1 Professor Baesler Spring 2012 Communication 604: Research Methods and Lifespan Communication Office Hours: Bal 3018 (Prof. Office) T Th 3-4, W 4-5, & by appointment Snail mailbox: Bal 3000 (Comm. Dept. Main office) E-mail: [email protected] Type “C604 Research in subject area line I regularly answer e-mail on T, W, & Th by 7 pm. Phone: 683-4866 (Prof. Office), 683-3828 (Comm. Dept.) Course Description: The course provides an overview of the social scientific methods used in lifespan developmental communication research including surveys, experiments, observations, and content analyses. Students will continue developing their understanding and appreciation of the academic research culture and the process of conducting social scientific communication research in a lifespan context. Students will become fluent in the language of social science, and demonstrate competency as communication researchers by completing an original data-based life-span project designed to serve as a pilot study for a thesis project and/or professional conference paper. Specific Learning Outcomes: As with many things in life, we learn by doing. Students conduct original research on lifespan communication topics that are meaningful/significant to them by: 1) Exploring research topics, approaches to asking questions, criteria for evaluating the merit of lifespan research topics, 2) Reviewing and evaluating the theoretical and empirical literature in a specific lifespan communication topic area, 3) Developing hypotheses and research questions based on a review of the literature and their own original/creative thinking, 4) Designing a method (survey, quasi-experiment, or field study) to test the hypothesis and answer the research question while adhering to ethical protocols like obtaining human subjects approval prior to collecting data, 5) Creating constitutive and operational definitions for independent and dependent variables, and employing measures with expert validity (for new measures) or predictive validity (for known measures), and acceptable inter-item reliability, 6) Collecting and analyzing data using a computer software package called spss (statistical package for the social sciences), and performing descriptive and inferential statistics appropriate to the type of variables and design of the study, and 7) Demonstrating proficiency for items 1-6 in: papers written in APA (American Psychological Association) writing style, class assignments, informal oral assessments, and an oral presentation.2 Course Requirements: Required (and additional) Reading: In place of a text, there are readings posted in the "modules" section of blackboard (see course calendar). These readings represent specialized knowledge areas that are designed to enhance your competencies as graduate student researchers in life-span communication. It is not possible to cover everything you need to know for a given research project in terms of research methodologies and statistical analyses; therefore, in addition to the assigned readings, there is a list of resources for further reading at the end of the syllabus for those that want to further develop their research competencies and/or locate specific knowledges related to their research project. Taking time to preview, read, MEDITATE, take notes, and prepare questions based on the assigned readings prior to class will benefit class discussion and greatly enhance your learning experience. Research Papers: There is one major research project divided into four related papers: literature review, methods, results, and discussion. The professor will provide written feedback on the first three papers. The final paper consists of edited versions of the first three papers and a "new" discussion section. Papers are designed to be "learning experiences." Each paper builds on the previous. The idea is to improve previous papers prior to submitting the final paper. Each paper has a set of "rubrics" for evaluation. Rubrics are posted as course documents on blackboard under "assignments". Add (cut and paste) the relevant rubrics to the end of each paper. On completing each paper, use the rubrics to evaluate your paper by "scoring" the paper (assigning a number to each of the rubrics). The professor uses these scores as a guideline when assessing the paper. All papers are written using Microsoft WORD and follow APA writing style. Papers are uploaded to the top of your wiki page on blackboard. I will create wikis for each student on blackboard. Use the following format for uploading papers: LitRevYourName.doc, MethodsYourName.doc, ResultsYourName.doc, and FinalPapaerYourName.doc. The professor will also provide detailed feedback for each paper using the "track changes" function of WORD and post this information next to your original upload on the wiki page using the same format as above except adding the word "fdbck" at the end of each file name, e.g. LitRevYourNamefdbck.doc. Late Papers: Plan ahead. Allow for time to review the paper before you turn it in. Papers are considered "on time" if they are turned in by noon of the class period that they are "due." Papers turned in after 12 noon are assigned a late penalty of the equivalent of one letter grade for each day late. Research Journal: To encourage self-reflection on your research journey, each student will keep a research journal. These e-journals will be kept on the student's wiki page and represent a "personal and public reflection" of the your unique research journey. Each time you work on the research project, add another entry to your journal (minimum of one entry every other week). Use the following format for journal entries (number them as follows and add whatever else you want to include after item number 2): 1.Date and Description of your learning activities (what did you do)? Of particular import is noting your personal goals, your progress toward those goals, and when you have achieved your goals. 2.What have you learned from your experience (self-reflection/meditation/learnings). Conference Panel Presentation: Your final paper will be presented to the class as part of a "conference panel" simulation similar to panel presentations at professional communication conferences. Each student will present their paper, receive feedback from a reviewer (one of your classmates), and respond to reviewer comments. This is an opportunity to