Business Communication Research

1. Business Communication Research Class 6 : Quantitative and Qualitative Methods LeenaLouhiala-Salminen, Spring 2013

2. Quantitative & qualitative methods Today: • Discussion and examples of quantitative and qualitative methods (slides 2-11) • Research interviews, particularly semi-structured interviews (slides 12- 17) • Examples of language-based approaches to business communication (slides 18 - 31)

3. 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

4. Examples of research problems Problem 1: y = dependent variable = ’absenteeism’ X= independent variable = ’team spirit’ concept – indicator - measure Can 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?

5. 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

6. Quantitative vs qualitative Two 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 sample Qual . : participant; interviewee, sample selected by the researcher Compare: HELICOPTER / MICROSCOPE!

7. 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)

8. Examples of quantitative methods • Questionnaire surveys • Structured interviews • Structured observation • Experiments • Use of official statistics • Quantitative content analysis

9. 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)

10. 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

11. 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

12. Research interviews – types (1) Structured interview • predesigned questions and predetermined response 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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….

16. 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?

17. ’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)

18. Examples of language-based approaches to BC • Discourse analysis (DA) • Pragmatic approach • Genre analysis

19. 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

20. 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)

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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.

28. 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

29. Genre analysis (1) • genre = distinctive type of ‘text’ • genre has a purpose, function • genres are ‘owned’ by discourse communities • genre rules, genre knowledge essential

30. 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

31. 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