Understanding Data in Linguistics

This report aims to demystify verbal and non-verbal communication as modes of communication. The paper aims to compare three research papers on both verbal and non-verbal communications pointing out the research process, research questions commonly used, research designs used, concussions made and how reliable these findings are.

Running Head: UNDERSTANDING DATA IN LINGUISTICS
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UNDERSTANDING DATA IN LINGUISTICS
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Introduction
Linguistic has undergone many revolutions over the past centuries. These changes have
been as rest of the changes in trends as time goes by. Developments such as technology have had
immense contributions to the evolutions of linguistics. The emergence of new languages, races,
and events in the education patterns have also affected the development of linguistics, either
positively or negatively.
As such, we have seen more emphasis being directed towards nonverbal communication
as a means of passing information from one person to another. Employers, for instance, are
currently giving special attention to non-verbal communication signals by recruits during
interviews. People lose job opportunities for passing wrong messages to recruiting panes using
nonverbal techniques when called for interviews. Some scholars have argued that the lack of
non-verbal cues in the use of computer-mediated communication methods such as messaging
might prevent impressions and relational developments in communication (Vogel, et al., 2018).
Face to face communication, however, achieves relational events faster than computer-mediated
communications (Noret & Joel, 2013).
Non-Verbal communications have become an integral mode of communication across
the gibe. Consequently, there is a need to objectively research on its effectiveness and improve it
to make it better and more reliable. This fact, however, does not rule out the importance of verbal
communication. We can therefore confidently conclude that both verbal and non-verbal
communication are critical modes of communication and therefore should be we mastered and
understood. Sign languages never have a systematic way through which they are invented. This

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mode of communication is structured whenever deaf people meet, and therefore they need to
communicate (Kathi & Hossam, 2011).
This report aims to demystify verbal and non-verbal communication as modes of
communication. The paper aims to compare three research papers on both verbal and non-verbal
communications pointing out the research process, research questions commonly used, research
designs used, concussions made and how reliable these findings are.
The papers under review are Non-Verbal Communication in Instant Massaging (Plumb,
2013), The Role of Nonverbal and Verbal Communication in a Multimedia Informed Consent
Process (Pieczkiewicz, et al., 2011) and Methodology: coding and studying nonverbal behaviour
( Harrigan, 2013).
Research questions commonly asked
To understand the subject matter more, questions are usually asked by the researcher to
collect adequate data that would assist in making informed conclusions.
Michael Plumb in his paper asks four significant questions to find data for decision
making. He asks the significant differences between computer-mediated communication and face
to face communication, the effects of emotions in conversation, and the effect of loss of
information in computer-mediated discussions if at all there is. He concludes by seeing a stand
from his audience as to which between computers mediated communication and face to face
communication is more effective in conveying complex information. The answers drawn from
these questions lead to the conclusions made in this paper.

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For Harrigan, the main focus is on the body movements that communicate particular
messages. These movements are as a result of specific natural muscle movements within the
body. His main research question will, therefore, be which muscle movement(s) result through
the physical changes observed externally by the researcher.
Hypothesis and Study design
These are decision making statements that the researcher draws conclusions depending
on research findings. There are two types of hypotheses; null hypothesis and alternative
hypothesis. Whether to reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis depends on the level of
significance of the data collected.
For Plumb, the null hypothesis reads ‘Participants will be very familiar with Instant
Messaging and face to face communication.' The alternative hypothesis, however, indicates that
the participants will find it easier to predict emotional responses from people close to them for
instance family members than they would from strangers.
However, for the case of Pieczkiewicz and team, they come up with a design that incorporates
both verbal and non-verbal communication. Their main objective in this study is to analyse and
relate verbal and non-verbal communication of an informed consent process. This ends up being
proven when actual research is conducted on a selected sample of the population.
Data collection methods and analysis
Plumb in his research majorly used questionnaires (both written and verbal). He recorded
the data from the feedback given and went ahead to data analysis. This method allows for instant
feedback where it is face to face. There is also room to see clarification should there be

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something that isn't clear to either party. It, however, may be limiting to the respondent as the
aspect of anonymity isn't there, and this might lead to biased feedback. In this particular paper,
the data collected was then analysed using Microsoft Excel before informative inferences could
be extracted. The relationships and differences in the data collected were obtained using
descriptive and inferential statistics.
Harrigan, in his study non-verbal communication, employs different methods of data
collection. In most cases, however, observation stands out as the primary method of data
collection. Coding involves observing the various body movements and expressions and then
deriving meaning from each. He attempts to code information from actions like kinesics,
proxemics and gaze behaviours. These methods are the most commonly used in non-verbal
communication. However, they have their limitations as they might be easily misinterpreted by
either the respondent or the researcher leading to incorrect conclusions.
Question asking approach and observation were the primary methods for data coaction as
per (Pieczkiewicz, et al., 2011). There were videotaping and digital recording of twelve mock
consent sessions to ensure both verbal and non-verbal elements were captured. Compared to the
entire population, it could be concluded that the sample size was adequate for a proof-of-concept
paper (Pieczkiewicz, et al., 2011). A majority of interest groups were represented, making the
sample representative. The mock sessions were conducted by the same coordinator, making the
process fair. Verbal communication elements were analyzed using a content analysis approach.
Question asking behaviour analysis measures the frequency of questions asked by the
participants and uses that information to categorize the flow of information.

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Interpretation of results
Verbal communication techniques are mostly preferred as opposed to non-verbal
communication (Plumb, 2013). This is consistent with findings from previous researchers
(Plumb, 2013). The nonverbal communication techniques such as kinesics, proxemics, and gaze
behaviours are very limiting as there exist no specific standards for measuring their effectiveness
(Kenya, Sane, Shimosato, Chizuru, & Kunihiko, 2010).
The gaze variable, for example, isn't very useful for live interactions as there is no room
to repay and confirm the gaze action. The gaze method would be more effective if done within
an enclosed environment as opposed to the field as there are few distracters within the closed
environment. The technique would be coded better in a videotape since one can repay (Ineke,
Mieke, Hugo, & Gerard, 2010).
When vocal coding behaviour, the main features of consideration are pitch, tempo, and
loudness, vocal stress may imply sarcasm (Vj, 2010). The distance between participants in a field
has been estimated using E.T Hall’s proxemics scales by trained coders (Canan, 2009).
The findings of this research (Pieczkiewicz, et al., 2011). Clearly showed that because
researchers use both verbal and non-verbal techniques, face to face is indeed useful. This similar
finding had been documented earlier in research by a team of scholars led by (Chinar, Kathleen,
Cameron, Elisa, & Melissa, 2011).
These three studies affirm the undeniable importance of both verbal and non-verbal
communication. These two are related and complement one another. However, it is worth noting

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that neither of these should be used as a replacement for the other as both ears very critical in
communication.
Validity and reliability of conclusions made
The finding in the three papers and other supporting books and journals are overall
reliable. They a point to the need for more research to be done on non-verbal communication as
most of its aspects cannot be accurately quantified and verified. A good example is nodding.
This may mean the message is understood, or it could just mean the next person has heard the
communication but not necessarily understood. The same case applies to vocal variations. Most
non-verbal cues exhibit this characteristic ( Harrigan, 2013).
The findings for both Plumb and Pieczkiewicz are highly reliable and valid, and the
actual statistics point to more people having preference over verbal communication. A notable
number also prefer non-verbal cues, therefore, making the two equally important.
Conclusion
Communication is important. For the case of verbal communication, good
listening skills are highly encouraged (Ruth & Helen, 2012). Its aspects are however changing
rapidly as the world evolves (Kemper & Shaltout, 2012). There is a need to match up with the
most recent trends in communication, for instance, instant messaging. However, these efforts
should not be misinterpreted to means we should ignore face-to-face communication and other
forms of verbal communication. Canan hint to this when they note that lacking facial
expressions, posture, and eye behaviour while communicating is equivalent to missing half of a

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performance (Canan, 2009)Verbal and non-verbal communication techniques should
complement but not replace one another.
References
Harrigan, J. (2013). Coding and studying nonverbal behaviour. Methodology, 2-9.
Canan, P. Z. (2009). The importance of non-verbal communication in classroom management.
The Journal of Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9.
Chinar, D., Kathleen, K., Cameron, D., Elisa, O., & Melissa, N. (2011). Non-Verbal Emotion
Communication in Patients with Frontotemporal Dementia: A Case Study. The Journal
of Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9.
Ineke, V. D., Mieke, v.-K., Hugo, J. D., & Gerard, M. R. (2010). Measuring verbal and non-
verbal communication in aphasia: reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of the
Scenario Test. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 5.
Kathi, J. K., & Hossam, A. S. (2011). Non-verbal communication of compassion: measuring
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Noret, & Joel. (2013). Mundane objects. Materiality and non-verbal communication. The
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