NM 2103

QUANTITATIVE COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH

METHODS

Week 1
Overview

Todays lecture
An overview of NM2103
An introduction to research methods
What is research?
What kinds of research methods are available for (new)
media research?
Why do we need them?
How do we get (reliable and valid) answer(s) to our
research questions/problems

Module Facilitators
Dr. Cho, Hichang
cnmch@nus.edu.sg
Ms. Filippova Anna
annaaf@nus.edu.sg
Ms. Wu Xuan
wuxuan@nus.edu.sg

Similarities b/w NM2102 & NM2103

NM2102: Communications NM2103: Quantitative
& New Media Research (no Communications Research
longer offered)
Methods
Qualitative & quantitative
methods

Quantitative methods
NM2104: Qualitative
Communications Research
Methods
Qualitative methods

For those who took NM2102, it is NOT

compulsory for you to take NM2103 or NM2104!

Textbook

Wimmer, R. D. & Dominick, J. R.

(2011). Mass media research: An
introduction (9th ed.), Boston,
MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Objectives/Aims
This module is to help students understand what quantitative
research is. More specifically, it aims to help students learn how to
develop testable research questions and hypotheses, how to conduct
a quantitative study, and how to interpret quantitative research
results. The module covers fundamental concepts in research
design, instrumentation, data collection, and data analysis. It also
introduces basic concepts of statistics such as descriptive statistics,
sampling distribution, and hypothesis testing. A set of computer lab
assignments will give students extensive opportunities to become
familiar with the relevant computer software package and experience
at computing the various statistics reviewed in the class. Students
will conduct a research project as a group, putting into practice the
design, instrumentation, and analysis skills acquired throughout the
class. The written report will be prepared in accordance with the
professional criteria specified in the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association (6th ed.).

Schedule
Week

1
2
3
4
5
6

Lecture Topic

Tutorial

Tutorial topic

Overview
Elements of quantitative
research
Survey research
Sampling
Data analysis I
Experimental Research

Tutorial
Tutorial
Tutorial
Tutorial

Mid-term quiz

Tutorial 5

Data analysis II
Content analysis
Research ethics
Newer research methods:
Network analysis, (Big) Data
analytics
Wrap up and/or Consultation
week

Tutorial 9CATI 2

1Group project: team contract

2Survey design
3SPSS 1
4SPSS 2

Recess
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Presentation

Group project: proposal

presentation
Tutorial 6Public holiday. No tutorial
Tutorial 7SPSS 3
Tutorial 8CATI 1

Tutorial
10
Tutorial
11

SPSS quiz + Presentation

Presentation

Assessment
Component

Date

Mid-term quiz

15%

Week 7: 2nd Oct in class

SPSS quiz

5%

Week 12: in tutorial

Final exam

35%

Exam week

Research participation

5%

Attendance &
participation

10%

Group project
- Presentation
- Final report

25%
- 5%
- 20%

- Peer evaluation

5%

Week 12 & 13
Reading week: 13th Nov,
5pm
Reading week: 13th Nov,
5pm

Examination (55%)
Mid-term quiz in Week 7 (15%)

Materials covered: week 1-6

Mostly, if not all, MCQs or True/False
Lecture notes, slides, & textbook
Closed book

SPSS quiz in Week 12 (5%)

Materials covered: SPSS tutorial 1-3
Open book

Final exam in Exam week (35%)

Materials covered: week 1-12

Lecture notes, slides, & textbook
Closed book
MCQ, True/False, matching Q, and/or short answers
It is possible to have similar questions for mid-term and final exam
(but not the same)

SPSS Quiz (5%)

SPSS stands for Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences
a software package used for statistical analysis
You will learn how to use it in tutorial
To practice, you can download the 14-day trial from IBM
SPSS website http://
www14.software.ibm.com/download/data/web/en_US/trial
programs/W110742E06714B29.html

Research Participation (5%)

Every 30-min (or less) research participation = 1
credit point
Max = 5 points ( 2.5 hrs)
How to get research participation points?
1. Participate in a graduate or faculty researchers
project
Recruitment ads will be sent via emails and uploaded
on IVLE
Researchers may come to class & make
announcements

2. Attend a CNM research talk and write a 500-word

essay

Attendance & Class Participation

(10%)
Tutorial:
Attendance will be taken in tutorial
Lecture:
Class starts at 12pm and ends at 1:35pm
Group activity, reflection paper
Consultations
Office hours: Thursday 3pm-5pm
email request
- Please indicate NM2103 in email subject lines

Group Project (30%)

Each team: approximately 5 students (randomly assigned)
A complete research paper:
Choose a research topic related to communications and
new media
Testing hypotheses based on a theoretical framework
Research method
Survey: Sample size: 100
Experimental research: sample size 40 per cell/condition
Content analysis: sample size 40

Length: 4,000 words, plus title page, an abstract at a

maximum of 100 words, references, tables, and
questionnaire
APA reference style; 12 point font size; double-spaced; one
inch margins around

Research Topic
Each team has to select one of the 2 research areas listed below:
1. Communication technologies
Examples:
Privacy, Self-censorship, and Self-disclosure on Facebook
Prosocial behavior and Wikipedia
Smartphone usage and psychological - wellbeing (e.g. anxiety, depression,
addiction etc.)
Impact of smartphone usage on adolescents (academic achievement, parentadolescent relationship etc.)
mobile devices and us (e.g. addiction, changing social norms, concepts of private
and public space, fitness trackers, the quantified self, and so on)
social media usage and individual's social capital (online & offline)
trust in virtual participatory marketplaces and crowdfunding (such as carousell,
qoo10, kickstarter, haystakt and others)
How virtual communication impacts coordination in social groups
Other
2. Health/Risk Communication/Communication management
Examples:
Risk perception and self-protection behavior related to Haze or Dengue fever
Other

Research Paper (20%)

Title page
Abstract ( 100 words)
Introduction
Background information
Purpose of the research

Literature review
A review of previous studies
Theoretical framework
Research statements (Hypotheses)

Method
Participants
Sampling & Data collection process
Measures

Findings
Results of hypothesis testing

Discussion, limitations, & conclusion

References
Appendixes
Due: 13th Nov (Thr), 5pm

Research Proposal
Prepare to present & discuss your research
proposal in Tutorial 5 (week 7)

Title
Theoretical framework
Hypotheses
Participants, sampling method, & data collection
Measures
The research proposal will not be graded. However, it
will be extremely useful for you to think through the
data collection process & stay with the timeline

Presentation (5%)
Summary of your research
Process
Outcomes
10 min for presentation and 5 min for
Q&As
Weeks 12 & 13 (in class and tutorial)

Peer evaluation (5%)

Due: 13th Nov (Reading week)
Group project is about teamwork
Discuss contents of your team contract in Tutorial 1
(Week 3)
Decide your own policies regarding workload, each
persons responsibility, coordination, etc.

Basic Research Process

Select a
research topic
Review existing
studies
Develop research
statements

What interests you?

What is your purpose of study?
What have been done?
What have not been done (well)?
Specify your research
What are your Hrs or RQs?

Method selection &Which research method would you use?

How do you collect data?
data collection
Data analysis &
findings
Discussion,
limitations &
conclusion

How do you analyze data?

What are the findings?
How do you interpret the results?
What is the conclusion?

Find a good research topic

What is a GOOD academic research topic?
Some general rules
Significant-- theoretical and practical values
Specific, doable, analyzable
Appropriate & ethical

Which student has a better research

topic?
Student 1
I want to do a study

Student 2
I want to know:

What are the factors

about the tray return campaign.that motivate people to
return their trays to the
tray-return racks?
What are the factors
that prevent people
from returning trays
to the tray-return
racks?

Which student has a better research

topic?
Student 3
I want to research

Student 4
I want to find out the

relationship between
NUS students smoking behavior
perceived social
norms and NUS
students smoking
behavior

Intro to research methods

Some fundamental questions to begin with
What is (scientific) research?
Why do we need it?
What kinds of research methods are available for (new) media
research?
What are advantages or disadvantages of using different
research methods?
How do we get (right, reliable and valid) answer(s) to our
research questions/problems?
What is the best (or most appropriate) way(s) to get
accurate/correct/valid answers?

Does TV Kill?
Do violent media make people more
aggressive?
Age-old question/topic
More than 3000 research papers have
been published
Yet, it is still ongoing issue

 Research question: Do violent media (TV) make

people more aggressive?
Hypothesis: Exposure to violent TV is associated
with higher level of aggression
What are the evidences that support this hypothesis?
What are the counter-evidences (or weakness of
research methods)?

A number of research methods have been used.

What kinds of research methods have been utilized?
If youre a researcher, which method(s) would you
use to address this research question? Explain why

Example 1: Survey
TV watching

Violence

How often
How many hours
Level of aggressive
x
behavior
What kinds of TV
x x
programs
Attitudesx x x
x
Aggression
x
x
Who are favorite TV(Behavioral or
x
xx x
characters
Attitudinal)
x
x

Sample: School Children

TV watching

Example 2: authority or personal

opinion
Is it valid/reliable?

Example 3: Experimental
Research
Time 1 (before)

Treatment

Time 2 (after)

Measure

Treatment
Group

Treatment
Group

Aggression

Control
Group

Control
Group

Aggression

Example 4: personal interview and

observational study
Qualitative or quantitative?
What would be advantages and
disadvantages?

Example 5: Field study (longitudinal)

Natural setting

Time 1 (before)

Treatment

Time 2 (after)

Pre test

Post test

Aggression

Aggression

Example 6: Content Analysis

Wrap up
You will learn how to use some of the
research methods
More importantly, you will learn how
to get more valid answers to your
(research) questions