suaded by the rhetoric.
In this type of rhetorical research, systematic empirical methods are used to evaluate important aspects of communication. According to Pierce (2003), the major goals or objectives of rhetorical research are:
(1) To analyze communication strategies employed by language users;
(2) to study appropriateness levels of vocabulary chosen by speakers; and
(3) to compare the different types of discourse used to persuade others.
The core elements of rhetorical research that are most examined include several language and communication variables. Piece (2003) reports that these areas include the examination of metaphor, narrative, visual persuasion, ideology, and politics.
Experimental research, on the other hand, uses the same empirical methods as are often used in rhetorical research. In the experimental approach research designs are controlled and efforts are made to precisely collect and analyze data so that the findings are both replicable and generalizable in determining the effects of the independent variable on the dependent measure. However, there is somewhat of a stronger emphasis on these factors in experimental research than in rhetorical research (Rubin, Rubin & Piele, 2004).
Also, experimental research is often broader in scope. For example, rhetorical research is primarily associated with communication of a particular nature or natures whereas experimental research often looks at aspects of facets of language and communication that are not emphasized in rhetorical research (Rubin, Rubin & Piele, 2004).
On the other hand, naturalistic communication research is qualitative in that it is concerned with understanding the processes which underlie the various phenomena being observed (Rubin, Rubin & Piele, 2004). In communication, naturalistic research looks at language in natural settings using qualitative research methods which is to say that it focuses on interpretative tec...