Applied Communication Research

Abstract

Applied communication research refers to a type of communication scholarship as well as to a sub‐field of communication with which that research is identified. In the more specific sense, applied communication research is communication scholarship that emphasizes the creation of knowledge about communication in specific contexts, applicable to social issues, and often for the solution of societal problems. The research typically is theory‐driven or has the potential for (re)formation of theory, but theory building is neither the immediate nor the principal purpose of applied communication studies. Rather the hallmark of applied communication scholarship is its social relevance, for it is simultaneously (often primarily) directed by a concern with the usefulness of the research findings for illuminating pressing social issues, for improving practice, or for redressing societal problems. To a lesser extent, applied communication researchers therefore are concerned with the dissemination of that knowledge and its effective application by persons with a stake in the solution to social issues.