Resume Abid Zafar PERSONAL DETAILS DOB June 04, 1989 Email aabidzafarwarraich@gmail.com Phone 0322 570 66 59 Address Chandni Chowk, Jalal Pur Jattan, Gujrat, Pakistan. PROFILE An enthusiastic individual I approach tasks with results in mind. I am well organized and I can work well as part of a team or on my own. I like completing things on time, and making sure that I keep learning how to do things well and quickly. EDUCATION M. Phil Media & Communication Studies Continues… (2014-2016) International Islamic University Islamabad MA Mass Communication & Media CGPA: 3.90/4.00 (2013) University of Gujrat Published Dissertation: “Comparative Analysis of Political Parties’ News and Advertisements Coverage of National Urdu Dailies Regarding Election 2013” ISBN 978-3-659-52287-1 B.ED Division 1st (2013-2014) Alama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad BA Political Science Division: 2nd (2011) University of Gujrat Diploma of Associate Engineering Division: 1st (2008) (3-Year Diploma: Mechanical), Government Institute of Technology, Gujranwala. Matriculation (Science) Division: 1st (2005) Government Islamia High School, Jalal Pur Jattan, Gujrat WORK EXPERIENCE  Worked as Reporter and Sub-editor in Online International Network from July 1, 2012 to August 31, 2012  Worked as Producer, Host and Reporter at FM- 106.6 from 21th November, 2012 to 25th May, 2013  I have great approach at Online Journalism, attended many seminars  I have great experience of producing audio and video documentaries, news bulletins, features, Reports in two years Masters Degree  Vast experience of writing, editing News stories, Columns, Features, Investigative reports  I have great experience of Social Science Research where I got A+ in Final Thesis  Regular Blogger KEY STRENGTHS & SKILLS  I have great approach of Qualitative and Qualitative Research Methods  I have great skills of writing Thesis and Research Papers  I have great skills of Investigative Reporting  I have skills about reporting and sub-editing in English journalism where I have reported number of seminars, National and International politicians, personalities and celebrities  I have great skills of script writing, News stories, Investigative Reports, Online Journalism, Feature & columns writing  I have multidimensional skills in the field of Mass Communication & Media where I got 3.90 CGPA out of 4.00, which presents my passions in this field  Regular Bloggers  I have great leadership abilities where I represent my class in two years Masters Degree  President of Readers Club, which was about to improve reading and writing habits, conducted many seminar under my presidency  I am a great communicator, host many seminars, workshops and functions at university level  I have great teaching skills where my teachers suggest me to join teaching as a profession  I am a g

2. Scientific Method and Models of Mass
Communication Research:
By
Abid Zafar
Fall 2014
Communication Theory
International Islamic University
Islamabad

3. What is Communication?
 The word communication has been oriented from a Latin word
“Communes” which means something common. Therefore,
when we communicate. We are indeed trying to establish
commonness of thoughts or feelings with other individuals
 Communication is a process in which the message moves from
source to destination
 Purpose of Communication
a) Change in the behavior of receiver (cognitive thinking, feeling, acting)
b) To inform, educate and entertainment

4. Elements of Communication
 Source
 Encoding (the process of giving physical shape to one’s idea)
 Message (coded idea of the sender. Written script etc.)
 Channel (medium)
 Decoding (retranslation of the message)
 Receiver
 Feed back
 Noise

5. Types of Communication
 Intrapersonal communication
(takes place with himself)
 Interpersonal Communication
(between two or a small group of
persons)
 Macro Group Communication
(speech of a political leader with
instant feedback)
 Mass communication

6. Hurdles of Communication
Physical Psychological
 Physical problem in transmitting
a message from its source to
destination
a) Signal problem in TV watching
b) Knocking doors during lecture
c) Noise during Telephone calls
 How to overcome channel
noise?
By repetition of the main idea
 Semantic Noise
 Field of Experience
 Cognitive dissonance
 Frame of Reference
 Poor understanding

7. Models of Mass Communication Research
 Definition and Function
 Model is considered as a consciously simplified description in graphic form of a
piece of reality
 A model seeks to show the main elements of any structure and the relationship
between these elements
 Deutsch (1966) notes the following main advantages of models in social
sciences
1. They have an organizing function of ordering and relating system to each other by
providing us with images of wholes that we might not otherwise perceive
2. They help in explaining the key points of a process of system
3. Claim only to describe the structure of a phenomenon
4. Theoretical and simplified representation of the real world
5. A model is not an explanatory device by itself, but it helps to formulate theory
 Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) said, The study of communication can be
organized in three categories

8. Types
 There are three main types of communication models
1. Linear Model
The linear model views communication as a one-way or linear process in which the speaker
speaks and the listener listens
a) Lasswell Model (1948)
b) Shannon and Weaver’s Model (1949)
c) Braddock’s Model (1958)
2. Interactive Model
 Wood (2009) Introduced more interactive model that saw the receiver or listener providing
feedback to the sender or speaker.
 This model also indicates that the speaker and listener communicate better if they have
common fields of experience
 This model fails to show that communication is a dynamic process which changes over
time.

9. Cont…
 Transition Model
The transactional model shows that the elements in communication are interdependent.
Each person in the communication act is both a speaker and a listener, and can be
simultaneously sending and receiving messages
There are three implications in the transactional model
1. Communication is an ongoing and continuously changing process. You are
changing, the people with whom you are communicating are changing and your
environment is also continually changing as well
2. In any transactional process, each element exists in relation to all the other
elements.
3. Each person in the communication process
reacts depending on factors such as their background,
prior experiences, attitudes, cultural beliefs and
self-esteem

10. The Lasswell Formula
 The American political scientist Harold D. Lasswell began an article in 1948 with
perhaps the most famous single phrase in communication research.
 A convenient way to describe an act of communication is to answer the following
questions:
 Barddock (1958) found that there are more considerations to work with than those
five presented by Lasswell.
1. The circumstances under which a message is sent
2. For what purpose the communicator says something
 Criticism
 Lasswell’s Model has been criticized, not having the element of feedback

11. Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication
 Worked for Bell Telephone Laboratory and his theories and models primarily
applied to its particular field of communication involving questions such as:
 Which kind of communication channel can bring through the maximum amount of
signals?
 How much of transmitted signals will be destroyed by noise underway from
transmitter to receiver?
According to this model, communication is described as a linear, one
way process. ‘The model states five functions to be performed and notes one dis-functional
factor, noise.

12. De Fluer Model of Communication(1966)
 In Shannon and weaver’s model messages are transformed through
transmitter by decoding
 De fluer adds another set of components to the original Shannon and
Weaver model to show, how the source gets its feedback which gives the
source a possibility of adapting more effectively its way of communicating
to destination.
 Shanon and Weaver’s model having linearity but this model having the
element of mass communication
 The source get limited feedback from the audience in this model

13. The Osgood and Schramm Circular Model
 Shannon’s model could be described as linear, we may say that the Osgood-
Schramm model is highly circular
 Shannon’s interest is primarily directed to the channels mediating between
the sender and receiver but Schramm and Osgood devote their discussion to
the behaviour of main actors in communication process
 Shannon’s model having the element of linear communication but this
model is very useful in describing interpersonal communication
 Criticism
 The model conveys a feeling of equality in communication

14. Newcomb’s Symmetry Model
 Newcomb (1953) approach to communication is that of a social
psychologist concerned with interaction between human beings.
 His model is reminiscent of the diagrams of group networks made by social
psychologists and is one of the early formulations of cognitive consistency
 In its simplest form of the communication acts, a person, A, transmits
information to another person, B, about something X
 The model assumes that A’s attitude toward B and toward X are independent

15. Scientific Method
 Science serves as a guard against untested assumption
 The scientific method differs from other methods of obtaining knowledge in
that it is based on observation and the testing of our assumptions
 Methods of establishing truth were not commonly employed before the
development of the scientific method include tenacity, authority and
intuition (Cohen & Nagel, 1934)
a) Method of Tenacity: true because it is always true (ex. I don’t believe
advertising because my parents said so).
b) Method of Intuition: true because it is self-evidence (ex. A Creative
Director uses certain method and always work).
c) Method of Authority: true because an authoritarian person said so.
d) Method of Science: “an organized, objective, controlled, qualitative or
quantitative empirical analysis of one or more variables”

16. Imagination in Science
 A great 19th century scientist Huxley once defined science as “trained and
organised common sense” and added that theory building is something you
engage in “every day and every hour of your lives”
 The father of the relativity theory, Albert Einstein, said, “The whole of
science is nothing more than a refinement of every day thinking”
 Scientific generalization about Reality
• Scientists seek to make generalizations about the nature of reality
• Reliability
• Validity
• Replicable until the confirmation of hypothetical approving
 Safeguards against Bias and Fraud
Findings can be replicated till reliability has been approved

17. What is Research?
 Research is the systematic process of collecting and analysing information
to increase our understanding the phenomenon under study
 It is the process in which scientific and systematic methods are involved on
social phenomena to develop and invent new ideas
 Ker linger (1986) defines scientific research as a systematic, controlled,
critical and hypothetical proportions

18. Research phases in Media
 Phase 1: The Medium itself
 There is an interest in the medium
itself.
 What is it?
 How does it works?
 What technology does it involve?
 What functions and services does it
provide?
 Phase 2: Uses and users of the
medium
 How do the people use this medium in
real life?
 Do they use it for information only, to
save time, for entertainment or for
other reasons?
 Do children use it?
 Do adults use it and why?
 Phase 3: Effects of the medium
 Does it change peoples perspective
about anything?
 Are there any harmful effects
related to using the medium?
 Phase 4: How the medium can
be improved?
 How can the new technology be
used to perfect or enhance the
sight and sound of the medium?

19. Objectives of Research
 To find out some thing
 To investigate something
 To test something
 To verify something
 To draw a conclusion about some
phenomenon
 To develop better understanding of
a particular phenomenon
 To find solution of a particular
problem
 To check the hypothesis

20. Sectors of Research
Academic Research Private Research
 Scholars from colleges and
universities conduct academic
sector research. This type of
research has theoretical approach
and the result of this type of
research help to explain the mass
media and their effects on
individuals
 Exp:
The effects of media in promoting
violence etc.
 Nongovernmental or private
organizations or their research
consultants conduct private sector
research and the result of this type
of research facilitate their decision
making policy
 Exp:
PR campaigns

21. Process/Steps of Research
 The scientific evaluation of any problem follow a sequence of steps to
increase the chance that it will produce relevant data
 Research process consists of series of steps necessary to carryout research
 Steps in the process of research
i. Selection of the topic
ii. Literature review
iii. Statement of hypothesis or research question
iv. Determine of appropriate methodology and research design
v. Data collection
vi. Analyse and interpretation of data
vii. Presentation of results
viii. Replication

22. Types of Scientific Research Methods
Quantitative Research
Methods
 Survey Research
 Content analysis
 Experimental Research
 Qualitative Research
Methods
 Focus Group
 In-depth Interviews

23. Cont…
Qualitative Research Quantitative Research
 Primarily inductive process
 More subjective
 Data is in the form of words
 More in-depth information in few
cases
 No statistical tests
 Specific to general
 Researcher is the data gathering
instrument
 Primarily deductive process
 More objective
 Number-based
 Less in-depth
 Statistical tests are used for
analysis
 General to specific
 Researcher uses tools, such as
questionnaires, coding sheets

24. Survey Research
 Hansen (1998), Survey Research seeks to provide empirical data, collected
from a population of respondents on a whole number of topics or issues
 Bertrand & Hughes (1999) explain survey research as a research method
involving the use of questionnaires to gather data about people and their
thoughts and behaviours
 Types of Survey
1. Descriptive Survey
A descriptive survey attempts to describe or document current conditions
or attitudes that is, to explain what exists at the moment.
Exp: Survey during a meeting or in a live talk show
1. Analytical Survey
An analytical survey attempts to describe and explain why situation exists.
In this approach, two or more variables are usually examined to investigate
research questions or test hypothesis

25. Cont…
Process of Survey
 Research Question
 Define population
 Select sample
 Questionnaire
 Pre-test
 Data collection
 Data analysis
 Research Report

26. Content Analysis
 Content analysis is a research technique for the objective, systematic and
quantitative description of the manifest content of communication (Wimmer &
Dominick)
Process of Content Analysis Research
1. Formulate Research Question or Hypothesis
2. Define the universe in question
3. Select an appropriate sample from the population
4. Select a unit of analysis
5. Construct the categories of the content to be analysed
6. Establish a quantification system
7. Train coders and conduct pilot study
8. Code the content according to the established definitions
9. Analyse the collected data
10. Draw conclusion

27. Experimental Research Technique
 Oldest method in mass media with less usage
 Examining the basic techniques with the discussion of the controlled
laboratory experiments and field experiments
 Laboratory studies involved both manipulation and observation. In the
simplest form of an experiment, researchers manipulate independent
variables and then observe the responses of subjects on the dependent
variables

28. Focus Group
 The focus group/group interviewing is a research strategy for understanding
audience attitudes and behaviour
 From 6 to 12 people are interviewed simutaneusly, with a moderator
 The identifying charactaristics of the focus group is contrlled group
discussion (Wimmer & Dominik, 2000)

29. Case Studies
 The case studies method is a qualitative research technique.
 A case study uses as many data sources as possible to systematically
investigate individuals, groups, organizations or events
 Case studies are conducted when a researcher need to understand or explain
a phenomenon (Wimmer & Dominick, Communication Research, P.P 86, 9th
edition)

30. Conclusion
 Implication of predictions that can be verified by tests
 Evaluation of information theory according to the criteria allowing to
organize, order and relate data to show similarities that had previously not
perceived
 As a scientist, in any field of investigation develops and tests hypotheses
about the nature f the world in a particular area of interest, the process of
observation, testing and replication
 Building of a theory that provides explanations and make possible
predictions approving hypothesis
 Answer to specific questions