ABSTRACT
A phenomenal number of testing methods and measuring techniques have been available for communications research since World War II. It is impossible to exhaust all research methods and techniques in communications research; therefore, we concentrate only on frequently used techniques. The easiest experimental technique is the paper-pencil test that requires subjects (Ss) to check, rank, rate, or judge, as usually is the case in mail and field surveys. Experimental techniques, however, can be as complicated and elaborate as medical research. Frequently, electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (EKG), electroretinogram (ERG), electro-oculogram (EOG), electromyogram (EMG), and galvanic skin responses (GSR) are used. All of these devices measure our physiological reactions to some communication stimuli and are frequently used in studies of pornography and violence in films and TV programs. The interpretation of data based on any of these devices requires expertise and is subject to dispute. Many court battles have been fought concerning the validity of the lie detector (EEG, EKG, and GSR combined) tests, for example. Psychophysiological measures are mostly used in advertising and marketing research. Stewart and Furse (1982) contented that in psycho-physiological measures, some fundamental principles might have been ignored (i.e., the law of initial values, individual response type, and stimulus-response specificity, among others).
