1. Write a Research Paper from your study – students who choose this option will first pose an original research question (a question you have about ONE communication topic), then design a study using 1 of the 5 methods practiced/learned in class (which are: survey, experiment, ethnographic, interview, or media critique).
Next, students will conduct a pilot study and gather the data in order to draw conclusions. In the past, students have chosen to pose an original hypothesis designed to violate a communication social norm, then measured its effects on campus, for example. Others have conducted 6-8 hours of observations in a particular “field of interest” (for example, looking at Twitter and politics).
The final project is then a paper (approximately 10 pages or so…) with the following 5 parts:
a. An introduction to the paper with a clearly stated research question or hypothesis clearly stated.
b. A brief literature summary (5-7 sources that you used)
c. Method section – a detailed description of what you DID and how you did it.
e. Findings showing of what you FOUND (your data) and why it is important.
f. Reference list
