Foundation and Definition Quantitative Research Method in Communication
There are significant societal challenges affecting our global community all around us. A wide range of issues, including common sexism, food hardship, homelessness, forced migration, and bonded labor, fall under the category of injustices and immoral behavior. For instance, a company that employs 40.3 million people views them as property to be sold or purchased through human trafficking (Walk Free Foundation, 2018). Conflict and persecution have pushed about 79.5 million people to flee their homes, and more than 40% of these people are children (United Nations Refugee Agency, 2020). Around the world, one in nine people lack sufficient food to live an active and healthy life (Food Aid Foundation, 2019).
The Parkland school shooting
survivors in high school have raised over $3 million and used their voices to
oppose the National Rifle Association's influence in American politics. The
Women's March in 2017 was an international movement to highlight gender-based
discrimination in employment, pay, racial justice, women's health, and other
areas. It was the largest one-day demonstration in history. Same-sex marriages
are now permitted in a large number of nations throughout the world thanks to
the efforts of LGBTQ+ campaigners who have battled discrimination both inside
and outside of courtrooms.
The Black Lives Matter movement
has been successful in bringing systemic racism and anti-Black racism into the
mainstream and in challenging the narrative around police violence against
people of color. Following the horrific murder of George Floyd in the U.S. in
2020, which sparked a worldwide protest, numerous institutions and
organizations took steps toward anti-racism commitments and measures. Each of
these events has been studied quantitatively as well. We bring up these first
ideas in order to make three observations. First, statistics can be effective
tools for exposing alarming injustices and disparities. Second, statistics and
the quantitative research that generates them can be used to track and assess
advancements made in the areas of justice and equality.
Statistics are used to describe
and explain what researchers have observed, therefore numbers play an important
part in quantitative research. Indeed, numbers may be quite persuasive since
they can be used to illustrate a wide range of universal truths, as you can see
from the statistics and projections we've provided. Public opinion,
organizational decision-making, local objectives, and governmental policies can
all be influenced by numbers. Of course, numbers can also be made up, taken out
of context, and understood incorrectly. Therefore, it is crucial for
researchers and practitioners of communication to learn how to interpret,
differentiate, develop, and use quantitative research.
The researcher arrives on the scene.
What part do academics and researchers play in tackling social justice issues?
How can our scholarship and research improve the quality of life in this world?
We think it's critical that scholars apply scientific knowledge to significant
social issues at the local, national, and international levels. It is crucial
to cultivate a social justice perspective, apply it to research design, and use
research findings to counteract the dynamics and conditions that produce and
sustain inequalities.
Indeed, stories shared about anti
Black racism via #CommunicationSoWhite and also the #BlackintheIvory campaign
started by two Communication scholars, Shardé M. Davis and Joy Melody Woods,
reveal the racial injustices and White supremacy, among many other
inequalities, that need to be dismantled even within academia. Rather than
being out of touch with the realities of people’s lives, the “power of numbers”
approach ensures that researchers and the knowledge they produce are a resource
for the betterment of marginalized groups, especially when stakes are high,
whether inside or outside of university settings.
In fact, stories about anti-Black
racism shared through the #CommunicationSoWhite and #BlackintheIvory campaigns
launched by two communication scholars, Shardé M. Davis and Joy Melody Woods,
show that among many other inequalities, racial injustices and White supremacy need
to be eliminated even within academia. The "power of numbers"
approach ensures that researchers and the knowledge they produce are a resource
for the betterment of marginalized groups, especially when stakes are high,
whether inside or outside of university settings. This prevents researchers
from being out of touch with the realities of people's lives.
