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COM 297: Communication Research Methods

Spring 2017

Tuesdays/Thursdays 9:35-10:50, Fell 123

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Dr. Aimee Miller-Ott

Email:

Phone: (309) 438-7630

Office: Fell Hall 462

Office Hours: 11:00-12:30 pmTuesdays and Thursdays and by appointment

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Course Description

This course focuses on the “methods of scholarly research and critical evaluation of research” according to the SoC website. What does that mean? Of course we will study research methodology. But specifically, I will help you learn how to conduct your own research and how to find and analyze other people’s research. My goals are that you will, by the end of the semester, 1) think more about the research you read in your everyday life and have the tools to determine whether the research is strong or weak, 2) be able to create your own survey if asked to do so in another class or workplace situation, and 3) know the basic language of research methods and statistics. The knowledge you gain from this course will enable you to be a more informed and critical consumer of research. Moreover, it will provide you with a foundation for developing more advanced research skills as you progress through your education and in your future careers.

Course Objectives

In this course you will:

  • Learn important terms related to designing a research study;
  • Learn how to locate primary and secondary sources;
  • Learn how to read, make sense of, and summarize/analyze research articles;
  • Understand the difference between a well-designed and poorly-designed survey;
  • Design a quantitative study effectively;
  • Understand ethical considerations for conducting research; and
  • Familiarize yourself with basic statistical processes.

Required Materials

Davis, C. S., Gallardo, H. P., & Lachlan, K. A. (2013). Straight talk about communication research methods(2nd edition). Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.

Access to materials on ReggieNet

Class Conduct and Expectations

To help create and maintain a supportive communication environment, I ask the following of you:

1.Refrain from side-conversations, reading non-related materials, and doing anything else that might make it difficult to hear/pay attention to others in the class.

2.NO CELL-PHONES OR OTHER MOBILE DEVICES, or anything else that would cause distractions will be permitted in class. Phones and other devices must remain put away during class – in a bag, purse, or pocket. Do not keep them on your desk, in your hands, on your laps, or in other accessible places. Use of devices in class will result in significant deductions in class participation. More than one use of such devices in class will result in a zero in class participation. There is no negotiation on this.

3.If you want to use laptops or tablets in class to take notes, you must speak with me privately about it BEFORE bringing one to class. We will discuss the laptop policy at that time.

4.I do not tolerate coming late to class or leaving class early. This type of behavior is disruptive to me and to your fellow classmates.

5.I will take attendance in class so plan ahead when you know you will miss class. If you are an athlete or involved in some school activity, I need a schedule and/or documentation from a university official about your absences before they occur.

6.I expect that you will be prepared to participate actively in class discussions when you come to class – this means that you have read and critically evaluated the assigned readings before class and are ready to insightfully engage the material and each other. Our goal each class is move toward a shared understanding of the material and the broader topic.

7.Speak professionally and respectfully to me in and out of class. Treat your classmates with respect, even if you do not agree with them. Send only professional emails to me. These should include a subject, professional salutation (Dr. Miller-Ott), and a brief reason for the email. Include the name and time of the class you are in. I may not respond to poorly written emails. If you need to discuss an in-depth issue with me, please arrange to meet with me outside of class. I will NOT engage in any discussions about specific grades in the classroom or via email. I will respond to emails within 48 hours of receiving them unless I indicate otherwise.I typically will not respond to emails after the work day (after 5 pm) or on weekends.

University Policies

1.Disabilities: Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact Student Access and Accommodation Services (formerly the Office of Disability Concerns) at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TDD),

2.Mental Health Resources: Student Counseling Services provides free services to students. These services are completely confidential. Find out more at Counseling.IllinoisState.edu or by calling (309) 438-3655.

3.Academic Misconduct/Plagiarism: Possible violations of ethical behaviors in this course include but are not limited to cheating on an exam, or plagiarizing a paper (in whole or in part, from any source, including a publication, the internet or another student). Any student caught in an act of academic misconduct in this class will, at minimum, receive a zero on the assignment/exam. Consult the University Handbook for the plagiarism policy that we will follow in this course.

4.Bereavement:Students who experience the death of an immediate family member or relative as defined in the University Student Bereavement Policy will be excused from class for funeral leave and/or travel considerations. You must provide appropriate documentation to the Dean of Students office and contact me as soon as possible to make arrangements for completing missed work.

COMPLETING WORK IN THIS COURSE

Please follow these guidelines unless otherwise indicated on assignments:

  • Type your work
  • Use 12-point, Times New Roman font
  • Use black ink
  • Staple your work
  • Use APA style (6th edition) when citing sources in a paper and on a reference page
  • Please ask if you have questions about APA, as accurate use of this formatting type is required in this course.

For all work you will be graded on content, spelling, grammar, formatting, following directions, punctuation, and APA accuracy. Proofread all work before you hand it in.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

I WILL NOT accept late work or work sent via email. If you are going to miss class, find a way to get the work to me in hard copy by the start of class or I won’t accept it.

GRADING IN THIS COURSE

Evaluation of Work: Simply following directions and turning in the work DOES NOT guarantee you an A on any assignment. Below please find what you must do in order to earn the following letter grades:

A = Excellent Work, Thoughtful and Concise Answers, Few or No Typos/Grammar Errors

B = Above Average, Thoughtful but Need to Push Self a Bit More, Few Typos/Grammar Errors

C = Average Work, Do the Minimal Required Work for the Assignment

D = Below Average Work, Met Some but Not All Minimal Requirements, Did Not Proofread

F = Fail to Turn in Assignment, Not Meet Minimal Requirements, Poor Performance

Please note that your grade for this course will depend on how many points you earn from the course requirements. Failure to complete any of the course requirements on time may result in failure of the course.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Class participation: Worth 25 points.

Active class involvement is a required part of this class. I am looking for quality involvement, not just quantity. Using cell phones and other devices during class, being tardy to class often, and other violations of class conduct expectations will negatively impact participation. Please note that I expect that you will miss no more than 3 class periods (for whatever reason) throughout the semester so plan accordingly. I will use the following rubric to evaluate your class participation at the end of the semester.

“A” participation (23-25 points): Attends class regularly (no more than 3 absences in the semester) and always contributes to the discussion by raising thoughtful questions, analyzing relevant issues, building on others’ ideas, synthesizing across readings and discussions, expanding the class perspective, and appropriately challenging assumptions and perspectives

“B” participation (20-22 points): Attends class regularly (no more than 3 absences in the semester) and sometimes contributes to the discussion in the aforementioned ways

“C” participation (18-19 points): Attends class regularly (no more than 3 absences in the semester) but rarely contributes to the discussion in the aforementioned ways

“D” participation (15-17 points): Attends class regularly (no more than 3 absences in the semester) but never contributes to the discussion in the aforementioned ways

“F” participation (14 and below): Does not attend class regularly (has more than 3 absences in the semester) and/or engages in negative behaviors in class.

Exams: Worth 300 points total (100 points each).

You will take 3 exams this semester. Some content on the exams may be cumulative.

In-class quizzes: Worth 80 points.

You will take 5 quizzes during the course of the semester over reading material due during the particular class period of the quiz. You may bring any notes you took during reading, but you may not use the textbook during the quiz. These quizzes will be UNANNOUNCED. If you miss or are late for class (for any reason), you will not be able to take the quiz. No exceptions. Your highest 4 scores on these will count toward your final grade.

Assignments: Worth 300 points.

You will complete a number of assignments that correspond with the specific stages of creating a research study. All major assignments and required readings are posted on ReggieNet. It is your responsibility to come to class having read all assignments that we will discuss.

Group Project Peer Feedback Grade: Worth 50 points.

After completing your group research project, your group members will evaluate your performance and contributions to the work. They will also provide feedback during the semester on your contributions on the larger group assignments. You can earn up to 50 points from their feedback at the end of the semester. We will discuss this further in class.

(Optional) Extra credit: Worth up to 2 extra credit points.

You have two options for earning extra credit. First, you may receive extra credit for participating in any of the studies posted to the School of Communication’s Research Announcement Board. The Research Announcement Board is updated as research studies are opened/closed, and it is your responsibility to access the Board and be aware of available opportunities. The Research Announcement Board can be accessed via:

In general, each 30 minutes of participation in an extra credit study will earn you .5 Research Credits, but please see the call for participants for the Research Credits associated with each study. Each project listed on the Research Announcement Board will indicate the specific number of Research Credits associated with the project. For this class, you can complete up to the equivalent of 1.0. Research Credit for participating in studies on the School of Communication Research Announcement Board website. For studies worth .5 credits, you can earn 1 point extra credit. For studies worth 1.0 credit, you can earn 2 points extra credit.

The extra credit points will be added to your final grade, and may not necessarily appear in the gradebook immediately upon your completion of the opportunity. There are no guarantees for extra credit, and it is each student’s responsibility to be aware of and take advantage of such opportunities.

The researcher(s) who administer the research studies will provide evidence of your participation at the conclusion of the semester; however, it is your responsibility to make sure that the researchers have the necessary evidence of your participation at the time of the study. Before participating in a study, please be sure to have your name, ULID (i.e., the part of your email before @ilstu.edu), instructor name, and course and section number ready, as you will need to provide these to receive credit. Research Credit can only be applied to one course for each study, unless specified otherwise on the Research Announcement Board.

There may be some studies for which you are not eligible (e.g., recruiting based on gender or family structure) or in which you do not wish to take part. Therefore, you will receive options for alternative extra credit during the semester that is worth 2 points.

Overall Course Point Distribution

Assignments300 points

Exams 300 points

Quizzes 80 points

Group Project Peer Feedback 50 points

Class participation 25 points

Total Points 755points

Distribution of Points within Each Assignment

Literature Review Assignment (individual grade)

Annotated bibliography 25 points

Literature review50 points

Research Project (group members receive same grades unless indicated by *)

Summary and references20 points

Survey draft10 points

Final survey 10 points

Literature review50 points *

Final paper 100 points *

Final presentation 25 points

Peer evaluation form 10 points*

Final Grade Based on the Following Scale

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90-100% A

80-89%B

70-79%C

60-69%D

Below 60%F

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Class Schedule

(*I reserve the right to make changes to this schedule if needed.)

Class Meeting DateTopic & Work Due

Tuesday January 17Course introduction

Thursday, January 19Conceptualizing communication research

Discuss Lit Review Assignment in class

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 1
  • Read the Literature Review assignment posted on ReggieNet

Tuesday, January 24Frameworks for making methodological choices

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 2
  • Take and bring notes on each paradigm

Thursday, January 26Locating scholarly sources

Meet in Milner Library Room 164D

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 3

Tuesday, January 31Writing a literature review and APA formatting

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 4

Thursday, February 2Conducting ethical research

Discuss Research Project in class

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 5
  • Complete and bring annotated bibliography
  • Read Research Project assignment posted on ReggieNet

Tuesday, February 7Review for Exam #1; Divide into groups for research project in class

Thursday, February 9Exam#1 in class

Tuesday, February 14Research questions and hypotheses

Meet in project groups, topics due by end of class

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 6
  • Read and bring answers to questions on the Bullying and Social Dominance article (article and questions posted on ReggieNet)

Thursday, February 16Variables

Before class:

  • Complete and bring final literature review
  • Create and type team contract, all group members sign and turn in
  • Read Chapter 7

Tuesday, February 21Sampling

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 8
  • Complete and bring group summary and reference list

Thursday, February 23Validity and reliability

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 9

Tuesday, February 28Creating surveys; (Some) time to work on surveys in class

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 10

Thursday, March 2Survey peer review, writing a methods section

Before class:

  • Complete and bring 6 copies of group survey draft

Tuesday, March 7Review for Exam #2

Thursday, March 9Exam #2 in class

Before class:

  • Complete and bring final group survey

March 14 & March 16No class – Spring Break

Tuesday, March 21Experiments

Discuss research project data collection process

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 12

Thursday, March 23Analyzing quantitative data

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 13 (pages 267-288)
  • Each group needs to bring 2 blank surveys to class

Tuesday, March 28Analyzing quantitative data

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 13 (pages 288-305)
  • Complete and bring your group literature review with attached work distribution form

Thursday, March 30Analyzing quantitative data

Before class:

  • Read Chapter 13 (pages 305-313)

Tuesday, April 4How to use SPSS (no reading due for class)

Before class:

  • Enter data from completed surveys into Excel spreadsheet
  • Bring completed spreadsheet and codebook electronically to class

Thursday, April 6Review for Exam #3

Tuesday, April 11Exam #3 in class

Thursday, April 13SPSS data analysis/writing (groups TBA)

*Groups need to have access to their SPSS files, codebooks, and list of tests they want to run for class

Tuesday, April 18SPSS data analysis/writing (groups TBA)

*Groups need to have access to their SPSS files, codebooks, and list of tests they want to run for class

Thursday, April 20SPSS data analysis/writing (groups TBA)

*Groups need to have access to their SPSS files, codebooks, and list of tests they want to run for class

Tuesday, April 25Workshop for data analysis/papers

Thursday, April 27How to present your research

Before class:

  • Complete and bring final paper with attached work distribution form
  • Bring laptops and electronic version of final paper to class to work on presentations

Tuesday, May 2Group work day (to prepare for final presentations)

Thursday, May 4Final presentations in class

Before class:

  • Complete and bring Powerpoint notes (1 per group)
  • Complete and bring peer evaluation forms (1 per person)