The objective approach and the interpretative approach to communication study differ in starting point, method, and conclusion. Scholars who do objective study are scientists who try to be objective Scholars who do interpretive study are concerned with meaning. Scientists favor quantifiable experiments and surveys. Results are measured. Surveys rely on self-report instruments such as questionnaires and interviews to discover mental states or intentions and to validate theory.
Interpretive scholars use qualitative textual analysis and ethnography.
Textual analyses describe and interpret messages. Increasingly, textual analyses unmask dominant social ideologies. Through ethnography, participant-observers experience a culture's web of meaning. The text suggests that theories are maps of reality. Not all theories are equally effective.