For homework, find several articles about the AOL-Time Warner merger, preferably something that talks about the research that went into the deal. Also, find at least one article that discusses applied research. Write a one paragraph summary of the article and attach it, and write a paragraph explaining how and why it is applied research . McCombs and Shaw proved it to some degree in 1972, in the early agenda-setting studies. I will often refer to the natural sciences such as biology, as we can learn from it in the social sciences.
Communications research is a social science, like sociology, psychology, and political science.
We study social phenomena, social problems, social attitudes and behavior. We might even try to predict behavior. We've gotten pretty good at that, although the record is not perfect. In the Internet age, the early studies focused on how TV stations use Web sites, for example, in the area of research referred to as uses and gratifications. That is merely descriptive research, not very theoretical.