Learning Objectives

This chapter will help you:

  • Define the terms induction, deduction, and abduction.
  • Identify key reasons for doing research.
  • Explain the ways we “know what we know.”
  • Describe major worldviews in human communication research and how each shapes the nature of research.
  • Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of basing your work on the work of other researchers.
  • Explain with examples the difference between a research question and a hypothesis.