ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the research process and design of theory-based research in both the positivist and interpretive traditions. It explains how theory and research work together to help develop new insights about human activity. This happens through the systematic process of: Defining a problem; constructing an explanation; Making inquiries. The positivist approach is the oldest and most widely used method of inquiry in communication research; the most popular theories that researchers rely upon follow this tradition as well. But the interpretive paradigm has become an important part of the discipline as well, starting in the 1950s and gaining in recognition throughout the last quarter of the twentieth century. The chapter reviews of how theory and research work in tandem in the communication science tradition. The theory-research inquiry process of either paradigm starts with a definition of the problem. In quantitative or positivist social science research, this generally consists of stating either a research question or a hypothesis.
