Research Project Overview

Always remember Hofstadter’s Law:

“It always takes longer than you expect, even when you account for Hofstadter’s Law.”

This is a very brief outline on the class project. More detailed information is provided on the Research Method Requirements page and the specific pages for each initial stage of the project [Proposal v1; Literature Review and Research Design v1; Final Write-up v1]

The research project is where you get the chance to apply what you have learned in the readings and workshops and demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of course materials.

Students will conduct a full rigorous research project that includes a literature review, a data collection research design, data collection and analysis, and a discussion of findings as well as an self-analysis of the research process.

WARNING: Research projects are complex and time consuming! Read all directions and explanations on this page carefully. Your are responsible for understanding and following all assignment directions and avoiding the common mistakes listed. If anything is unclear, then ask.

When in doubt follow these rules:

1. 
   
2. If you feel you are starting to freak out, refer back to rule #1

NOTE: in the event your are seriously flailing, I will notify you when it is appropriate to freak out.

You will design, execute, and report on a research project for this course. This project is broken-up into three sections, a proposal, your supporting literature and design, and your final research paper. While you may choose any topic you wish, it must (1) clearly be a "human communication" question and (2) be based on some communication activity that takes place at least partially online. Ask yourself - "How does this topic/question relate to communication and new media?"

If you are having problems identifying a topic and creating a research question and hypothesis, check out the Plug And Play Projects page.

Each of these sections has a due date that is the LAST day I will accept them for credit. You are more than encouraged to submit these earlier. While I cannot review drafts, assignments that are submitted early may be modified and newer versions submitted up to the deadline.

You have the option of working individually, in pairs, or in teams of three. Pairs or teams have to collect more data - so working alone or with others all students collect the same amount of data. The number or scholarly sources and overall word length remains the same. If you decide to work with others managing the assignment is entirely up to you. Your entire grade will be collective - you will submit one assignment for each/pair/team. You need to notify me of your team when you submit your proposal.

To see what is required for each project phase, look under specific assignments pages.

Expectations

All submissions must be free of spelling and grammar errors as well as typos, have good and accurate use of APA style both in line and in reference sections, and follow directions.  The resubmitted Proposal and Research Design and Literature sections in your subsequent submissions must address all errors identified by the instructor.

There is no excuse for excessively sloppy work. Most errors are not a matter of skill, but of attention. These include:

• Radically non-compliant and inconsistent APA, defined as large variations in the format used for different references both inline and in reference sections or unique major errors in the rules for each type of information or incomplete citations. Refer to the APA Workshop for details.
• Excessive grammar and spelling errors and typos.
• Not using the required form or format provided for this assignment.
• Repeated errors. I will identify errors in each assignment installment. Students are expected to correct these in all future assignments. Repeated errors cost progressively more points for each assignment in which they appear.

Assignments are considered late if turned in after the final submission deadline date. Assignments turned in the day following the deadline will have 50% of their graded points deducted. Assignments turned in after that will receive no points.

Methods

Remember, every problem is a series of smaller problems. Complex projects are executed by breaking them down into smaller component parts. This project is executed via this process. Follow the process and you will succeed.

Three (3) methods are covered in the course workshops. Please note that your collected literature is NOT a method. These are:

1. Interviewing (qualitative)

2. Survey (quantitative)

3. Focus Group (qualitative)

Each of these methods has a set of criteria that MUST be followed to get full credit. Go to the Method Requirements page for details.

Here is an example of a past final project. Please note that this project had different requirements, so more methods and more required for each method: Example_Final_Comm 151I.pdf Download Example_Final_Comm 151I.pdf