week 2
Thought Processes
Induction: Starting with curiosity/questions about observations and looking for a theory
(answer).
Observations → hypothesis formation
Example: a researcher observes that crime rates are high in many areas with high
unemployment rates -> formulates an hypothesis that crime rates might be linked to
unemployment
Deduction: Starting with a theory and testing it through experiments/observations
Hypothesis -> testing through experiments/observations
Examples: A researcher might think that students that don’t drink achieve higher exam
results -> his next step will be testing this hypothesis to see if it is true
Abduction: looking for causes/explanations for a specific unusual observation
Unusual observation -> theory/explanation
Example: after observing a group of young children at a university building (unusual
observation) -> one might look for explanations -> and discover that it is ‘bring your child to
work day’
, Research Questions
Questions about the relation between constructs or variables.
Can be:
1. Open-ended (non-directional) -> ask whether there is a relationship between
constructs/variables.
Example: Is there a relationship between involvement in video gaming and academic
performance?
2. Close-ended (directional) -> focus on the direction of an hypothesized relationship
Example: Does academic performance decline as involvement in video gaming
increases?
Hypotheses
Statements about expected relationships between constructs/variables.
Can be:
1. Two-tailed hypotheses (non-directional) -> state that there is a relationship between
the constructs/variables
Example: There is a relationship between level of involvement in video gaming and
academic performance.
2. One-tailed hypotheses (directional) -> predict the direction of the relationship
between constructs/variables
Example: As time spent in video gaming increases, academic performance decreases.
3. Null hypotheses (H0) -> predict that there is no relationship between the
constructs/variables
Example: There is no relationship between level of involvement in video gaming and
academic performance
Research questions: more open-minded, speculative, less focus on a specific answer
Hypotheses: focus on supporting or discarding a specific idea - testable predictions
