Field Research Method Communication:
COMS 300
Call Number: xxx
Time: Tuesday 5:30-9:00 pm

Instructor:  Shedia Shirvani
Office:  135 Elson Hall
Phone:  614-657-1173
Office  740-588-1499
Home:  614-492-1306
Office hours:  M & W 9-10 am and Tu 4-5 pm
Other times by appointment
https://blackboard.ohiou.edu					
Email:  shirvani@ohio.edu
           sheida@columbus.rr.com

Description and objective of the course:

This course discusses the application of communication data collection methods such as content analysis, participant observation, Q-analysis, questionnaire design, sampling procedures, case studies, and unobtrusive measures.

1.  Provide students with a systematic treatment of the social scientific approach as it used in the study of human communication processes.
2. Provide students with an understanding of the relationship between theory, research, and the scientific method.
3. Provide students with an understanding of the methods and techniques for collecting and analyzing data.
4. Provide students with a general framework for synthesizing and critically evaluating social scientific research in general and within the discipline of communication studies in particular

Instructor Goals for the class: 
-Devise worthwhile and answerable communication research questions
- Critically evaluate scholarly research articles
- Understand purpose of various research methods & how they're employed
- Explain similarities & differences between. Quantitative & qualitative research
- Assess suitability of different research methods to answer questions
- To introduce students to research methods relevant to information systems or computing research; help them to develop an appreciation of research design issues; and to implement the use of standard techniques for analyzing research data. 
-To enable students to develop and practice a professional approach to the presentation, Delivery and appraisal of written and oral presentations. 

Texts:
Baxter, Leslie and Babbie Earl (2004).  The basics of communication research.  United Stat:  Thomson Wadsworth.

Frey, L., Botan, C., Kreps, G. (2000). Investigating communication: An introduction to research methods, 2nd Ed. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Course Policies

1)  Because this course involves many in-class activities, habitual absence from class is not acceptable and may result in failure of the course.  If you MUST miss a class, please notify the instructor PRIOR to the class meeting.  You may do so via telephone or email.  Excessive absence (more than 2 EXCUSED absences) will result in a lower class grade.

2)  Academic Integrity Policy:  When you incorporate others' ideas or words into your own work, you must acknowledge that you have borrowed them by citing the original author and publication/source. Failure to make these acknowledgments is plagiarism and a violation of university policy. Specifically, plagiarism is copying, quoting, paraphrasing, or otherwise using the work of another without due reference to others and citations of the work used. Plagiarism in any form will be punished severely in accordance with the ethical code of Ohio University.  Please refer to the Ohio University Student Handbook for an explanation of student expectations and penalties.

3)  Because this course involves in-class exercises, which elaborate on the materials in the text, it is the student’s responsibility to have read the assigned material prior to the day it is assigned.   You know the reading assignments for each class.   Please read them PRIOR to attending class.  I welcome any and all questions you have regarding the readings!

4)  All assignments and worksheets are due at the beginning of class on the day due.  No late assignments or worksheets will be accepted unless negotiated IN ADVANCE of the class session in which they are due.  You will forfeit points on any assignment or worksheet that is not submitted on the assigned due date.  

5)  Class participation is encouraged.  Please be considerate of others’ viewpoints.  I encourage you to listen to others’ ideas. 

6)  All written assignments must be typed and double-spaced (with the exception of worksheets).  These assignments will be graded on both content and writing style.  Because writing is so important to a successful career, grammatical errors, spelling errors, typos, incorrect punctuation, and the like will be deducted from your total grade for a written assignment.  

7)  All quizzes will be held in-class.  All students will take the quizzes at the scheduled times.  Each quiz will consist of multiple choice, matching, and short answer questions.  The quizzes will cover content from the text and information provided in lectures and class discussions.  If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to secure the notes from that day.  Remember--if it is discussed in class, it is fair game for the quiz.

8)  Students are responsible for adapting to any announcements in class concerning changes in due dates, quizzes, and schedules.

Grading Scale
  	94 - 100		A		73 - 76		C
	90 - 93			A-		70 - 72		C-
	87 - 89			B+		67 - 69		D+
	83 - 86			B		63 - 66		D
	80 - 82			B-		60 - 62		D-
	77 - 79			C+		59 & below	F

Assignments
	Quizzes 			(3 @ 20 points each)		  60 points
	In-Class Exercises	   				  	  60 points
	Research Project					               100 points
		  Proposal		   5 points
		  Review of Literature     30 points
		  Methods		 20 points
		  Survey questionnaire    10 points
		  Discussion		 15 points
		  Presentation 		 20 points

	TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS		    	                220 points

Exercises
You will complete three exercises (worth 20 points each). These exercises are designed to give you practical experience with the course material. Exercises should be turned in at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Unless otherwise indicated, exercises should be entirely your own work. You should not discuss the assignment or collaborate with others. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out from your peers or your instructor if any exercises were assigned. Copies of assigned exercises will be available on blackboard.
A.  Scholarly Article Critique: 
I will distribute a scholarly article in the class. Your job will be to critique the article, evaluating the pieces according to the tenets of good research that you have learned over the semester. You should address: a) what the author did, why, and how; b) what s/he found; and c) how well s/he did it. Specifically, you should answer the following questions:
1. What was the author's purpose and how well did s/he achieve it?
2. What was the author's orientation toward the topic (as you can infer from such things as word use, literature review, theories cited, assumptions)? 
3. Were the questions asked significant? In what way, and to whom?
4. What did s/he find? Were the findings significant? In what way and to whom?
5. Were the methods/techniques used appropriate to the author's purpose?
6. Were these techniques appropriately used, rationalized, and supported?
The critique should be 1250 words maximum (about 5 pages, double-spaced, 12 pt. font, 1" margins, APA style). You must complete your own critique and may not discuss this assignment with any other person. You will be evaluated on your (1) thoroughness, (2) thoughtfulness, (3) persuasiveness, and (4) the quality of your writing (organization, grammar, style and spelling). The due dates for each of the exercise will be on the class schedule.
B. Library Assignment

C. Internet Assignment

Research Project Goals:
1.	Understand the theoretical foundations of research and to be able to compare and contrast it with other forms of research. 
2.	Evaluate social research pieces with understanding.
3.	Develop Social Research skills including the following:
•	Interviewing
•	participant observation and description
•	document collection
•	survey development and administration
•	data collection and analysis
•	writing reports 
4.	Develop necessary skills in the analysis of educational social field data.  Analyses lead to the generation of hypotheses and the development of grounded theoretical statements.
5.	Develop writing skills necessary for reporting educational social research studies.
6.	Develop oral presentation skills necessary for presenting educational social research studies.
7.	Review exemplary publications, particularly those concerned with the topic.
Organization of the Final Paper:
1.	Statement of purpose & overview of the proposal’s content
2.	Literature review
3.	Research question(s) & justification
4.	Statement of method
5.	Discussion of strengths, limitations, & Ethical considerations
6.	All the work you do in the class to prepare for this project has to be in the appendix to the final paper

General Requirements for the Final Paper:
1.	Double space typed pages using one inch margins and a font size no larger than Times or Courier New 12.
2.	Free of spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors.
3.	Clearly organized according to the specifications for each stage
4.	Paper must be paginated and use proper citation using those guidelines specified in the American Psychological Association Style Manual, 5th Edition

Tentative class schedule

When 				       What					       Reading 

Week one 	Part one Introduction to scientific Inquiry about Communication 	Chapters 1, 2, 3	
Week two 	Part one Introduction to scientific Inquiry about Communication	Chapters 3, 4, 5	
Week three	Quantitative Communication
First Exercise is due
First Quiz	Chapters 6, 7, 	
Week four 	Quantitative Communication
Midterm	Chapters 8, 9
Midterm Over chapters 1-8	
Week five 	Quantitative Communication	Chapters 10, 11	
Week six 	Quantitative Communication
Second Exercise is due
Second Quiz	Chapters 12	
Week seven 	Qualitative Communication	Chapters 13, 14	
Week eight 	Qualitative Communication
Third Exercise is due
Third Quiz	Chapters 15, 16  	
Week nine 	Presentation 	Group one presentation	
Week ten 	Presentation
Final Project is due	Group two presentation	
Final week11	Final  Exam Day	Final over chapters 9-16	

Suggested Journals;

Communication Research
Human Communication Research
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media
Journal of Communication
Journalism & Mass Communication quarterly
Journal of Speech Communication