ABSTRACT
One of the defi ning characteristics of communication is that it is a process. Yet the vast majority of studies of communication do not focus on process, but rather on static models and explanations. This essay develops a conception of process research in the social scientifi c study of communication that distinguishes it from traditional variance based research approaches. The process approach is based on the development of theoretical narratives that explain how series of events unfold over time. Explanation in process theories is based on formal and fi nal causality as well as on the effi cient causality that is the foundation for variance explanations. Four basic types of process explanations are described. Four strategies for process research are explicated and examples of process studies in communication are used to illustrate them.
