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 CHAPTER OUTLINES












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Theory Outlines
9th Edition

From the Instructors Manual

List mode: Normal (click on theory name to show detail) | Show All details | Clear details

Chapter  3—Weighing the Words

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  1. Introduction.
    1. Not all theories are equally effective.
    2. The utility of a theory may be judged by applying the appropriate criteria used by behavioral scientists and a wide range of interpretive scholars to weigh the theories of their colleagues.
       
  2. What makes an objective theory good?
    1. Scientific standard 1: Explanation of the data.
      1. A good theory makes sense out of disturbing situations or draws order out of chaos.
      2. It focuses attention on crucial variables and away from irrelevant data.
      3. It explains what is happening and why.
      4. It explains both the process and the results.
    2. Scientific standard 2: Prediction of future events.  Prediction in physical science is more accurate than in social science, where it is based on probability.
    3. Scientific standard 3: Relative simplicity.  The rule of parsimony dictates that all things being equal, we accept the simpler explanation over the more complex.
    4. Scientific standard 4: Hypotheses that can be tested.  If there is no way to prove a theory false, then the assumption that it's true is mere guesswork.
    5. Scientific standard 5: Practical utility. 
      1. A good objective theory provides increased control.
      2. Don't dismiss a theory as impractical unless you understand it.
    6. Scientific standard 6: Quantitative Research
      1. Scientists favor quantifiable experiments and surveys.
      2. Through experiments, scientists seek to establish a cause-and-effect relationship by manipulating an independent variable in a tightly controlled situation in order to determine its effect on a dependent variable.  Results are measured.
      3. Surveys rely on self-report data to discover who people are and what they think, feel, and intend to do.
      4. It is difficult to support cause-and-effect relations with surveys, but survey data more closely resemble “real life” than experimentation does.
         
  3. What makes an interpretive theory good?
    1. Interpretive standard 1: New understanding of people.
      1. Rhetorical theory elucidates texts.
      2. It helps critics clarify complex communication.
      3. It suggests universal patterns of symbol usage.
      4. Whereas science wants objective explanation, humanism desires subjective understanding. 
      5. Klaus Krippendorff's Self-Referential Imperative: Include yourself as a constituent of your own construction.
    2. Interpretive standard 2: Clarification of values.
      1. Theorists acknowledge their own values.
      2. They seek to unmask the ideology behind messages.
      3. Many theorists value individual liberty and equality.  Krippendorff's Ethical Imperative: Grant others that occur in your construction the same autonomy you practice constructing them.
      4. Many interpretivist scholars value equality as highly as they do freedom.
    3. Interpretive standard 3: Aesthetic appeal.
      1. A theory's form can be as captivating as its content.
      2. As an artist, the critic sparks appreciation.
    4. Interpretive standard 4: A community of agreement.  A theory must have widespread scrutiny and usage.
    5. Interpretive standard 5: Reform of society. 
      1. Theory challenges cultural assumptions.
      2. It generates alternatives for social action.
    6. Interpretive standard 6: Qualitative research
      1. Interpretive scholars use qualitative textual analysis and ethnography.
      2. Textual analyses describe and interpret messages.
      3. Textual analyses refers to the intensive study of a single message from the humanistic perspective.
      4. Through ethnography, participant-observers experience a culture's web of meaning. 
         
  4. Contested turf and common ground among theorists.
    1. Theorists from scientific and interpretive camps can be friends with guarded optimism.
    2. It requires mutual respect for each other’s interest and recognition of their intellect.
    3. It requires a mutual appreciation that scientific theorists are comparing multiple messages or groups while interpretive theorists are analyzing a single message or group.
    4. The two sets of six criteria are not as different as they might seem.
      1. An explanation can further understanding of motive.
      2. Both prediction and value clarification look to the future.
      3. Simplicity has aesthetic appeal.
      4. Hypothesis testing is a way of achieving a community of agreement.
      5. Theories that reform are practical.
      6. Qualitative and quantitative research both reflect a commitment to learning more about communication.
    5. It is important for the two communities to at least be familiar with the other’s work.
    6. Although all theories featured in this book have merit, most have weaknesses elucidated by the standards set forth in this chapter.

Close

You can access the Outline for a particular chapter in several ways:

  • Switch to View by Theory, then select the desired theory/chapter from the drop-down list at the top of the page. Look in the list of available resources.
  • To quickly find a theory by chapter number, use the Table of Contents and link from there. It will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
  • You can also use the Theory List, which will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.

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Resources
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Instructors can get
additional resources.
Read more




 OUTLINES


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New to Theory
Resources?
Find out more
in this short
video overview
(3:01).

CHANGE TO View by Theory
Theory Outlines
9th Edition

From the Instructors Manual

List mode: Normal (click on theory name to show detail) | Show All details | Clear details

Chapter  3—Weighing the Words

Close

  1. Introduction.
    1. Not all theories are equally effective.
    2. The utility of a theory may be judged by applying the appropriate criteria used by behavioral scientists and a wide range of interpretive scholars to weigh the theories of their colleagues.
       
  2. What makes an objective theory good?
    1. Scientific standard 1: Explanation of the data.
      1. A good theory makes sense out of disturbing situations or draws order out of chaos.
      2. It focuses attention on crucial variables and away from irrelevant data.
      3. It explains what is happening and why.
      4. It explains both the process and the results.
    2. Scientific standard 2: Prediction of future events.  Prediction in physical science is more accurate than in social science, where it is based on probability.
    3. Scientific standard 3: Relative simplicity.  The rule of parsimony dictates that all things being equal, we accept the simpler explanation over the more complex.
    4. Scientific standard 4: Hypotheses that can be tested.  If there is no way to prove a theory false, then the assumption that it's true is mere guesswork.
    5. Scientific standard 5: Practical utility. 
      1. A good objective theory provides increased control.
      2. Don't dismiss a theory as impractical unless you understand it.
    6. Scientific standard 6: Quantitative Research
      1. Scientists favor quantifiable experiments and surveys.
      2. Through experiments, scientists seek to establish a cause-and-effect relationship by manipulating an independent variable in a tightly controlled situation in order to determine its effect on a dependent variable.  Results are measured.
      3. Surveys rely on self-report data to discover who people are and what they think, feel, and intend to do.
      4. It is difficult to support cause-and-effect relations with surveys, but survey data more closely resemble “real life” than experimentation does.
         
  3. What makes an interpretive theory good?
    1. Interpretive standard 1: New understanding of people.
      1. Rhetorical theory elucidates texts.
      2. It helps critics clarify complex communication.
      3. It suggests universal patterns of symbol usage.
      4. Whereas science wants objective explanation, humanism desires subjective understanding. 
      5. Klaus Krippendorff's Self-Referential Imperative: Include yourself as a constituent of your own construction.
    2. Interpretive standard 2: Clarification of values.
      1. Theorists acknowledge their own values.
      2. They seek to unmask the ideology behind messages.
      3. Many theorists value individual liberty and equality.  Krippendorff's Ethical Imperative: Grant others that occur in your construction the same autonomy you practice constructing them.
      4. Many interpretivist scholars value equality as highly as they do freedom.
    3. Interpretive standard 3: Aesthetic appeal.
      1. A theory's form can be as captivating as its content.
      2. As an artist, the critic sparks appreciation.
    4. Interpretive standard 4: A community of agreement.  A theory must have widespread scrutiny and usage.
    5. Interpretive standard 5: Reform of society. 
      1. Theory challenges cultural assumptions.
      2. It generates alternatives for social action.
    6. Interpretive standard 6: Qualitative research
      1. Interpretive scholars use qualitative textual analysis and ethnography.
      2. Textual analyses describe and interpret messages.
      3. Textual analyses refers to the intensive study of a single message from the humanistic perspective.
      4. Through ethnography, participant-observers experience a culture's web of meaning. 
         
  4. Contested turf and common ground among theorists.
    1. Theorists from scientific and interpretive camps can be friends with guarded optimism.
    2. It requires mutual respect for each other’s interest and recognition of their intellect.
    3. It requires a mutual appreciation that scientific theorists are comparing multiple messages or groups while interpretive theorists are analyzing a single message or group.
    4. The two sets of six criteria are not as different as they might seem.
      1. An explanation can further understanding of motive.
      2. Both prediction and value clarification look to the future.
      3. Simplicity has aesthetic appeal.
      4. Hypothesis testing is a way of achieving a community of agreement.
      5. Theories that reform are practical.
      6. Qualitative and quantitative research both reflect a commitment to learning more about communication.
    5. It is important for the two communities to at least be familiar with the other’s work.
    6. Although all theories featured in this book have merit, most have weaknesses elucidated by the standards set forth in this chapter.

Close

You can access the Outline for a particular chapter in several ways:

  • Switch to View by Theory, then select the desired theory/chapter from the drop-down list at the top of the page. Look in the list of available resources.
  • To quickly find a theory by chapter number, use the Table of Contents and link from there. It will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
  • You can also use the Theory List, which will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.

Back to top



 
 
 
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