Course Contents

This course is an introduction to the methodology appropriate to the social scientific or behavioral study of human communication. Central to the course is the discussion of the language and methodologies of communication behavioral research. The course begins with the brief explanation of the goals of the social science research with reference to communication/ mass communication inquiry and briefly examines the implications of a social scientific methodology as a “way of knowing” about the world. the primary emphasis of the course is on developing critical insight which will enable the students to develop such analytical and critical skills which are required in communication and behavioral research. Another important emphasis of the course is on introducing students to highly selective array of specific skills and techniques for doing communication or mass communication behavioral research. Outline: • Why Research? • Aims and Motives of Social Research • Why Research in Mass. Communication? Relationship between theory and research. • Origins and Growth of Mass Media Research and Process of Research. • Main approaches to social and cultural investigation that underpins contemporary research in communication and media studies.  Positivism  Interpretive approaches  Critical approach  Feminism approach  Post modernism • Research designs in Quantitative Methods  What is Quantitative methodology?  Quantitative methods • Survey • Experimental Research • Introduction to Quantitative Content Analysis • Statistics in Research  Introduction to Basic Statistics • Use of computer as research tool SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) • Proposal Writing