First Semester, 2010-2011                                         Revised 3 Oct 2010

COMM7740—Research Methods in Communication

Mon 14:30-17:20  CVA 933

INSTRUCTOR

Ringo Ma, PhD
Professor
Office: CVA 914
Phone: 3411-7483
Office Hours: Mon 10:00-12:00; Wed 15:00-19:00
E-mail: ringoma@hkbu.edu.hk
http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ringoma/

TEXTBOOK

Frey, L. R., Botan, C. H., & Kreps, G. L. (2000). Investigating communication: An introduction to research methods (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

*Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Research Culture

Chapter 2: Asking Questions about Communication

Chapter 3: Finding, Reading, and Using Research

Chapter 4: Observing and Measuring Communication Variables

Chapter 5: Designing Valid Communication Research

Chapter 6: Research Ethics and Politics

Chapter 7: Experimental Research

Chapter 8: Survey Research

Chapter 9: Textual Analysis

Chapter 10: Naturalistic Inquiry

Chapter 11-14: Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative Data

Chapter 15: Epilogue: Concluding Research

 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS

 

SR1: Infante, D. A., Rancer, A. S., & Womack, D. F. (2003). Building communication theory (4th. ed.). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.

Chapter 3—Paradigms and Communication Theory

SR2: Korzenny, F., & Korzenny, B. A. G. (1984). Quantitative approaches: An overview. In W. B. Gudykunst & Y. Y. Kim (Eds.), Methods for intercultural communication research (pp. 85-94). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

SR3: Miller, K. (2005). Communication theories: Perspectives, processes, and contexts (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.

Chapter 2—Philosophical Foundations: What Is Theory?

Chapter 3—Post-Positivist Perspectives on Theory Development

Chapter 4—Interpretive Perspectives on Theory Development

SR4: Ting-Toomey, S. (1984). Qualitative Research: An overview. In W. B. Gudykunst & Y. Y. Kim (Eds.), Methods for intercultural communication research (pp. 169-184). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

SR5: Hermanns, H. (2004). Interviewing as an activity. In U. Flick, E. von Kardorff, & I. Steinke (Eds.), A companion to qualitative research (B. Jenner, Trans.) (pp. 209-213). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Bohnsack, R. (2004). Group discussion and focus groups. In U. Flick, E. von Kardorff, & I. Steinke (Eds.), A companion to qualitative research (B. Jenner, Trans.) (pp. 214-221). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Lüders, C. (2004). Field observation and ethnography. In U. Flick, E. von Kardorff, & I. Steinke (Eds.), A companion to qualitative research (B. Jenner, Trans.) (pp. 222-230). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

LEARNING OUTCOMES, LEARNING ACTIVITIES, & ASSESSMENT METHODS

(Links among the three are indicated in parentheses.)

 

 

Course Learning Outcomes

 

After taking this course students should be able to:

 

I.             understand the relationship among philosophy of science, theory and research;

II.           understand basic research methodologies in the study of communication; and

III.         become a knowledgeable consumer and limited producer of communication research.

 

Student Learning Activities

 

A.        Lectures (I, II, III)

B.         Case study (I, II, III)

C.         Student presentations (I, II, III)

D.         Reaction Papers (I, II, III)

E.          Research Projects (I, II, III)

Assessment Methods

 

1.          A Research Idea--10% (I, II, III, A, B, E)

2.            SPSS Exercise--15% (I, II, III, A, B, C, E)

3.            A Research Proposal--20% (I, II, III, A, B, C, E)

4.            Reaction Papers—5% (I, II, III, A, C, D)

5.            Mid-term Exam—20%  (I, II, III, A, B)

6.            Final Exam--20% (I, II, III, A, B)

7.          Attendance & Participation--10% (I, II, III, A, B, C, D, E)

 

CLASS SCHEDULE AND READINGS

 

Week

Date

Class Activities

2

06/09

Phase 1: Chap. 1/2/3

3

13/09

Phase 1: Chap. 1/2/3

Phase 2: Chap. 4/5/6

4

20/09

Phase 2: Chap. 4/5/6

Project I Due

5

27/09

Phase 2: Chap. 4/5/6
Phase 3: Chap. 7/8/9/10
SR1 Reaction Paper due

6

04/10

Phase 3: Chap. 7/8/9/10

7

11/10

Phase 3: Chap. 7/8/9/10

SR2 & SR4 Reaction Paper due

8

18/10

Phase 4: Chap. 11/12/13/14

9

25/10

Midterm Exam

10

01/11

Phase 4: Chap. 11/12/13/14

Research Proposal Writing

SR5 Reaction Paper due

11

08/11

Phase 5: Chap. 15

Project II Due

12

15/11

Final Exam

13

22/11

Project III Presentations

14

29/11

Project III Presentations

PROJECT I: A Research Idea (10%)

You are required to identify a non-professional, real-life research experience. Include the following headings in your report:

  1. Statement of the problem (significance of the problem & research questions)
  2. Method (design, sample, measurement, & procedure)
  3. Results
  4. Conclusions and Discussion

 

Neither library research nor statistical analysis is required for this project.

PROJECT II: SPSS Exercise (10%)

Each person presents a report of statistical analyses utilizing the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software package. The data to be analyzed will be provided in class. Include any two of the following four statistical procedures in your report:

  • Related-Measures (paired) t Test
  • Chi-Square Test
  • Pearson's correlation (Measures of linear correlation using interval variables)
  • ANOVA (Analysis of Variance)

 

You are required to explain the meaning, demonstrate the application, and attach SPSS output of each statistical procedure in your report. Specifically, the project is expected to include the following components for each statistical procedure:

  1. Hypotheses (names of independent and dependent variables can be created)
  2. SPSS Output (including one feature not covered in class)
  3. APA-style reporting of the results
  4. a short discussion (interpretation) based on the results

PROJECT III: A Research Proposal (20%)

In this project, each person prepares a professional research proposal in its complete fashion. Library research and complete documentation of non-original sources are required. Include the following in your proposal:

  1. Problem statement
  2. Literature review
    • Review of related theories
    • Review of related Research
  3. Research questions and/or hypotheses
  4. methodology
    • design
    • sample
    • measurement
    • procedure
  5. References

ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION (10%)

Attendance is mandatory in this course. Any student who misses more than six (6) hours, or two weeks of classes, unexcused, is subject to dismissal from the course. In addition, each absence will result in a loss of 1%.

GRADING

Project I--10%
Project II--10%
Project III--20%

Reaction Papers—10%
Midterm Exam--20%
Final Exam--20%
Attendance--10%

FINAL NOTES

  • Academic dishonesty in the form of cheating and/or plagiarism in all its forms will result in a grade of "F" for the assignment.
  • The deadlines for all assignments in this course are "hard" deadlines; no late submission will be accepted except in the case of a documented disaster.