Comm 612: 2004 Syllabus

Fundamentals of Communication & Information Research

Instructor:

Benjamin J. Bates, Ph.D., School of Journalism & Electronic Media, Room 333 Comm-UEB,
Office Phone: 865 974-4013 Office Fax: 865-5053
Email: bjbates@utk.edu
Office Hours: T/TH 2-5 & by appt.

Catalog Description:

Universal research process from defining ideas and problems to reporting results. Causal inference and relative strengths of various research designs. Fundamentals and specific applications of most common data-gathering and measurement techniques in communications research: experimental, survey, content analysis, historical and qualitative.

Real Description:

An introduction to the issues and processes involved in designing, conducting, and interpreting communication and information research. The course will focus on an overview of concepts, techniques, and use of a range of research techniques, from both quantitative and qualitative approaches.. The focus will be on understanding the benefits, and limitations, of research, and the proper utilization and interpretation of research results (statistical or otherwise).

This will be accomplished by not only providing information on methods, but by involving students in the design, implementation, and analysis of research.

The goal of the course is to provide a solid foundation in the basic principles of research methodology, and experience in the research process, which the student can proceed to gain further expertise.

Style of the Course & Course Rules:

As a doctoral level seminar, there will be a fair bit of reading, lots of outside work, and a very high degree of interaction during class meetings. About half of each session should involve active participation by the students, in the form of asking and answering questions, and in demonstrations of the research process. The class is also designed to be somewhat hands-on, again both within and outside of the class meetings. Thus, it is important that everyone in class come prepared for each class, and that they should feel free to ask questions and contribute to discussions.

The instructor reserves the right to change, shift, drop or add to the assignments, and in such cases will provide timely notification during class, on the official class website (Online@UT) and by e-mail.

All assignments must be turned in on or before the due date. You have plenty of warning, so no late assignments will be accepted. All reviews, proposals, and reports must be typed or printed, single sided, double spaced, with normal fonts and margins. Assignments may be emailed to the instructor (bjbates@utk.edu) as an attachment in either Microsoft Word (.doc) or RTF (.rtf) formats

If any student has any special needs, they should discuss those needs with the instructor, who will try (within reasonable limits) to accommodate those needs.

Course Requirements

Class Participation 15%
Weekly Assignments 50%
Proposal 25%
Take-Home Final 15%

There will be no regular tests as such in this class. There will be a take-home final which will be an exercise in research design. Also, the discussion portion of each class will serve as oral exams (if you really feel the need for tests).

I expect to give short assignments each week. They may constitute a review of a research report, or an exercise in some aspect of research design. The responses should be typed (or equivalent), with all the normal caveats.

Students will also be expected to produce, by the end of the course, a formal research proposal. During the first few weeks of the class, the students should start working with the instructor on defining a research project. You will develop a general topic (with instructor assistance/approval if necessary), then undertake to develop a set of research questions/hypotheses, develop a research design and appropriate measures, and pretest the design and measures. While it is expected that students will work with the instructor closely in the initial stages of conceptualization and design, the final topic and research design are the responsibility of the student. This proposal should include formal statement of research questions and hypotheses, a short theoretical foundation for the problem (but not necessarily a thorough literature review), and proposals for design, measures, and sampling procedures (or other appropriate forms of observation). They should be sufficiently comprehensive so as to provide a clear indication of the proposed research. I will ask for partial submissions at several stages.

Students will also be expected (although this part will not be graded), to seek out a professor in the College and work with her/him on a research project. If possible, you should work on a project at the beginning stages, and participate in the design process.

Proposal Idea (due 5 Feb)

This should include conceptualization and development of preliminary research question(s), along with a rough outline of suggested methodology.

Preliminary Design (due 11 March):

This should include a more thorough outline of basic methodology, primary conceptualizations of measures, and should address the basic design issues.

First Draft (due 1 April):

This should include a formal conceptualization of issue and methods, details on methodology and measurement/instruments, and the nature of the observations to be taken. At this point you don't need finalized versions of procedures and/or methods, but you should be able to provide a fairly complete description, and rationalization of the choices made.

Final Draft (due 22 April):

This should be a final version of a formal research proposal. It should incorporate an outline of the pretest, and comments on any changes in the final design resulting from that pretest. You will also present the proposals to the class (and possibly invited guests) for criticism on April 22th.

Required Texts

Creswell, John W. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 2^nd Ed. Sage. ISBN: 0-7619-2442-6
Deacon, Pickering, Golding & Murdock (1999). Researching Communications. Arnold. ISBN: 0-340-59685-6
Stempel, Weaver, & Wilhoit (2003). Mass Communication Research and Theory. Allyn and Bacon. ISBN:0-205-35923-X

Recommended Resources:

Berger, A. A. (2000). Media and Communication Research Methods: An Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Sage. ISBN: 0-7319-1853-1
Stewart, Thomas D. (2002). Principles of Research in Communication. Allyn and Bacon. ISBN: 0-321-07893-4
Williams, Frederick, and Monge, Peter (2000). Reasoning with Statistics. Wadsworth. ISBN: 0155068156

Various readings as assigned

Tentative Schedule

Readings (guide)/Assignment

15 Jan The Basis and Logic of Science; A Short History of Communications as Science C: 1; DPGM: 1, 15; S: 1; SW: 1, 6;

22 Jan Theory Construction, Conceptualization, & Building Hypotheses C:2, 4-7; S: 2-3; SW: 7

29 Jan Measurement & Sampling SW: 4-6; EB: 5, 6 Proposal Idea due

The following weeks will focus on addressing a variety of methodologies. The exact methods and order will be determined after discussion of student interests, but will include both quantitative and qualitative methods.

5 Feb

12 Feb

19 Feb

26 Feb

4 Mar Preliminary Design Draft due

11 Mar Spring Break

18 Mar

25 Mar First Draft due

1 April

8 Apr

15 Apr

22 Apr Presentation of Proposals/ Research Proposals Due

6 May Final - officially 7:45-9:15 pm, location TBA (take home finals due)

Last updated: 04 December 2006