THEORETICAL DIMENSIONS OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH.

The article discusses the theoretical dimensions of applied communication research. There are three general approaches that characterize most applied research projects, only one of which is likely to contribute substantially to the development of communication theory. First, practitioners may attempt to apply scientific, or quasi-scientific, methods of inquiry to real world settings but largely ignore or relegate to a minor role theory and research which might also apply. Second, practitioners may elect to apply the results of basic communication research or the propositions of communication theory to the situation with minimal concern for producing theoretical or empirical contributions of utility to the scholarly community. Third, practitioners may choose to draw upon the best scientific resources available, reasoning from clearly articulated and supported theories and using methods designed to test these theories a unequivocally as possible. The goals of scientific theory are typically considered to be prediction, explanation and control. Description of the variables and understanding of the phenomena being studied are essential steps to realizing these theoretical goals. Clearly the aims of the sponsor of applied research and the communication scientist concerned with theory development are similar in many respects. Support for applied research can be of assistance in overcoming severe practical limitations faced by communication researchers who wish to perform powerful, ecologically valid theoretical tests. Communication researchers working with limited resources must often make practical concessions when conducting their research. These concessions often result in research environments which bear relatively little semblance to the actual communicative settings of interest.