4-Step Mini-Research Paper
This paper is an opportunity to show what you have learned from COMM 3310 as a whole. It allows you to demonstrate your ability to apply a theory to develop a deeper understanding of
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something concrete that you selected. In short, you will be writing a mini research paper that will apply a theory you selected to a context that you will also select. Here is a preview of the different steps of this assignment:
Step 1: Select a qualitative theory from the list below (10 points)
Step 2: Find some sources from the UHV Library databases that use the theory you have chosen to create a annotated bibliography with 2 sentences about each entry. (30 points)
Step 3: Develop a few research questions that apply your selected theory to something real like, a situation, an object, an artifact (e.g. sibling relationship, YouTube personality, Netflix show, etc.). (10 points)
Step 4: Answer your research questions in an essay that uses the headings found in a research paper. (150 points)
Step #1: Select a Theory (10 points)
Use your textbook to glance over the following qualitative theories to use as a basis of your paper:
Symbolic Interaction, Coordinated Management of Meaning,
Communication Privacy Management, Groupthink, Organizational Culture Theory, Rhetoric, The Narrative Paradigm, Media Ecology, Agenda Setting, Relational Dialectics, Cultural Studies, Muted Group Theory, Feminist Standpoint Theory, Co-Cultural Theory. Note that we will not be covering all of these theories in lectures and assigned readings, but you can still select one we are not addressing. Submit your selection on Canvas. This is a pass/fail grade.
Step #2: Identify Useful Sources (30 points)
Locate 6 peer-reviewed/scholarly sources from the UHV Library databases that use the theory you have chosen. Communication & Mass Media Complete will likely be most helpful. Provide a properly formatted APA citation for each source. As an example:
Eugene, N., & Nelson, J. (2017). Signifying Dis(Ability): Perusing Interpretations of Muhammad Ali’s Disability. Howard Journal of Communications, 28(4), 421–435. https://doi.org/10.1080/10646175.2017.1315690
Select research articles and/or essays that address topics you may be interested in learning about throughout the rest of the semester. Save your sources on your OneDrive or in another safe place for you to return to it for the other steps of the assignment. Each properly formatted source will be worth 5 points. Submit your properly formatted source list with authors in ABC order. Write one-two sentences for each entry to share why you think it is a useful resource for your interests. Submit your completed assignment to Turnitin via the course website. Be sure you confirmed your upload to Turnitin.
Step #3: Generate Research Questions (10 points)
Use the sources you identified to find the research questions that they discuss. This may take the form of thesis statements instead of question sentences. Once you have noted the thesis or
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research questions each source works to answer, you can use these statements and questions to being to create new ones that are connected to new objects and/or new situations. Make sure your questions are connected to topics you are interested in writing about because of your personal relationships, your career ambitions, your hobbies, or your identity.
Your research questions may also be connected to the methodology you are interested in exploring for this class. A methodology is the process a researcher engages in answer their research questions or to explore a hypothesis.
This is a suggestion for identifying possible questions: Make a list of the types of methodologies present in your sources and rank them based on your interest in using the same method for your final paper. Some sources may not have a methodology, but they may be useful in other ways. Do not report all the methods and questions from your sources in your assignment, rather you should select one to three questions you will use for your assignment to report.
Write a paragraph or two about how plan to answer the research questions you came up with by taking what you learned from the articles and connecting it to what you have access to. Explain the object/situation you selected and how you plan to examine it (e.g. interviews, TikTok posts, open response survey, Thread posts, comments on a news article, a film or TV show, etc.). Describe your anticipated analysis process. What theory concepts do you think is relevant to the topic you selected? Do not involve minors in your research assignment!
Methodology is a part of the ultimate argument you make in the next step. Ensure that your methodology makes sense for your questions by including an explanation about why you selected a particular methodology. Submit your research questions and methodology on Canvas for a pass /fail grade and for feedback from the instructor.
Step #4: Collect Data/Evidence and Analyze with Theory (150 points)
This is when you should collect the data or evidence you outlined in your methodology. Take notes on how your plan goes and where things may not have gone as planned. Once you have your data/ evidence you should set aside time to review the questions and selected theory before connecting them. Keep in mind that your data/evidence is to be used as support for the argument you are crafting. The lecture and chapter on theory and research may help you craft arguments as a part of this project. Once you have some clear ideas about how you can use your selected theory to better understand the data/evidence you should start to draft the analysis part of your essay to get your ideas down before turning to other sections. Your analysis and implications sections are the most important and therefore should be the largest sections of the paper.
The next section you should work on would be the implications section. Here are some questions you should consider to begin brainstorming for this section:
1) What does your application show us about the object/situation?
2) What do information is new that you did not know before applying the theory? What
does the theory confirm about what might have been suspected before the research commenced. What contexts and places might challenge the assumptions of the theory? Where might the theory lose validity? Do aspects of the theory need to be reconsidered?
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3) What consequences does your study have for thinking about communication in everyday life? What differences does your study make?
At this point you can turn to writing the other sections of your paper starting with this format: 1) introduction with a thesis statement, 2) methodology, 3 analysis, 4) implications, 5) conclusion. Please use headings for each section to clearly indicate which section corresponds to these suggested headings.
The more detail you offer here the more I am able to help you navigate difficult scenarios in advance. The paper should be 5 pages at a minimum, double spaced; this does not include the works cited page. The works cited page should use APA style and the in-text quotes should indicate where the quote came from (Eugene, 2017, p. 9). Do not make each section one long paragraph. Paragraphs should have a main point and should be 4-6 sentences long. Your paper
will be
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graded based on the following criteria:
APA format, page count minimum and layout (10 points)
The writing is clear and free of errors. (25 points)
Bibliography (5 points)
The introduction is a creative and engaging. It includes a clear and specific thesis statement (15 points)
Methodology provides clear research questions and explains how the research attempts to answer the questions. (15 points)
Analysis and Implications explains how data (quotes, illustrations, antidotes) support answering the research questions. Answers the research questions with support of data. Explains the usefulness and relevance of the research. (15 points)
Conclusion summarizes the study’s questions, methodology and answers while also acknowledging the potential limitations to the study and offering suggestions for future research. (15 points)
Please make sure you set aside time to proofread your paper before submitting it to the peer review. Having done this, students reviewers will be better able to focus on your ideas and will be able to provide better feedback. After students submit Step #3, template for Step #4 will be provided to help ensure students don’t lose points on APA format. Max page length is 13 pages.
