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Module 2: The Communication Fields

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  • Page ID
    247205
    • Victoria Newsom and Desiree Ann Montenegro
    • Olympic College and Cerritos College

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    This module is a content module about theories and methods of study and analysis in Communication Studies.

    The term theory in communication studies refers to a variety of different means of understanding how information is sent, received, and processed. Communication theory is basically an explanation for how communication and messaging happens. Communication methods are the ways that the theories are studied and applied as research.

    In this module we will discuss a number of theories and methods as they exist within three different styles or approaches to the study of communication. These approaches are labelled "research paradigms." The three paradigms: Behavioral studies, Interpretive studies, and Critical studies each allow researchers to focus on particular elements in communication.

    Shannon and Weaver Model: Information source passes the message to a transmitter. This becomes a signal. Noise sources can impact the signal. The signal is received by a receiver. The signal is received as a message at the destination.
    "Shannon's diagram of a general communication system" (Links to an external site.) by Wanderingstan (Links to an external site.) is in the Public Domain

    Completing the Module

    • This module contains 5 required reading content pages on communication theory and method in Communication Studies.
    • There is a quiz.
    • There is an application activity.
    • There is a blog activity.

    Module Outcomes

    1. Describe the academic field of Communication Studies.
    2. Articulate how the history of rhetoric informs the contemporary field of Communication Studies.
    3. Describe the three research paradigms of Communication Studies.
    4. Describe a variety of theories of Communication Studies.
    5. Articulate the interdisciplinary nature of Communication Studies.

    This page titled Module 2: The Communication Fields is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Victoria Newsom and Desiree Ann Montenegro via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.