ABSTRACT
A “method” is a technique or specific procedure used to collect and analyze information, frequently referred to as “data,” about a particular subject matter (Kaplan, 1964). The title of this chapter, then, has a dual meaning. It can be interpreted as an overview of research methods in the field of health communication, indicating the “stuff” of which method is composed. Our focus here is on the “stuff” of health communication research methods. In a sense, a research method is a lens through which a researcher “sees” what he or she is studying. Beyond that layer of meaning, we also want to suggest that the enactment of a particular method makes a difference: method choices matter in distinct ways. We will focus on those ways, then, that methods do matter and the ways in which method makes a difference.
