Methodology Sample

Jason B. Cannon
Comm5080
Dr. John S. Gossett
28 November 2001

    Problematic for First Amendment analysis in the communication discipline is the lack of a methodological instrument specifically designed to analyze concerns for First Amendment scholars and students. Nevertheless, this project will explain the methodological approach to understanding the implications of the USA Patriot Act of 2001 in relation to online free speech and online privacy concerns using the Burkean cluster analysis. The cluster analysis attempts to understand the motive(s) of an artifact. The application of the cluster analysis will identify motive(s) within the Patriot Act through the definition of key terms and the concepts, which exist around them. Assumptions of this type of criticism suggest that motive or effect is driven, either implicitly or explicitly, through the definition or framing of key components of an artifact. The question posed in this project, "to what extent does the USA Patriot Act of 2001 infringe on the free speech and privacy rights of online citizens?" will be answered using the methodology detailed in this component of the research project. The intent of this project will attempt to group or cluster similar concepts of free speech and privacy, as proposed by free speech theorists Alexander Meiklejohn, Franklyn Haiman and Zechariah Chaffee, together and compare or contrast them with similar notions gleaned from the implications of the Patriot Act of 2001. The outcome of this analysis will demonstrate the invasive techniques employed by the United States federal government go far beyond the constitutional bounds of previous free speech precedents in order to disrupt, impede, discover or limit the communication of known or suspected terrorists.

    The first step in understanding the implications stated above, will be to download a copy of the Patriot Act from the Library of Congress website. This will allow other First Amendment scholars and students to reference the work easily and refer quickly to sections mentioned in the project more efficiently through the use of the official Library of Congress text and its pagination.

    The next step in this process will be to define the terms and concepts to be discussed in the paper. Free speech concepts and ideologies from Franklin Haiman, Zechariah Chaffee, Thomas Emerson, and Alexander Meiklejohn will be offered as a basis for understanding the fundamental importance of public and private speech. Furthermore, the Burkean process of cluster analysis will be explained and its application to the artifact will also be included in order to familiarize the reader with the mechanism.

    The cluster analysis consists of four elements. First, this researcher will identify key terms of significant interest for First Amendment theorists within the text of the Patriot Act. These key terms will serve as the nexus for other terms, which exist in close proximity, conceptually, to the identified key terms. Next, these terms will be charted to create clusters of concepts, which will serve as a basis to explain and explore these concepts in relation to First Amendment theory. From these clusters of terms, patterns will be defined which serve to further define the meanings of the key terms. This step is critical in the cluster analysis. Through the identification of patterns, this researcher will demonstrate whether or not the language of the Patriot Act seeks to subvert or reify fundamental free speech theories. Finally, this project will name the motive of the artifact. The intent is to discover the motive of the Patriot Act and its implications for free speech, not the legislative intent. The delineation of legislative intent and application of the act will be discussed to further show the overbreadth of the act.

    Through the cluster analysis the motive(s) and definitions will be further explored to determine if they exist in direct conflict with the free speech concepts of Emerson, Haiman, Chaffee, and Meiklejohn. Furthermore, the study will discuss the findings of the cluster analysis and the implications that the language of the act and the concepts advanced will present for First Amendment scholars.