Business Communication ResearchClass 6 : Quantitative and Qualitative

Methods

Leena Louhiala-Salminen, Spring 2013

Quantitative & qualitative methods

Today:

1. Discussion and examples of quantitative and qualitative methods

(slides 2-11)

2. Research interviews, particularly semi-structured interviews(slides 12- 17)

3. Examples of language-based approaches to business communication

(slides 18 - 31)

Quantitative methods• ‘natural science approach’ = quantification of phenomena,

measurement

• deductive = theory as starting point

• often focus on causality

• static; categorizations made before collecting data

• aim at generalizability

• emphasize reliability and validity to guarantee rigor

Examples of research problemsProblem 1: y = dependent variable = ’absenteeism’X= independent variable = ’team spirit’

concept – indicator - measureCan you show a causal link?

Problem2:Effectiveness of corporate communication on the Internet?Web communication ’visual communication’ use of

pictures categories (0-3 pictures, 4-7 pics, 8 - pics) How can you measure effectiveness?

Qualitative methods• interest in understanding the world through the participants

• inductive = social phenomenon as starting point

• focus on several factors that simultaneously affect the phenomenon

• dynamic; categorizations change during the process

• significance of the context

• rigor is achieved by verification

Quantitative vs qualitativeTwo opposing world views or only different methods to collect data ?

What do we want to know about this phenomenon?Quant. : “ How widespread and strong?”Qual. : “ What does this mean in this context?”

How do we see the object of study ?Quant. : subject; representative sampleQual . : participant; interviewee, sample selected by the researcher

Compare: HELICOPTER / MICROSCOPE!

The process of quantitative research

• Deductive : from theory through operationalization of concepts to collecting data, analyzing data and presenting findings -loop back to theory; (see handout, B & B p.69)

• Measurement emphasized : concepts (’team spirit’) indicators (’ frequency of communication’) measures (’number of emails/phone contacts between members per week)

• Validity, reliability (see handout, B & B pp. 74-78)

Examples of quantitative methods

• Questionnaire surveys

• Structured interviews

• Structured observation

• Experiments

• Use of official statistics

• Quantitative content analysis

The process of qualitative research

• Inductive: from a research question/problem, through collection and interpretation of data to conceptual/theoretical conclusions/insights ; iterative process (see handout, B & B p. 283)

• Understanding emphasized; concepts used but not ‘fixed’ or ‘definitive’

• Different views of validity & reliability (see handout, B & B p. 286-289)

Examples of qualitative methods

• Qualitative interviewing

• Participant observation

• Focus groups

• Language-based approaches (e.g. discourse analysis, conversation analysis)

• Qualitative analysis of texts and documents

Combining quantitative and qualitative • use qualitative findings as examples when describing

quantitative results

• use qualitative findings to explain quantitative results

• use qualitative findings to create hypotheses

• use quantitative findings as a starting point for a qualitative study

Triangulation = increasing validity by using various methods

Research interviews – types (1)Structured interview

• predesigned questions and predeterminedresponse categories (cf. survey questionnaire)

• e.g. telephone interviews; to collect quantifiable data• used instead of a survey if low response rate is expected

Unstructured interview

• no predesigned questions• proceeds as the interviewee wishes

Research interviews – types (2)

Semi-structured interview (focused interview)

• instead of detailed questions, broader themes are designed

• interviewer explores a few general topics to uncover the interviewee’s views

• themes/topics are covered, but on the terms of the interviewee

• interviewee’s perspective fundamental

Conducting semi-structured interviews• interview those who know

• plan the themes + additional questions

• carry out pilot interviews; plan the practicalities

• be aware of your two roles : motivate and structure

• emphasize the interviewee’s perspective

• listen, let the interviewee speak (and think!)

• pay attention to your wordings, meanings are co-constructed

Interview questions (1)

• avoid yes/no questions; instead introduce broad themes and invite the interviewee to elaborate

Are you happy with the channesl of internal communication in the company?

Could you describe the channels of internal communication in the company?

= could you tell me…in what ways… in concrete terms, what do you mean by….finally, shall we have a look at your website….

Interview questions (2)

• don’t presuppose

Still beat your wife?How satisfied are you with the program?Which of the messages is the most effective?

• present alternatives

Do you think that the visual identity of Aalto has been accepted? Or is there still an opposition?

’Must’ readings for interviews

Hirsjärvi, S., & Hurme, H. (2010). Tutkimushaastattelu. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.

(available in almost every library)

or

Gillham, B. (2005): Research Interviewing: The Range of Techniques. New York: McGraw-Hill

(available in the AaltoECON ebrary)

Examples of language-based approaches to BC

1) Discourse analysis (DA)

2) Pragmatic approach

3) Genre analysis

Discourse analysis (1)

Discourse analysis = analyzing discourse

DA in different disciplines :

• sociological approaches : social interaction manifested in language; interrelationships between language and society(e.g. CDA = critical discourse analysis)

• applied linguistics :• how humans use language to communicate• how addressers construct linguistic messages• how addressees work to interpret them

Discourse analysis (2)

Discourse

• example of language use as the result of an act of communication

• focus on larger units than sentences/utterances

• ‘language situated in context’

Compare: to analyze ‘language’ (= syntax, lexis, semantics)

DA : language, action and knowledge inseparable ; utterances are actions (Austin 1962)

Discourse analysis (3)Analysis of discourse = analysis of language use = functional

approach (cf formal approach)– transactional function = transference of information,

transmission of propositions– interactional function = to establish and maintain

relationships

‘It’s so cold out there!’

• data consist of written text (sentences) and spoken text (utterances)

• context essential; shared knowledge, assumptions

Discourse analysis (4)

“The discourse analyst treats his data as the record (text) of a dynamic process in which language was used as an instrument of communication in a context by a speaker /writer to express meanings and achieve intentions . Working from this data, the analyst seeks to describe regularities in the linguistic realisations used by people to communicate those meanings and intentions”

Brown & Yule 1983:26

Pragmatic approach (1)

= context has to be known for interpretation

(who said it? where? to whom? when ? etc)

In addition to ‘context’, e.g. the following concepts are used in pragmatics :

• Presupposition• Implicature• Inference

Pragmatic approach (2)

Context = ‘ a package of relevant factors ‘, such as :

• speaker• audience• purpose• place• setting• time• channel, form• language/code• previous discourse• subsequent discourse

Pragmatic approach (3)

Presupposition = an assumption about the world by the speaker/writer; assumed ’common ground’

"John regrets that he stopped doing linguistics before he left

Cambridge"

- There is someone uniquely identifiable to both the speaker and the addressee as "John"

- John stopped doing linguistics before he left Cambridge - John was doing linguistics before he left Cambridge'- John left Cambridge- John had been at Cambridge

Pragmatic approach (4)

Implicature = what speakers imply, suggest, mean – as distinct from what they literally say

Can you tell me the time?

It’s hot in here.

Can we do it ?

Conversational implicature (Grice 1975) :

Cooperative Principle + four maxims

Pragmatic approach (5)

Inference =

a process for an interpretation of utterances or for the connections between utterances; based on socio-cultural knowledge

Are you going to the party tonight?

My parents are visiting.

John was on his way to school.

Pragmatic approach (6)

Pragmatic competence involves:

• using language for different purposes, such as greeting, informing, demanding, promising, and requesting

• adapting or changing language according to the needs or expectations of a listener or situation, e.g. giving enough (but not too much) background information to a listener

• following rules for conversations and narrative - the rules vary depending on language, cultures, contexts

Genre analysis (1)

• genre = distinctive type of ‘text’

• genre has a purpose, function

• genres are ‘owned’ by discourse communities

• genre rules, genre knowledge essential

Genre analysis (2)

In BC studies using the genre approach, emphasis between text and action may vary; however, most researchers would agree with the following views:

• genre understood in the social constructionist way that accounts for both text and context

• Miller (1984) : definition of genre must be centered on the action it is used to accomplish, not on the substance or the form of discourse

• Miller builds on exigence, a socially construed need for particular kinds of writing and speaking, a social motive for action recurring situations seem to ‘invite’ discourse of a particular type

Genre analysis (3)

• Berkenkotter & Huckin (1995) emphasize the dynamic nature of genre : genres are sites of contention between stability and change

• B & H : ‘genre knowledge’ , ‘genre rules’ effective performance

• Genre knowledge = form and content, including a sense of what content is appropriate to a particular purpose in a particular situation at a particular point of time

• Genre rules = rules that we draw on to engage in professional activities, to constitute social structures and reproduce these structures