Understanding Communication Research Methods: A Theoretical and Practical Approach

Comprehensive, innovative, and focused on the undergraduate student, this textbook prepares students to read and conduct research. Using an engaging how-to approach that draws from scholarship, real-life, and popular culture, the book offers students practical reasons why they should care about research methods and a guide to actually conduct research themselves.

Examining quantitative, qualitative, and critical research methods, the textbook helps undergraduate students better grasp the theoretical and practical uses of method by clearly illustrating practical applications. The book defines all the main research traditions, illustrates key methods used in communication research, and provides level-appropriate applications of the methods through theoretical and practical examples and exercises, including sample student papers that demonstrate research methods in action.

Stephen M. Croucher (Ph.D., University of Oklahoma) is a professor at Massey University, New Zealand. He researches immigrant cultural adaptation, religion and communication, quantitative methods, and conflict management/conceptualization. He is the recipient of numerous conference top paper awards, has authored dozens of journal articles and book chapters, authored/co-edited four books, and given keynote addresses in more than 15 countries. He has explored communication traits and behaviors on five continents. He has served as the editor of the Journal of Intercultural Communication Research and Speaker & Gavel. He is active in the International Communication Association, National Communication Association, and the World Communication Association.

Daniel Cronn-Mills (Ph.D., University of Nebraska) is a professor of Communication Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He has broad and ranging research interests in religion and communication, intercollegiate forensics, and rhetoric. He has authored numerous journal articles, book chapters, and books. He is a former editor of Speaker & Gavel and served on the review board of more than a dozen scholarly journals. He is active in the National Communication Association, the American Forensic Association, and the Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota.