Week 1 (Unit 1) Lecture Introduction to Course

SEE ASSIGNMENTS on the course home page's "Tentative Schedule" and the "ASSIGNMENTS" link at the lower left.

1. Please read the textbook and lecture content.

2. Prepare the required weekly assignment related to your core assessment project (journal article review).

3. AND participate in the discussion--instructional options--based on the assigned readings.

Road Before The Dunes

If you can send email, can attach a document to the email you send, and are willing to revise your work, you can succeed in this course!

Be sure to regularly check your Park email account because some professors communicate regularly through this format, and the University needs to be able to communicate with you.

This course is designed to help you succeed in your upcoming courses in the program. You'll want to watch the signposts and follow the road so that you know how to succeed. To follow through on this analogy, you will notice visuals of roads and road signs. Think about the path you are starting and how you will effectively reach your goal.

Objectives:

· Use online databases and card catalogs to find peer-reviewed materials appropriate for use in a graduate paper or prospectus.

· Explain the functions of different sections of an academic journal article.

· Describe what is needed to be an effective graduate student.

· Demonstrate knowledge of Park History.

· Explain the different fields of study within communication.

At the end of your program, you will prepare a major work, which synthesizes what you've learned. You will complete an MA thesis, project, or reflection. You will want to come up with an idea now, which you can focus during the program. So think about a topic about communication, which fascinates and excites you. In this class, you will begin reading articles about that topic. To help generate ideas, you may want to think about the thesis now. This may seem like a lifetime away, but deciding now on a thread of research you can use in multiple courses may be useful in the long run.

Photo credit

Remember, this course is designed to help you succeed in your upcoming courses in the program. You'll want to watch the signposts and follow the road so that you know how to succeed. We want you to have the support you need on your journey through this Master of Arts program.

Do You Belong Here?

Of course you do!

Let's begin by telling you something about the community of learners you just joined.

Park University is a private, nonprofit institution, which was founded in 1875. We have nearly 25,000 students located at 43 campuses in 21 states. We have students online around the world.

We call ourselves “pirates” because we are independent and travel the world.(Prof. Aitken) We have a valued athletic program. One of our undergraduate majors, for example, was recently drafted by the Pittsburg Pirates. A recent Communication and Leadership Master's graduate is a coach on campus. Because Park offers courses free to employees, you may meet people in your classes who also work for Park.

Park has enjoyed a close relationship with students in the military. Miles is one of our Communication and Leadership graduates.

For his project, Miles developed a CPR training unit that simulates combat situations.

At graduation recently, Park's new graduates who received their commission all received standing ovations from the audience. We appreciate our students in the armed services.

Robert and his wife. Robert finished his coursework and MA project while on active duty in Iraq.

Our Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership is designed for career-oriented individuals. We also have students who plan to enter a doctoral program. We seek to provide a practical and theoretical balance in our program.

Dr. Mark Noe Dr. Lora Cohn and Dr. Joan Aitken are the key faculty in the Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership Program. Dr. Noe conceived the program and Dr. Cohn and Dr. Aitken joined the faculty in 2005, when the program was launched. We look forward to working with you.

We Appreciate Diversity

The Hermitage, St. Petersburg The-Hermitage-St-Petersburg

Park University has a tradition of welcoming diversity. Park University is proud of our 700 international students from more than 100 nations.

Eleyna, originally from Russia, says she likes the responsiveness of the faculty at Park. In fact, we learn as much from our students as they learn from us. Students of various ethnicities and nationalities help create a sense of openness to the global community.

The Masters in Communication and Leadership Program is delighted to have students participate in our joint program with the St. Petersburg State University of Economics!

Saint_Petersburg_State_University_of_Economics_and_Finance

Ethical Study

A Russian Scene

One of the Communication and Leadership goals is to develop a framework for ethical conduct in contemporary organizations. In this time of financial crises, government bailouts, bankruptcies, and Enron's legacy, ethical conduct in organizations has never been more crucial. We begin our concern with ethics in this class and the other courses you take in the program.

Ethical conduct in this program revolves about several a few basic principles. These values are consistent with US American principles, and may take a little explanation for students from certain cultures.

Use your own words in everything you write and present. US Americans believe in private ownership, including the private ownership of ideas. When a scholar conducts research and writes an article, for example, the scholar owns those ideas and words. When students write a paper, reflection, project, or thesis, the student cannot even paraphrase those ideas without citing and referencing the source. If the actual words of a scholar are used--which is uncommon--every word must be in quotation marks or a block quote indicating quotation. Here is an excellent series of articles provided at the textbook companion site (Rubin, Rubin, Piele) about avoiding plagiarism http://www.wadsworth.com/

Protect the privacy of others. US Americans value the protection of individual privacy. Thus, when you discuss problems at work in a discussion thread, omit names and identifying information. Don't talk about problems with other students or faculty to anyone other than the individual himself or herself. If you conduct any kind of research on human subjects--interviews, survey, focus groups--follow the exact requirements of federal law and the Park University Institutional Review Board.

Communication and Leadership Values

A Horse and Carriage By a River

People who study communication and leadership continually think about the implications of their behaviors. In other words, what do your behaviors communicate to others?

One of the key principles of exemplary leadership, for example, is modeling the way for others. This idea means that effective leaders behave in ways that set a positive example for others. We believe that leadership has nothing to do with position--whether you are in charge--and everything to do with behaving in ideal ways.

Consider, for example, how time communicates to other people. Exemplary leaders are on time because being late communicates negatively nonverbally.

The research suggests that people who are late consider themselves more powerful and superior to the rest of the group. The US is a culture where people are expected to be on time. Consider these findings about people in the US who are late:

"In cultures that value promptness, one of the questions raised about time centers on the person who is constantly late. What does habitual tardiness reveal about the person?

"Chronic lateness, in a formal-time culture, may be deeply rooted in a person’s psyche. Compulsive tardiness is rewarding on some level. A key emotional conflict for the chronically late person involves his or her need to feel special. Such a person may not gain enough recognition in other ways; people must be special in some way, so the person is special by being late.

"Other reasons include needs for punishment or power or as an expression of hostility. Tardiness can also be a sign that a person wants to avoid something or that the activity or person to be met is not important enough to warrant the effort to be on time. Procrastinators are often not valued in a linear time-focused culture" (cited in Berko, Wolvin, & Wolvin, 2009, p. 81).

Berko, R., Wolvin, A., & Wolvin, D. (2009). Communicating: A social, career and cultural focus. Boston: Pearson.

Park's University's History

“The future is an unknown, but a somewhat predictable unknown. To look to the future we must first look back upon the past. That is where the seeds of the future were planted.”

Albert Einstein, 1930

Park University has a long history. You are part of that history now. Park has its own stories and history from which you can draw pride. Learn them so you can be a part of Park! For example, every year we have an art show which draws painters, photographers, jewelry makers, and potters. Instructors and students used to dress up plastic pink flamingos for this show to raise money for scholarships. Our colors are wine and canary. Mackay hall was built with student labor and finished in 1890.

Take the video campus tour from the park web page at http://www.park.edu/. Faculty offices and the graduate classes are held in Copley Hall. Can you find it on the tour? It used to be a dorm and supposedly has at least two ghosts. So, be here with us in spirit when you do your lessons.

We are located just behind the new residence hall.

Park University is located in the quaint town of Parkville.

http://www.oldemillcatering.com

The main campus is located on the river bluffs next to the mighty Missouri River.

Skipping Rocks in Missouri River by FileGirl.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/134/339203459_75beb7b97a.jpg?v=0

The main campus is a few minutes across the river from Kansas City, Missouri.

http://www.mo.gov/mo/mophotos/lakes/LA_SkylineKC_Morrow_101706.jpg

The summer 2005 Alumniad has pictures of the campus in the past and a timeline of Park history. Look carefully at the inside cover for a map of campus and then turn to pages 10-11 for a timeline of Park history. Finally, check out page 24 for a story about a faithful beast that's now buried near the soccer fields! Go to the Alumniad at

http://www.parkalumni.org/s/126/file_lib/1/2/Alumniad_Summer_05_HR_632587647190542500.pdf

Want to learn more about Park history? Go to the doc sharing area and look for the "tour booklet" file which gives you a different view of the campus.

Park communication student Gabriela Sa Teles says, "Stories are the foundation of history. Either shared through spoken or written words, stories keep the past alive for future generations. Each person makes a difference, locally to globally, in the environment in which he or she is. Park University is not different and also counts on the memory of students, either current or alumni, to re-tell old myths and stories, keeping Park history alive."

What is your favorite story about Park?

Online Learning Works

The Winter Palace From The River Neva, St. Petersburg

The-Winter-Palace-From-The-River-Neva-St-Petersburg

Research suggests that there is no significant difference in learning online or onground <http://www.nosignificantdifference.org/>. Online, Park University currently has more than 50,000 enrollments annually, in 2500 sections of more than 300 courses. So, many people make the format work, and you can too. In fact, for our students in Parkville, many students decide to take classes online instead of onground because they like the flexibility of the approach.

Some students assume that online learning is easier than face-to-face. Online is different.

Typically, an online course requires more reading and writing than a face-to-face course (more talking and listening).

Online classes may take as much or more time as a class you might take on campus. Online courses require you to motivate yourself and work consistently. Most classes require multiple weekly assignments, including online discussion.

As an online student, you need to show initiative. You also may have to work harder at showing the positive side of your personality and developing relationships with students and faculty.

Often the computer gives a sense of privacy that feels safe so online course discussions often achieve a breadth and depth not achieved in onground discussions.

You are encouraged to interact with your fellow students in online discussion areas and through email, ask them questions & challenge each other as appropriate. Some of Park’s professors try to facilitate group learning so that you work with your peers.

HOW CAN YOU BE SUCCESSFUL?

http://pwstebelton.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/good-luck-road-sign.jpg

Being a graduate student is not necessarily easy, and being a graduate student online means you miss many of the face-to-face experiences that make advanced education exciting. Park, however, is dedicated to providing qualitatively similar experiences for their online students. You may find it helpful to examine characteristics of graduate school success. This section offers a look at characteristics of good graduate students, some tips for the online student, and a discussion of workload.

Several skills are important to being successful in your graduate career (Enright & Gitomer, 1989):
career:

Communication
ability to reason from different points of view
ability to understand and adapt to your audience
ability to solicit and use criticism

Creativity
recognize that ideas can be criticized, revised, reinterpreted
use creative thinking in problem solving

Explanation
ability to give reasons or causes
analogical thinking (transfer of an idea from one context to another)
ability to develop a logical argument and defend your ideas

Motivation
be persistent
be enthusiastic
go beyond the minimum requirements

Synthesis
ability to organize and reorganize information into a complex structure
ability to function independently
ability to develop new questions and new answers

Professionalism
reach out to colleagues and faculty and treat them as equals
join professional societies
go to conferences

In a narrower study, faculty in clinical psychology graduate programs listed working hard, getting along with people, and writing ability as their top three characteristics of a successful graduate student (Descutner & Thelen, 1989). Descutner and Thelen (1989) also found that the ability to handle stress, be disciplined, and do research were more important than good grades or high intelligence. The same is true of graduate school in communication.

How can you become an online superstar?

Road Trip

http://www.posters.com/pv-505849_Road-Trip.html

Bloom and Bell (1979) discuss the superstar: "These are the few who proceed through the program with the minimum amount of difficulty and a maximum amount of quality performance. They are respected by the faculty, they receive the best financial assistance, they receive accolades, and as a group, they end up with the best employment" (p. 231).

How can you become an online superstar?

· By being visible and working hard—As an online student, this translates into going beyond the required postings in threaded discussions, turning papers in early, helping peers with their work and showing through other actions and through communications with the professor and others that work is fun.

· By reflecting program values—At Park University, we see research as important (whether you decide on reflections, thesis, or project). We value diversity, discussion of ideas, and leadership. Model these skills, values, and dispositions to be an excellent graduate student.

· By close association with one professor—in an online setting finding a professor to work with is a little more difficult than in the traditional university setting. In a traditional setting a student might take many classes from the same professor, ask professional advice from that professor, and seek opportunities to work on papers and presentations with that professor. Go out of your way to develop a relationship in the online setting.

· By making the faculty feel worthwhile by responding to faculty feedback, growing as a student, being honest, providing support to your peers, and producing ethical and quality work.

ONLINE LEARNING SUCCESS

Try Trying Success Motivational Poster http://www.posters.com/pv-499886_Try-Trying-Success-Motivational-Poster.html

Payne & Johnson (2005) suggested a number of principles to keep in mind during your online graduate career:

· Deal with isolation of online work

o network with other graduate students for help on class work and support

o email or call fellow students outside of the class system

o log in to the course several times during the week

· Deal with online technical challenges

o submit assignments early and save your work often

o learn how to use the library system and do research early

o contact the school’s library if you need help

· Avoid procrastination

o set a study schedule and stick to it

o do some work every day

o use a planner, sketch out the semester, and set deadlines for yourself

· Finally, don’t let the classes take over your life—balance family life, work, and school

One quote from the article may be especially important to keep in mind:

"The first class was stressful. After that, I got better at managing my time and my family got better at understanding my schedule." --Student, Family Financial Planning, Oklahoma State University.

This courses and others in the program require a lot of work. Dr. Mark Noe, who developed the graduate program and who teaches extensively online and in the accelerated program, analogizes eight-week classes to taking a drink from a fire hose. GULP!

Expect to spend about 8-16 hours a week in a 3-credit class doing course work. In other words, you may spend about two-five hours a week working on this one-credit class.

The reading in some courses can take a considerable amount of time, especially if you are not familiar with the communication field. Many classes (this one included) requires quite a bit of research as well. Because this is an accelerated program, you cannot afford to wait to develop your thesis or project. We expect you will begin gathering data after only a few classes. This means a major goal for the class is an initial literature review that can be refined into the literature review for your thesis or project proposal. Remember Payne & Johnson’s (2005) advice, but strive to submit all assignments done on time. Some faculty will not accept late work.

Graduate school should be challenging. Fretz and Stang (1988) suggest the following:

"In sum, graduate work takes initiative, independence, perseverance, acceptance of responsibility, and a general freedom from emotional conflict and anxiety. The benefits of going to graduate school, especially a top-ranked school, are enormous, but they demand a high price in sweat and anxiety...Succeeding in graduate school requires years of single-minded dedication, much energy, individual initiative, and responsible independent study" (Fretz and Stang, 1988, pp. 79-81).

We have a caring faculty who want you succeed. Let us know how we can help.

Forward, Russia!

Forward-Russia.html

Want to read a little more about this topic?

http://psych.iupui.edu/Users/dappleby/Undergrad/gradprepare.htm (good information on preparing for graduate school)

http://www.cs.umd.edu/~oleary/gradstudy/gradstudy.html (good information about working on a thesis, surviving exams)

http://www.cs.indiana.edu/HTMLit/how.2b/how.2b.html (good information about balancing life and school)

Bloom, L., & Bell, P. (1979). Making it in graduate school: Some reflections about the superstars. Teaching of Psychology, 6, 231-232.

Descent, C. J., & Helen, M. H. (1989). Graduate student and faculty perspectives about graduate school. Teaching of Psychology, 16, 58-60.

Enright, M. K. & Gitmoer, D. (1989). Toward a description of successful graduate students.

Fret, B. R., & Sting, D. J. (1988). Preparing for graduate study in psychology: Not for seniors only! Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Payne, D. A. & Johnson, J. M. Succeeding in graduate school online: Tips from successful students. College Student Journal, 39, 117-128.

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT

WRITING A JOURNAL REVIEW

Lightning on Road

http://www.posters.com/pv-422428_Lightning-on-Road.html

USING YOUR OWN WORDS, you will write an original review of a communication journal article each week. This analysis is the first step in writing a review of literature where you synthesize twelve sources. If you complete two journal reviews each week for the first five weeks, they you will have the research needed for the review of literature due week 6.

A journal review can be extremely challenging to write so let's look at this assignment a little more closely. A good assignment summary has three principal requirements:

What are the key research findings? Focus on the relevant aspects of the source text or texts. By "text," we mean the content. "Text" is used often in communication studies to refer to communication of various types. In your journal review, there may be no need to take information from every section or paragraph of the source texts.

Use your own words to describe the key ideas. Make sure you understand the information. Present the source material in an accurate fashion. Using the original author's words instead of your own is considered plagiarism.

Condense the source material, which you will present in your own words. Summaries that consist of directly copied portions of the original rarely succeed, so rephrase everything into your own language. If there is sentence so important that you feel compelled to quote it, use quotation marks and give the exact page number in APA style (author, year, p. _). Such a review may suggest that you can find potentially important information, but it does not reveal to what extent you have understood it. In addition, you may be engaging in plagiarism.

To do an effective review, you must first thoroughly understand the source material. So, here are some preliminary steps in writing a review.

· Skim the text, noting in your mind the subheadings. If there are no subheadings, try to divide the text into sections.

· Consider why the text is important. Determine what type of text you are dealing with, that it, the genre of the source text (e.g., a research study) or perhaps the organization (problem-solution or general-specific). This can help you identify important information and focus your reading strategies.

· Read the text, highlighting important information or taking notes.

· In your own words, write down the main points of each section. Try to write a one-sentence summary of each section.

· Write down the key support points for the main topic, but include minor detail only in necessary.

· Go through the process again, making changes as appropriate.

This material was taken from: Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2007). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills (2^nd ed.). The University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, MI.

Week 2 What is Communication Studies? Methods of communication research and reading research.

Visuals are from Microsoft Word clipart, http://www.posters.com/ or as cited.

Communication Studies

In this unit, we will discuss the field of communication, methods of communication research, and reading research.

At the end of the unit, you should be able to:

Recognize different ways of knowing and studying communication.

Tin Sign: The Mother Road

http://www.posters.com/pv-504771_Tin-Sign-The-Mother-Road.html

Communication Studies is an academic field of its own. Communication Studies is different from psychology, sociology, management, and other fields of study. Communication Studies has its own body of scholarship and theory.

Back to the Basics: Preparing for Communication and Leadership Research

This course attracts a range of students--people working on an additional degree in communication, people with other majors who are unfamiliar with communication studies, and people just starting the program. So, we will begin with a refresher or review about the field of communication. This information may help you think about a topic you want to explore in the course. The main assignment for the course will be the design of a scientific experiment in communication and leadership. Hopefully, this review will help you conduct the review of literature and contemplate the topic you will actually study in your graduate thesis, project, or reflection.

Communication is a new and an old discipline. Many credit Aristotle for founding the field but it wasn’t until the beginning of the 20^th century that the discipline emerged as a unique field of study. Prior to that, scholars in history, English, psychology, and other fields looked at how communication affected their areas of interest. With the development of mass communication, communication organizations, and departments devoted to the study of communication, the field began to be an independent discipline. We still borrow from many other disciplines as we develop our research and this makes your job harder because you may have to search beyond the field for sources on your topic of interest.

Just as there are many different definitions of communication, there are also different ways of describing the communication discipline.

Rubin, Rubin, and Piele Summary

Communicate - Bridge

http://www.posters.com/

Rubin, Rubin, and Piele (2005) divide the discipline based on subject of research:

· small group communication (how do groups emerge and function)

· health communication (new and popular field examining communication about health issues)

· instructional communication (the study of communication in the classroom)

· intercultural communication (the study of how people from different cultures interact)

· interpersonal communication (communication between people and the relationships developed through communication)

· language and symbolic codes (study of nonverbal communication and language)

· mass communication (how mass media shape messages and culture)

· new communication technologies (how new media affect communication and culture)

· organizational communication (how people communicate in organizations and businesses)

· public communication (a broad area encompassing study of public speaking, argumentation, and even how politicians communicate)

Other scholars describe the field as emerging from seven traditions (Craig,1998):

· semiotic tradition (focuses on signs and symbols)

· phenomenological tradition (way we come to understand through direct experience)

· cybernetic tradition (study how systems work)

· sociopsychological tradition (focuses on the individual in social interaction with others)

· sociocultural tradition (focuses on how patterns of interactions create reality for us)

· critical tradition (looks at how power, privilege and oppression are produced by communication)

· rhetorical tradition (focuses on ways humans use symbols to affect others and construct reality).

Robert T. Craig discusses this idea and others in a PowerPoint originally given to the Russian Communication Association. The biggest difference between the way Craig and Rubin, Rubin, and Piele describe the field is Craig’s focus on theory instead of topic of research. Without explanation, these tables are difficult to understand. They do make the point, however, that different scholars have different ways of looking at the field of communication.

Table 1. Seven Traditions of Communication Theory	Rhetorical (persuasion)	Semiotic (signs & symbols)	Phenomenological (knowledge through observation)	Cybernetic (study of systems)	Socio-Psychological (thoughts, feelings, behavior related to interaction)	Socio-Cultural (interaction based on ethnicity, group membership)	Critical (analytical reflection)
Communication theorized as:	The practical art of discourse	Intersubjective mediation by signs	Experience of otherness; dialogue	Information processing	Expression, inter-action, & influence	(Re)production of social order	Discursive reflection
Problems of communication theorized as:	Social exigency requiring collective deliberation and judgment	Misunderstanding or gap between subjective viewpoints	Absence of, or failure to sustain, authentic human relationship	Noise; overload; underload; a malfunction or "bug " in a system	Situation requiring manipulation of causes of behavior to achieve specified outcomes	Conflict; alienation; misalignment; failure of coordination	Hegemonic ideology; systematically distorted speech situation
Metadiscursive vocabulary such as:	Art, method, communicator, audience, strategy, commonplace, logic, emotion	Sign, symbol, icon, index, meaning, referent, code, language, medium, (mis)understanding	Experience, self &other, dialogue, genuineness, supportiveness, openness	Source, receiver, signal, informa-tion, noise, feed-back, redundancy, network, function	Behavior, variable, effect, personality, emotion, percep-tion, cognition, attitude, interaction	Society, structure, practice, ritual, rule, socialization, culture, identity, co-construction	Ideology, dialectic, oppression, consciousness-raising, resistance, emancipation
Traditions of Communication Theory	Rhetorical (persuasion)	Semiotic (signs & symbols)	Phenomenological (knowledge through observation)	Cybernetic (study of systems)	Socio-Psychological (thoughts, feelings, behavior related to interaction)	Socio-Cultural (interaction based on ethnicity, group membership)	Critical (analytical reflection)
Plausible when appeals to metadiscursive commonplaces such as:	Power of words; value of informed judgment; improvability of practice	Understanding requires common language; omnipresent danger of miscom-munication	All need human contact, should treat others as persons, respect differences, seek common ground	Identity of mind and brain; value of information and logic; complex systems can be unpredictable	Communication reflects personality; beliefs & feelings bias judgments; people in groups affect one another.	The individual is a product of society; every society has a distinct culture; social actions have unintended effects.	Self-perpetuation of power & wealth; values of freedom, equality & reason; discussion produces awareness, insight
Interesting when challenges metadiscursive commonplaces such as:	Mere words are not actions; appearance is not reality; style is not substance; opinion is not truth	Words have correct meanings & stand for thoughts; codes & media are neutral channels	Communication is skill; the word is not the thing; facts are objective and values subjective	Humans and machines differ; emotion is not logical; linear order of cause and effect	Humans are rational beings; we know our own minds; we know what we see.	Individual agency & responsibility; absolute identity of self; naturalness of the social order	Naturalness & rationality of tradi-tional social order; objectivity of sci-ence & technology

Table 2. Argumentation across Traditions	Rhetorical (persuasion)	Semiotic (signs & symbols)	Phenomenological (knowledge through observation)	Cybernetic (study of systems)	Socio-Psychological (thoughts, feelings, behavior related to interaction)	Socio-Cultural (interaction based on ethnicity, group membership)	Critical (analytical reflection)
Against rhetoric	The art of rhetoric can be learned only by practice; theory merely distracts.	We do not use signs; rather they use us.	Strategic communi-cation is inherently inauthentic & often counterproductive.	Intervention in complex systems involves technical problems rhetoric fails to grasp.	Rhetoric lacks good empirical evidence that its persuasive techniques actually work as intended.	Rhetorical theory is culture bound & overemphasizes individual agency vs. social structure.	Rhetoric reflects traditionalist, instrumentalist, & individualist ideologies.
Against semiotics	All use of signs is rhetorical.	Langue is a fiction; meaning & intersubjectivity are indeterminate.	Langue-parole and signifier-signified are false distinctions. Language constitutes world.	"Meaning" consists of functional relationships with-in dynamic information systems.	Semiotics fails to explain factors that influence the production & interpretation of messages.	Sign systems are not autonomous; they exist only in the shared practices of actual communities.	Meaning is not fixed by a code; it is a site of social conflict.
Against pheno-menology	Authenticity is a dangerous myth; good communication must be artful, hence strategic.	Self & other are semiotically determined subject positions & exist only in/as signs.	Other’s experience is not experienced directly but only as constituted in ego’s consciousness.	Phenomenological "experience" must occur in the brain as information processing.	Phenomenological introspection falsely assumes self-awareness of cognitive processes.	Intersubjectivity is produced by social processes that phenomenology fails to explain.	Individual consciousness is socially constituted, thus ideologically distorted.
Table 2. Argumentation across Traditions	Rhetorical (persuasion)	Semiotic (signs & symbols)	Phenomenological (knowledge through observation)	Cybernetic (study of systems)	Socio-Psychological (thoughts, feelings, behavior related to interaction)	Socio-Cultural (interaction based on ethnicity, group membership)	Critical (analytical reflection)
Against cybernetics	Practical reason cannot (or should not) be reduced to formal calculation.	Functionalist explanations ignore subtleties of sign systems.	Functionalism fails to explain meaning as embodied, conscious experience.	The observer must be included in the system, rendering it indeterminate.	Cybernetics is too rationalistic; e.g. it underestimates the role of emotion.	Cybernetic models fail to explain how meaning emerges in social interaction.	Cybernetics reflects the dominance of instrumental reason.
Against socio-psychology	Effects are situational and cannot be precisely predicted.	Socio-psychological "effects" are internal properties of sign systems.	The subject-object dichotomy of socio-psychology must be transcended.	Communication involves circular causation, not linear causation.	Socio-psychological theories have limited predictive power, even in laboratory.	Socio-psychological "laws" are culture bound & biased by individualism.	Socio-psychology reflects ideologies of individualism, instrumentalism.
Against socio-cultural theory	Socio-cultural rules etc. are contexts & resources for rhetorical discourse.	Socio-cultural rules etc. are all systems of signs.	The social life-world has a phenomenological foundation.	The functional organization of any social system can be modeled formally.	Socio-cultural theory is vague, untestable, ignores psychological processes that under-lie all social order.	Socio-cultural order is particular & locally negotiated but theory must be abstract and general.	Socio-cultural theory privileges consensus over conflict & change
Against critical theory	Practical reason is based in particular situations not universal principles.	There is nothing outside the text.	Critique is immanent in every authentic encounter with tradition.	Self-organizing systems models account for social conflict & change.	Critical theory confuses facts & values, imposes a dogmatic ideology.	Critical theory imposes an interpretive frame, fails to appreciate local meanings.	Critical theory is elitist & without real influence on social change

What is Theory?

Follow Your Dream http://www.posters.com/

A theory in communication research is a generalization about human behavior, which has predictive power. The best research is driven by theory, validates a theory, further explains a theory, challenges an existing theory, or aids in the creation of theory.

Good theories have these characteristics (Kerlinger & Lee):

· Theory can predict. The adequacy of a theory is its predictive power.

· Theory is generalizable. Much valuable social scientific and educational research is preoccupied with the shorter-range goal of finding specific relations, that is, merely to discover a relation is part of science. Modest, limited, and specific research aims, then are good. Theoretical research aims are better because, among other reasons, they are more general and can be applied to a wide range of situations.

· Theory is parsimonious (brief, tight).

· Theories are tentative explanations. Each theory is evaluated empirically to determine how well it predicts new findings. Theories can be used to guide a research plan by generating testable hypotheses and to organize facts obtained from the testing of these hypotheses.

Theory helps us see the world around us in different ways. It often allows us to have a clearer understanding of communication. They can also guide our actions. A theory is the product of human development and discussion. Dainton & Zelley “consider a communication theory to be any systematic summary about the nature of the communication process” (2005). Keep in mind theories often do more than summarize, they also focus, clarify, predict, and generate. However, a theory does not have to do all of those.

Scholars often contrast three types of theory. We theorize on a daily basis. You are probably familiar with "commonsense theories" like "you get what you deserve." We also develop working theories based on our experience. You receive a bad grade on a test so you theorize that the appropriate amount of study time for that type of test is more than the hour that you spent on studying. These working theories often relate to scholarly theories or research. A scholarly theory gives a set of tentative answers in response to specific questions, often phrased as propositions or hypotheses and described systematically. They are developed through years of research and thinking. With this class, you are embarking on a journey to test out either your own theory or improve on someone else's theory.

The chart below has several examples of the different types of theories.

*Three Types of Theory*
Commonsense Theory	· Never date anyone you work with- it always ends up badly. · The squeaky wheel gets the grease. · The more incompetent that you are, the higher you get promoted.
Working Theory	· Audience analysis should be done prior to presenting a speech. · To get a press release published, it should be newsworthy and written in journalistic style.
Scholarly Theory	· Effects of violations of expectations depend on the reward value of the violator (expectancy violations theory). · The media do not tell us that to think, but what to think about (agenda-setting theory).

(Dainton & Zelley, 2005, p. 4)

How are theories and research linked?

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Theory and research are related, but there seems to be question about the exact relationship between them. The problem lies in which starts the process. Classically, this is looked at as the chicken and the egg dilemma. Communication scholars disagree on which approach is the best.

· Inductive theory development states that research comes before theory (grounded theory is another term for this). Scholars in this discipline believe use of systematic study to develop the best theories.

· Deductive theory development states that theory comes before research. The data that is collected from research is used to refine an already postulated theory.

Researchers are motivated by curiosity, but they need to know enough about existing theory and research to say "this isn't quite right, there's a gap here" or "I don't know. . . . yet." Thus, we make you review the literature. Communication is part of the social sciences and there is debate over how much like a natural scientists we should be. Natural sciences use the scientific method which is the systematic, objective observation of an inquiry into areas using (for the most part) experimental methods. Social sciences like communication are a little different. More communication scholars are concerned with the why and the how and less with prediction and control like natural scientists. Communication scholars use two different methodologies-- qualitative and quantitative methods. They also do primary and secondary research. Let's look at some definitions.

primary research -- in which the person reporting it is the person who conducted the research.

secondary research -- in which the person who is reporting is not the person who did the research.

qualitative methods -- explore and describe the qualities of phenomena.

quantitative methods -- focus on isolating, counting, and analyzing units of phenomena.

Qualitative

Combination

Quantitative

No numerical analysis.

Descriptions.

Data observed.

Broad.

In-depth.

Guided by research question.

Not accepted in scientific community.

Subjective.

CA 516.

Q-Methodology is a method that studies the subjective using statistical analysis.

Some studies combine both quantitative and qualitative measures together.

Involves numerical analysis.

Numbers.

Data measured.*

Narrow.

Specific.

Easier to replicate.

Can test hypotheses.

Objective.

CA 517.

*You can examine communication measures at this great site. The measures are fun and thought-provoking: http://www.jamescmccroskey.com/measures/

References

You can download and read example articles in the document sharing section. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from Communication & Mass Media Complete database. You may be able to access articles about different methods here: http://onlineacademics.org/CA500/Private/ If the link doesn't work, you can access this information through Communication and Mass Media Complete: http://www.park.edu/library/

Bolton, R., & Bronkhorst, T. (1991). Quantitative analyses of depth interviews. Psychology & Marketing, 8(4), 275-297.

Byers, P., & Wilcox, J. (1991). Focus groups: A qualitative opportunity for researchers. Journal of Business Communication, 28(1), 63-78.

Carlson, L. (2008). Qualitative vs quantitative research traditions: A needless and useless debate that hampers advertising and marketing knowledge development. International Journal of Advertising, 660-663.

Coulter, K. (2005). An examination of qualitative vs. quantitative elaboration Likelihood Effects. Psychology & Marketing, 22(1), 31-49.

Molleda, J., Connolly-Ahern, C., & Quinn, C. (2005). Cross-national conflict shifting: Expanding a theory of global public relations management through quantitative content analysis. Journalism Studies, 6(1), 87-102.

Shkedi, A. (2004). Narrative survey: A methodology for studying multiple populations. Narrative Inquiry, 14(1), 87-111.

Wilson, R. (1996, May). Research design: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 33(2), 252-255.

What are methodologies?

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Methodologies are simply ways of doing research. A few of the most basic are listed below but we will return to this subject later.

· Experiment--Is the concerned with causation and control. This is the only method of research that allows for the conclusion of one thing to cause another. The downfall of this type of research is that it is hard to know if it holds true in an uncontrolled environment.

· Survey--Surveys are used to find about thoughts, feelings, and intentions. It is the only type of research that can capture this type of information. However, they cannot be used to claim that one thing causes another.

· Textual Analysis--This is used to study recorded message, such as journals, transcripts, bulletins. It is useful in analysis of content, natural, and the structure of the message, however it would not be able to tell you the effect it has on the receiver.

· Ethnography--The researchers immerses themselves in the cultural or context to gain understanding and meaning of it. This can produce highly subjected views and data.

Methodologies come with some implicit assumptions we will discuss in the two research classes to come. They also force you to be thorough and careful in your research. As you read for next week, you’ll recognize many ideas from this lecture—take notes to ensure you will remember this lecture. It will stretch your brain—in a good way.

How do scholars conceptualize Communication Studies?

Adapted from a National Communication Association presentation by Bill Balthrop, University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, Jim Gaudino, Executive Director, NCA, Scott Poole, Texas A&M University, Ellen Wartella, University of Texas--Austin

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Communication and Leadership Research

· Focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within and across various contexts, cultures, channels, and media.

· Encompasses studies of private and public as well as individual and mass communication.

· Examines communication processes and their effects.

Modern Communication Research

Began in the World War II and Post-War Era

Concerns with attitude formation and change

Emergence of social and behavioral science approaches

More recently, Late 20th Century

Concerns with mass communication, communication policy, and media

Concerns with new communication technologies, cultural approaches

Concern with leadership in a global society

Communication Research Areas

Communication Studies: Scientific and critical research on human communication, including interpersonal, organizational, public, and intercultural communication and communication in various social, cultural, and political contexts. Leadership studies can be a broad field that fits into this area.

Mass Communication and Media Studies: Research on media institutions, media texts, media effects, and how media are used to produce and transform culture.

Speech and Rhetorical Studies: Research focused on political and social rhetoric, audience analysis, argumentation, rhetorical criticism, and rhetorical theory.

Telecommunication Studies: Research on the development, use, regulation, and effects of telecommunication technologies, including radio, television, Internet, and telephony.

Communication research is carried out in academic programs with school and department titles such as:

· Communication

· Communication and Leadership

· Communication Studies

· Information Studies

· Journalism

· Mass Communication

· Media Studies

· Speech Communication

· Public Relations

· Significant areas of communication research include

· Audience analysis

· Communication and public policy

· Family communication

· Health communication

· Instructional communication

· Intercultural communication

· Interpersonal communication

· Leadership studies

· Legal communication

· Media economics

· Media effects

· Media literacy

· New communication technology

· Nonverbal communication

· Organizational communication

· Persuasion and social influence

· Political and social rhetoric

· Risk communication

· Visual communication

Communication scholars from discipline-based departments conduct major research projects with colleagues in such fields as:

· Art and Design

· Advertising

· Business

· Cultural Studies

· Educational Leadership

· English

· Environmental Science

· Ethnic and Women’s Studies

· Health

· Information Systems

· Linguistics

· Political Science

· Sociology

· Psychology

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Communication research employs a wide range of methodologies, including all types of quantitative and qualitative social scientific research methods as well as humanistic and critical/cultural approaches:

Analysis of dynamic processes
Computational modeling
Content and textual analysis
Critical and cultural analysis
Discourse analysis
Ethnographic research
Ethnography (field observation)
Experimental research (including controlled experiments)
Feminist methods
Historiography
Mathematical modeling and simulations
Network analysis
Rhetorical criticism
Survey research

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Communication is a Research-Based Field, which works toward theory-building

· Scholarly journals

· Research funding from Government Agencies and Private Foundations

· Guggenheim and Fulbright Awards

· Communication scholars serve or have served as program officers at major governmental research agencies.

· Communication societies are affiliated with American Council of Learned Societies, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Consortium of Social Science Associations.

Example Journals in Communication

· Argumentation

· Argumentation & Advocacy

· Communication Education

· Communication Monographs

· Communication Quarterly

· Communication Research

· Communication Studies

· Communication Teacher

· Communication Theory

· Critical Studies of Media Communication

· European Journal of Communication

· Health Communication

· Human Communication Research

· Journal of Applied Communication Research

· Journal of Communication

· Journal of Family Communication

· Journal of Health Communication

· Journal of Media Economics

· Journalism and Mass Communication

· Media Studies Journal

· Philosophy and Rhetoric

· Political Communication

· Quarterly Journal of Speech

· Rhetoric and Public Affairs

· Rhetoric Society Quarterly

· Rhetorica

· Science Communication

· Southern Communication Journal

· Telecommunication Policy

· Text and Performance Quarterly

· Western Journal of Communication

· Women’s Studies and Communication

There Are Some Beautiful Theories and Research in Communication Studies, Which You Can Explore in Various Ways

· Research

· Read

· Consider

· Contemplate

· Analyze

· Critique

· Digest

· Reflect about

· Apply

· Discuss

Example Skills for Communication and Leadership

· Create powerful images with sight, sound, motion, & words

· Effective speaking and presentations

· Group and team work.

· Influential and persuasion skills

· Interpersonal and relational communication

· Interpretation skills

· Leadership

· Management

· Present and logically argue specific viewpoints

· Problem solving and decision making

· Research

· Synthesizing information

· Write press releases, reports, scripts, or promotional materials

· Critical thinking skills.

· Develop market research.

· Measure media effects.

· Planning and managing skills.

· Identify and manage different needs of individuals and groups.

· Recognize historical and theoretical perspectives.

· Understand institutional and cultural values in global society.

Developing Competence through this Research Project:
Preparation for Corporate Contexts and Advanced Graduate Study.

· Apply research theories to improve communication behavior.

· Communicate effectively in various environments.

· Compare and contrast evidence.

· Evaluate ideas and make presentations.

· Evaluate information and sources.

· Gather information and data.

· Pay attention to details.

· Read theory-grounded research.

· Work in teams and collaborative groups.

· Work independently.

· Work with deadlines.

· Write about research with correctness and clarity.

Employment for Communication and Leadership Majors and Minors

A few examples: Advancement Officer, Bank Officer, Industrial & Labor Relations Specialist, Print Production Coordinator, Claims Adjuster/Examiner, Insurance Agent/Broker, Promotions Manager, Media Manager, Research Worker, Training & Development Specialist, Stockbroker, Service Representative, Travel Agent, Technical Writer, Broadcast Advertising Salesperson, Lighting Technician, Lobbyist

For more ideas, see the following sites:
1. UNC
2. CSC
3. NatCom

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Communication Doctorates

University of Missouri-Kansas City

University of Kansas Programs, for example:

Communication Studies

Film

Journalism and Mass Communication

108 Doctoral Granting Institutions

2,200 Doctorates granted 1995-1999 (AEJMC, US Government statistics, and 2001-2002 Survey of Doctoral Programs in Communication)

94% of Communication Ph.D.s enter research-related careers

Communication and Leadership Studies Courses and Programs based on International Communication Association Information:

Committed to developing knowledgeable, ethical, caring, inclusive leaders for a diverse and changing world.

Communication Leadership Studies and Programs

· Political and civic

· Social justice

· Non-profit leadership

· Government leadership

· Business leadership

Multi-level phenomena

· Discourse and discursive practices

· Communication of emotions

· Leader-follower communication

· Democratic communicative practices

· Negotiation and bargaining

· Group processes and decision making

· Socialization

· Power and influence

Organizational Research

· Decision-making and problem-solving.

· Organizational culture

· Organizational language and symbolism

· Communication and conflict

· Leadership practices

· Identity and identification

· Adoption and appropriation of communication technologies

· Emergence of organizational and inter-organizational networks

· New organizational forms

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What is Research?

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People often think of scientific research as men in labs with test tubes. When we say the word "research," we mean much more. Research about communication is done by women and men, including students in college, graduate school, and professors. All can contribute to our knowledge of communication.

Rubin, Rubin, and Piele (2005) suggest that research is “an objective, systematic, empirical, and cumulative process by which we seek to solve theoretical and applied problems” (p. 206). Traditional researchers hold that it is important to be “objective” or impartial although there are differences of opinion on this. There is a plan to guide the research so it is systematic (if you’re not systematic, the chances of missing something are huge and that’s a problem!). Empirical means that we look beyond our own perceptions and gather evidence to support our views. It is cumulative because we build on what others have done before us. In this lecture, we will explore some basics and the stages of research.

To begin, let’s look at the different types, modes of inquiry, and differing focus in communication research.

There are two major types of research: explanatory and descriptive.	Most of us think of explanatory research first—it seems to find underlying causes for events or explanations for why things happen or even to predict what will happen in the future.	Communication research is often descriptive because we often try to identify or describe communication events or issues in communication.
There are also two methods of inquiry: quantitative and qualitative.	The quantitative researcher typically tests theories with different research experiments or through observations. The quantitative researcher typically uses larger samples so they can generalize more reliably.	Qualitative research is inductive—instead of beginning with a theory and testing it through research, the qualitative researcher begins by looking at the data from research and building theory from that data. The qualitative research will often use one organization as a case study or interview a small number of people and use that data to begin to develop a theory.
There are two different approaches to research—research on messages or artifacts and research on people or people’s behavior.	If you’re interested in how we persuade people, you might look at persuasive messages and analyze the strategies used in them (message/artifact research).	Or, you might show people a persuasive message (an advertisement about safe sex) in a television show and then see if students picked up the free condoms that were conveniently left at the back of the room along with random other items.

Research is systematic. That means we work step by step. Research has multiple stages according. (Rubin, Rubin, & Piele, 2005).

1. Posing and developing a problem in need of a solution.

2. Reviewing past research and writing about this problem.

3. Identifying worthy questions that investigators have not yet answered.

· Your literature review will help you come up with these questions.

· Develop hypotheses (educated guesses or predictions about the relationship between two or more variables).

· Remember, there are independent (cause) and dependent (the presumed effect) variables.

4. Devising the best method to seek answers to these questions.

5. Evaluating the ethics of the research proposed.

· Research should be accurate, honest, and precise.

· IRB (Institution Review Board) consent will be required for any research involving humans.

· Key IRB considerations are that subjects give informed consent, not be deceived, and have their identities protected.

· Look at Park’s IRB page at http://www.park.edu/irb/

6. Gathering data.

· This may require sampling the population to gather the necessary information to answer these questions.

· Its typically not possible to talk to everyone so we sample.

· There are two types of sampling—probability sampling is used when we want to generalize from the sample to the entire population (think quantitative research) and nonprobability sampling is used when we want to understand a particular population (think qualitative research).

6. Analyzing the data in a reliable manner.

· When you analyze your data you seek internal and external validity and reliability.

· Data has validity if it measures what we wanted to measure.

· Research has internal validity if there couldn’t be other ways of interpreting the data.

· Research has external validity if it can be generalized to people and situations outside the one being studied.

· You should use reliable quantitative measures, ones that measure the same thing each time used, and seek interrater reliability (when observers or raters agree on what the data suggests) in qualitative research.

7. Writing up your research results.

· This would be a chapter in your thesis.

8. Considering the meaning and implications of these results to expand knowledge about the problem or the underlying theory.

· This typically goes in the conclusion of your thesis.

What methods can communication scholars use to do research?

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You may be thinking, "We know that research is objective, systematic, empirical, and cumulative. But how do you do it?"

There are a number of methods of research described in the text. One common way of distinguishing methods is quantitative or qualitative, but even they may be combined.

Another way to consider methods is based on approaches to communication research: Focusing on message or focusing on behavior.

· Message or Artifact based research

o Archival/documentary research—focuses on messages from the past and typically does not need IRB approval

§ Library/Documentary Research—this is what you do for your literature review

§ Historical Research—looks at primary documents like speeches, letters, etc. found in archives and libraries

§ Legal/Policy research—looks at how law works

§ Secondary data analysis—uses previously gathered data in new ways

§ Meta-analysis—looks at the research on an independent variable and combines the data to determine overall effects

o Textual research—examines “texts” or artifacts in a variety of ways and may not need IRB approval

§ Critical/cultural approaches—often called rhetorical criticism, this type of research uses a variety of methods to look at everything from political campaigns to television

§ Textual or reception analysis—uses interviews and participant observation to see how audiences interpret messages (needs IRB approval)

§ Conversation/interaction analysis—conversation analysis is qualitative research and interaction analysis is quantitative but both look at samples of messages to see how people accomplish goals or to develop conclusions about people’s goals or rules for communicating (needs IRB approval)

§ Content analysis—looks at the characteristics of messages to learn about the messages and those who produced them

· People- or Behavior-Oriented Research (this typically needs IRB approval)

· Survey research seeks to explain or describe people’s attitudes, opinions, and behaviors.

§ When the sample is large, data is collected by personal interviews, telephone interviews, mail questionnaires, and self-administered surveys. Polls and ratings are special cases of survey research.

§ When the sample is smaller, data is collected by

1. Intensive interviews use qualitative techniques to get deep into a topic with a person for oral histories and case studies and to explain the results of survey research.

2. Focus groups are a qualitative method commonly used in marketing and public relations. Researchers capitalize on group dynamics as they ask questions of 6-12 people gathered together to explore a topic.

· Observational Research looks at how people act in situations.

§ Participant Observation—researchers become insiders in a situation or organization to observe what really happens.

§ Unobtrusive Observation—researchers observe without participating (often without the observed knowing about it)

§ Network analysis—looks at who talks to whom for patterns of communication that can affect an organization

§ Verbal and nonverbal coding is done to identify patterns of behavior in interactions

· Experimental Research seeks to eliminate factors that might influence research because it seeks to study cause-effect relationships.

§ There are a number of designs that are called “pre-experimental” in that they do not control all the possible variables.

§ Experimental designs offer more control by inclusion of a “control group” that does not experience the experimental treatment offered to the other groups.

§ Experimental research can be carried out in the lab for more control or in the field where people are studied in their natural settings.

Each research question could be studied in many ways, depending on the researcher's time, inclination, and the specific question/hypothesis developed. Think about your research topic? How might you study it?

Now that you know all about research, you're ready to read and critique some journal articles reporting communication research.

What’s the difference between scholarly journals and other periodicals?

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Scholarly journals and, for example, trade publications or news magazines are different. For your literature review, and for most papers you will write in graduate school, you want to use scholarly journals.

Scholarly journals report on academic and professional research. They are typically edited by a society, professional association, academic institution or publishing firm. Communication Quarterly is an example. Popular magazines are the sort of thing anyone can read and be entertained by—one example is Newsweek. Trade publications are aimed at practitioners in an industry share information and promote their own particular businesses. One example is Variety. The differences are summarized below:

	Scholarly journals	Popular magazines	Trade journals
Length	Longer articles, providing in-depth analysis of topics	Shorter articles, providing broader overviews of topics	Length of articles vary from brief news to in-depth analysis.
Authorship	Author usually an expert or specialist in the field, name and credentials always provided	Author usually a staff writer or a journalist, name and credentials often not provided	Writers include reporters, practitioners and professionals within a specific industry
Format/Structure	Articles usually more structured, may include these sections: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography	Articles do not necessarily follow a specific format or structure	Articles do not necessarily follow a specific format or structure
Special Features	Illustrations that support the text, such as tables of statistics, graphs, maps, or photographs	Illustrations with glossy or color photographs, usually for advertising purposes	Pictures support text: statistical data, manufactured goods, products, patents, etc.
Editors	Articles usually reviewed and critically evaluated by a board of experts in the field (refereed)	Articles are not evaluated by experts in the field, but by editors on staff	Articles are not evaluated by experts in the field, but by editors on staff
Credits	A bibliography (reference) and/or footnotes are always provided to document research thoroughly	A bibliography (reference) is usually not provided, although names of reports or references may be mentioned in the text	Usually do not have bibliographies or references.

Information drawn from:

· http://lib.utsa.edu/Research/Subject/scholarlyguide.html

· http://library.albany.edu/usered/dr/char.html

· http://www.csupomona.edu/~library/tutorials/scholarly_journals.html

WEEK 3 Advanced Library Searches

This week, we'll learn our way around the library. You've already done a couple of searches in the online databases, but this week, we'll focus on specific databases, ways of searching, and other communication specific research tools to help you with your final lit review in this class and with papers in other classes as well.

Objectives:

At the end of this unit you should be able to:

· Use online databases and card catalogs to find peer-reviewed materials appropriate for use in a graduate paper or prospectus.

· Use APA citation and reference style in writing.

· Describe the elements of a research article: including review of literature, method, data collection and analysis and discussion.

Rubin, Rubin, Piele Summary

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Much of the material from Rubin, Rubin, Piele is a listing of potential sources. You might want to read and highlight sources that seem useful to you in chapters five through eight and keep this book to help you throughout the program. For now, let’s look at developing searches in the library databases.

You can typically search either keyword or using subjecting headings or descriptors. Keyword searching typically works but you risk your search returning extraneous articles or missing articles that used a synonym or slightly different phrase. It’s tricky today to find the subject headings or descriptors in some indexes. In Ebsco Communication and Mass Communication Complete, the descriptors are in the “thesaurus” while in Proquest, it’s a “tool” to the right of the basic search called “browse topics.” If you have difficulty with your search, look for these subject headings. Databases are sophisticated today and keyword searching will work for most topics.

The better your searches, the faster you find quality, peer-reviewed, communication articles.

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1. Boolean Operators work well in the databases common to the communication field.

· And—using “and” between words such as “women and leadership” will find articles that use both women and leadership within them but won’t find those that say “woman” or “female.”

· Or—using “or” finds all the articles that use either term. So, if we searched for “communication or speaking” we’d get articles that used the term “communication” and articles that used the term “speaking.” This is helpful if you’re not quite sure what term people will use to refer to a concept.

2. Other things that can help you refine your search include:

· Nesting with parentheses. If you type women and (leadership or management) you will get articles that use the term women and the term leadership as well as articles that use the term women and the term management.

· If you want to find a phrase, often the best way is to enclose it in quotation marks. For example “women leaders” retrieves different articles than simply entering women and leaders without quotation marks. With quotation marks, the computer looks for the word “woman” followed by the word “leaders” while with the “and” the computer looks for the word “woman” and the word “leaders” in the same article.

· Truncation—typing the root of the word and adding a * seems to work. For example, leader* pulls up articles about leaders and leadership.

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3. Some advice from the text includes the following:

o Alternatives to Boolean Operators don’t seem to work well in our databases.

o Proximity operators don’t seem to work well in our databases.

4. Other random hints:

· Use the ADVANCED SEARCH, which gives more options and is more effective. Don't limit yourself to just using the "basic search" screen that pops up when you enter the database.

o Advanced search functions in most of the databases allow you to chose where the computer looks for the words you typed in. For example, you might want to look at articles about women in leadership positions. You could have the computer search for leadership in the title of the article and search for women in the abstract. You might know key words from the title and search for them in the “title” field or you might know the author’s name and use the advanced search to find only articles written by that individual by typing in the name and searching in the author field.

o Remember that you can search by publication in most indexes. If, for example, you find a great citation to an article in a communication journal and you think it's in Ebsco Communication and Mass Communication Complete, you can find out if the journal is there and you can search just that journal.

o The more you experiment, the better you'll be at this!

o The web directories identified are useful but avoid Google or other search engines in general.

o Electronic discussion groups are one way to learn more about a subject. I’d suggest joining one or two today!

Notes from Chapters 3-8 Rubin, Rubin, and Piele (2005).

WEEK 4 Writing and Using APA style

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Writing Using American Psychological Association (APA) Style.

The field of Communication Studies and some others use APA style. Although the book talks about what psychologists do, you'll find the information applies to us too. In general, the field of psychology is considered on of more rigorous research and quality than other fields related to communication. Communication scholars have developed their own philosophical and theoretical underpinnings for their field of research. Some of the scholars who founded this field in the first half of the Twentieth Century came from psychology.

This week, we'll focus on basic writing skills and using APA style in your writing. We'll begin by discussing things like verb tense that you're probably familiar with before moving on to review how to quote and paraphrase and edit your writing. We'll also discuss APA style. Communication publications use APA style, not the MLA style you may be used to from English courses. There are some significant differences between the two in terms of parenthetical citation in the text of a paper and in the citation style on the reference section of your paper.

Although you may be tempted to rush through this because you feel you know how to write, learning these principles may take time. Your ability to write well will dramatically affect your grades in graduate school, so take some time with this week's material.

Objectives:

At the end of this unit you should be able to:

· Use APA citation and reference style in writing.

· Recognize different ways of knowing and studying communication.

When you hear someone say to use APA style, they do not mean a particular writing style—they mean an editorial style. The American Psychological Association makes this explanation.

Editorial style consists of rules or guidelines that a publisher observes to ensure clear and consistent presentation of written material. Editorial style concerns uniform use of such elements as

· punctuation and abbreviations

· construction of tables

· selection of headings

· citation of references

· presentation of statistics

· as well as many other elements that are a part of every manuscript http://www.apastyle.org/

Initially, you will use the APA manual to find out how to write parenthetical citations and to create a reference list. Later, you will use the APA style manual to determine what headings in your literature review will look like and use correct punctuation and other details. Still later you will use the APA manual to organize and present the content of our work.

Rubin, Rubin, and Piele (2005) provided a brief introduction to the style in Appendix A. The Park University Academic Support Center has webpages and handouts that can guide you in using APA style. The Center’s web page is at http://www.park.edu/support/writing.asp. It is worth noting that as an online student you have access to Park’s online writing lab. The Support Center’s writing tutors will answer your questions as quickly as possible. You will need to know your OPEN username and login.

Wood Sign: Route 66 arrow

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Web sites

http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.aspx?doc_id=796

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html#Handling%20Quotes%20In%20Your%20Text

http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocAPA.html

The best way to learn APA is to do it.

How can you learn APA Style?

A Road In Galway

http://www.posters.com

One learning strategy is to read the book cover to cover.

Another learning strategy is through programmed learning where you are tested and told the right answers. Below are a variety of APA questions taken from the Internet, including such sources as

APA Self Check Quiz http://education.uncc.edu/ist/medresources/APA%20Quiz.htm

Plagiarism Quiz http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/guides/apaplag/APAPlagQuiz.html

The questions may not be exactly as found on the Internet site. This kind of programmed learning may help some students learn the particulars of APA style.

The questions below are from http://www.epcc.edu/student/tutorial/Writingcenter/Handouts/

criticalanalysisresearchpaper/researchpaper/Quizzes/APAquiz.htm

Margins should be a minimum of one inch on:
The left side of the page.
All four sides of the page.
The top and left sides of the page only.
The left and right sides of the page only.

All four sides. When you prepare a thesis, you need 1 1/2 inches on the left for binding.

Papers should be double-spaced, with the first line of every paragraph indented 0.5 inch.
True
False

Doublespace everything, including the space between sections and the reference list. The thesis is typically formatted differently.

In APA format, the page number and running head is aligned:
In the bottom center.
In the top center.
In the upper-right corner at least two inches from the right of the page.
In the center of the page both vertically and horizontally.
In the bottom left.

Upper right.

In APA format, any fancy font is allowed, provided that only a 12-point type is used.
True
False

Times New Roman, 12, is most common.

The list of sources at the end of a paper formatted in APA style is entitled:
reference.
Bibliography.
Works Consulted.
References

References

References should be listed in alphabetical order by author's last name.
True
False

True

References must be given for sources used in the paper only when the sources are quoted, not when they are paraphrased.
True
False

False. Everything paraphrased or quoted must be cited and referenced. All words used directly from another source must have quotation marks or be indicated in a block quote.

In APA documentation, how should the following parenthetical reference appear?

A. (Barrett, 2010, p. 17)
B. (Barrett, p. 17, 2010)
C. (Barrett 17)
D. (Barrett p. 17)

In APA style, what is the correct order of information when referencing a scholarly journal article in a bibliography?
1. Author, article title, periodical title, volume number, year, page number(s).
2. Author, periodical title, article title, year, volume number, page number(s).
3. Author, year, article title, periodical title, volume number, page number(s).

To avoid plagiarizing, you should:
1. Give proper attribution to all sources, and know how to quote correctly.
2. When paraphrasing, rewrite statements completely in your own words.
3. Proofread carefully.
4. :All of the above.

See http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/quizshowall.php?

title=apa-citation-practice-quiz

How do you quote correctly?
1. Give the source - as long as I do that, I don't need to use quotation marks or do anything else.
2. Introduce the quotation, format it correctly, use quotation marks, and cite correctly. Thoughtfully integrate the quotation into your writing.
3. Mention the author of the quote and use quotation marks.

What are some of the common reasons behind unintentional plagiarism? Check all that apply.
1. Insufficient notetaking
2. Lack of knowledge about how to quote correctly.
3. The author is not interested in sharing sources of information.
4. Incomplete documentation
5. Privacy
6. Insufficient proofreading
7. Spitefulness
8. Unacceptable paraphrasing
9. Lack of understanding of project objectives.
10. Copyright

1, 2, 4, 6, 8

Above questions from http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/guides/apaplag/APAPlagQuiz.html

Questions below from
https://prod.campuscruiser.com/cruiser/cccwebcentral/bad

rian5894/QUIZAPACITATION.htm?1211407123000

T When you use the words of others, you must give them credit by using both quotation marks and citations.

T Readers of your written work might want to examine it for themselves.

T Academic integrity requires full disclosure of sources.

T The only exception to indicating how we acquired our information is “commonly known information.”

T What counts as common knowledge depends on your audience.

F It is okay to write citations for information you did not read.

F You should try to memorize APA citation style.

T APA emphasizes the year of publication, which comes immediately after the author’s name.

T APA citation emphasizes the date of publication because it is important to know whether research was conducted recently and whether it came before or after other research.

F Personal communications, such as an e-mail, a conversation, a letter, a fax, a phone call, or a memo, should be included in the reference list.

F When no author exists, the date goes first in the reference list.

F In citations requiring an URL, APA requires a period at the end.

T Don’t cite sources for facts that are well-known to your audience.

T It is possible to engage in citation overkill.

F You must NOT disagree with sources you cite.

T A variety of sources that include a range of opinions should be cited and used on any controversial topic.

T To paraphrase is to restate someone else's ideas, opinions, or theories in the speaker's own words.

T Commonly known information does not require a citation.

T Hanging indents are designed to make it easy to skim down the list of references and see the author’s names.

T Each in-text citation refers to an alphabetical references list that you must create.

APA stands for American Psychological Association.

True

If a Web site or Web page does not show a date when it was copyrighted or updated, then list _______ where the year normally appears.

(n.d.)

30. What is the proper APA style for a personal communication?

(J. Schulz, personal communication, December 19, 2009).

What is the appropriate APA abbreviation for a book edition?

(2nd ed.)

If this strategy seems helpful, here are some sites that may offer the testing format. If the site is no longer available, you can search for these kinds of test online yourself. Be careful, however, because the information may or may not be consistent with the current APA manual.

APA Self Check Quiz http://education.uncc.edu/ist/medresources/APA%20Quiz.htm

Plagiarism Quiz http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/guides/apaplag/APAPlagQuiz.html

Tutorial http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/tutorials/apatutorial/tutorialindex.html

WEEK 5 Academic writing and the literature review.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/95/243618116_5c95ab1863.jpg

Rubin, Rubin, Piele review of writing basics.

Verb Tense—You have probably heard that you should keep your verb tense consistent throughout a paper. The APA style manual suggests using past tense to explain research findings and present tense when you discuss your ideas or conclusion. This helps the reader understand where the research stops and your comments on the research begin.

Passive Voice—Avoid it. Active voice has someone doing the action. “John read the article” is active voice. Passive voice has the action happening to something. “The article was read by John” is passive voice.

Grammar/punctuation—This is too big a topic for the course. You probably know what your weaknesses are. Common problems are ending sentences with prepositions, splitting infinitives, using clichés, and using sentence fragments. Go to http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/writer_resources/grammar_handbook/grammar_handbook.htm and brush up on your trouble spots. Go to http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/ for quizzes on common grammar and punctuation problems.

Paragraphs should only be about one subject—when you begin a new topic, start a new paragraph. Paragraphs should have a thesis statement at the beginning and include examples, quotes, and other supporting material to prove the thesis.

Previews/reviews/transitions are vital in good writing. The beginning of the paper (or a section of longer papers) should have a clear indication of what you will be discussing in the paper. Think of it as a polished list of main points. The review happens at the end of the paper (or at the end of a section of a longer paper) and should include all the major points you’ve just developed. Transitions help us move from one paragraph to another or from one section of the paper to another. Think about getting directions to go somewhere. The preview and review are like the map with the route marked in red—they let you see where you’re going and where you’ve been. The transitions are the notes to “turn south on Highway 71”—they help you keep on track. Without them, you might go the wrong way and become lost!

Style—the text offers guidelines you will want to read. Common student writing problems include the following:

· wordiness (say “because” instead of “due to the fact that”)

· generalizations with no support (don’t say Republicans run up the national debt faster than Democrats and leave it at that— say that AND ADD “Mr. Clinton raised the national debt an average of 4.3% per year. The Republican presidents (Reagan, Bush, and Bush II) raised the debt an average of 10.8% per year[1]”).

· using modifiers unnecessarily (say “the findings cast doubt on the claims that Republicans are fiscally responsible” instead of “the findings really cast doubt on the claims that Republicans are fiscally responsible”)

· homonym confusion (“it’s their book” not “it's there book”)

· who/which/that problems (say “people who” not “people that” AND say “the car which is red” not “the car that is red”—better yet, say “the red car”)

· informal writing—Avoid using contractions. No slang. No use of personal pronouns (I, you, we, us).

Quotes/Paraphrases-- Use your own works. Quote only on occasion, when they say it better than you could. Use quotation marks for quotations. Instead, paraphrase. ALWAYS GIVE CREDIT TO THE SOURCE!

Proofread. Never turn in the first draft.

[1] from http://www.cedarcomm.com/~stevelm1/usdebt.htm-- We don’t know if the figures are accurate.

Sumser's chapter 1 perspective on writing the research paper.

Quoted directly or adapted from: Sumser, 2001, Directly quoted or closely adapted. Chapter 5. Writing the Research Paper: Research Methodology as a Rhetorical Strategy

Formalized research methodology serves to keep us, as researchers, honest and able to control our biases and reduce our errors. And, to enable us to convince a skeptical audience that what we have found is valid and accurate. Scientific writing has a very formal style. There is some tension between aspects of research methodology. How do you get started?

The first is concerned with truth, honesty, accuracy, impartiality, and objectivity.

The second is concerned with rhetoric, and rhetoric seems concerned with none of these things. Science, then, is aligned against the rhetorical approach to rationality. At the same time, however, we describe our research methodology to our audience in order to let them know how much they can trust what we are telling them. In this sense, the methodology sections of a research article are performing a rhetorical function.

When we write about empirical research we are building arguments simultaneously.

· A methodological argument about the status of our empirical evidence (means by which data is collected).

· An analytic argument about the meaning of the evidence (interpretation).

· A logical argument about the relationships between our concepts (validity of the connections between ideas, research, and the interpretations).

Rhetorical sensitivity is the tendency to present material to people in a way they can understand. The conceptual elements tell the reader what your ideas are and how your ideas relate to what other scholars are thinking. The methodological elements tell the reader how you are going to research your ideas. The analysis tells the reader what you think the findings mean, the conclusion tells the readers how the analysis related back to your ideas in your theory section, and the implications section discusses ways your conclusions can be expanded or supported.

A theory is an attempt to explain or represent some aspect of reality. Theories are abstract. They are rich enough to create hypotheses that can be tested and found to be either valid or invalid. A theory must be capable of generating testable hypotheses.

As you write, tell us why the research is interesting in itself, interesting because it has some qualities; It links to other ideas, or it provides a novel way of looking at something. Needs to be as objective as possible.

Some say never use the first person pronoun. The point of the rule is to force writers to think in general terms, outside of themselves.

A review of literature is conducted for a number of reasons:

To find out (and incorporate) the most current theoretical thinking

To place a question within a scholarly context

To find out (and build on) the results of recent (and historical) empirical research.

To see how variables have traditionally been operationalized

To find, borrow, and build on the research designs of others

In short, the review of the literature allows you to put your ideas into a scholarly context in order to clarify them and to allow you to build on what is already known. This section provides the knowledge and information required to move your ideas to the point where they can be tested empirically.

AN APPROACH TO ACADEMIC WRITING

Quoted from or closely adapted from Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2007). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills (2^nd ed.). The University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, MI.

http://www.posters.com/

The writing we will do in this program is academic writing. It is more formal in tone and requires more evidence and support than most of the writing you have done since college. Academic writing is a product of many considerations. This process is a reflexive one. Let’s take a look at the elements in a bit more depth.

v AUDIENCE

ü Even before you write, you need to consider your audience

ü The audience of most graduate students will be an instructor, who is presumably quite knowledgeable about the assigned writing topic.

ü To be successful, you need to have an understanding of your audience’s expectation and prior knowledge.

§ The amount of technical vocabulary as well as the amount of background information needed changes according to the audience.

v PURPOSE AND STRATEGY

ü Audience, purpose, and strategy are typically interconnected.

ü In the case of purpose:

§ If the audience knows less than the writer, the writer’s purpose is often instructional (e.g. textbooks)

§ If the audience knows more than the writer, the writer’s purpose is to display familiarity, expertise and intelligence (e.g. graduate student writing).

v ORGANIZATION

ü Information is presented to readers in a structured format, with regular predictable patterns of organization.

ü Take advantages of these patterns, so that readers can follow, even if you make errors.

ü One very common strategy in academic writing is to organize information in terms of problem-solution:

1. Description of a situation

2. Identification of a problem

3. Description of a solution

4. Evaluation of the solution

Other ways of organizing information include:

§ Comparison – contrast

§ Cause – effect (focusing on one cause and multiple effects or describing multiple causes and one effect)

§ Classification (categorizing)

v STYLE

ü Academic writers need to be sure that their communications are written in the appropriate style.

ü The style must be both consistent and appropriate for the message and audience.

ü Grammar-check program does not offer stylistic advice for academic writers.

ü Academic style differs in terms of what is acceptable from one are of study to another.

v FLOW

ü Flow is moving from one statement in a text to the next.

ü Establishing a clear connection of ideas is important to help your reader follow the text

v PRESENTATION

ü Presentation includes grammar and vocabulary. Watch out for homophones, basic grammar mistakes and misspelled words.

ü Also, your presented work is likely to receive a positive if you;

1. Consider the overall format of your written work

§ Does your paper look as if it has been carefully prepared?

§ Are there clear paragraphs?

§ Is the line spacing appropriate?

§ Have you used standard fonts and sizes?

2. Proofread for careless grammar mistakes

§ Do subjects and verbs agree?

§ Have the appropriate verb tenses been used?

§ Have the articles a, an, and the been used when necessary?

§ Is the used too much?

3. Check for misspelled words, even if you have spell-checked your work

§ Has the correct homophone been used?

§ Did the spell-checker miss anything?

You can think of writing as a process. This encourages you to draft and re-write and re-write again. That is the key to good writing—constant revision.

This information is drawn from:

Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2007). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills (2^nd ed.). The University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, MI.

PowerPoint Sound Presentation

http://parkonline.org

Prepare a brief SOUND PowerPoint with sound about you and your topic that could develop into long-term research in this program. You only need to provide a couple slides with a narration lasting about a minute.

Here are the assignment objectives:

1. Make sure you know how to prepare a sound PowerPoint presentation. This format is used in some other classes in the program and in your project, reflection, or thesis defense.

2. Encourage you to look at your communication in a holistic way through a brief explanation.

3. Help you know other students and their interest areas better.

Please include a photo of you or something you love, which can be uploaded to the fun page. Tell us your passion in studying communication and leadership.

FOCUS ON COMMUNICATION IN YOUR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

The idea is to provide a trial run of the kind of presentation you will be expected to provide in courses and at the end of your MA program, with you thesis, project, or reflection.

1. Name the file beginning with your last name, the course, the assignment: AitkenCA500Presentation.ppt

2. Put your title, name, and date on the first slide.

3. Limit written content to about five words across and five lines. Use large, easy to see font.

4. Give a fluent and engaging speech. Do NOT read the slides to us. We can read. Slides should be bullet points you discuss.

5. Add relevant visuals and color for interest. Please cite the source of visuals.

6. Capitalize each word of the title. Use appropriate and consistent capitalization and punctuation style throughout.

7. Use clear and direct communication.

8. Keep it brief--a few minutes--because sound will make the file large. In this course, limit to about two minutes and five slides. When you give the actual oral defense, limit your presentation to about 10 minutes, unless your advisor tells you otherwise.

9. Use a light background with dark print.

10. Use a professional look. Avoid a busy or distracting background, too many visuals, too many links, or too much print.

11. Limit the number of font types to two. Arial or other nonserif are most visible online.

12. Be sure to number each slide and use a short running head.

13. Use a lively and engaging style. A relatively fast, but understandable, rate adds to speaker credibility. Let your personality come through orally.

WEEK 6 Writing: The thesis, the project, or the reflection?

Writing in the Master's in Communication and Leadership Program

This week, we're going to chat a bit about other kinds of writing you'll need to do as well as the writing required at the end of the program. Many students have questions about what happens once they are done with classes. We won't go into a lot of detail here, but let's look quickly textbook information so you have some ideas about other writing formats and go over the difference between a thesis and a project. This way, you can perform well in future classes and make informed choices when the opportunity arises.

Writing a Critical Paper

http://www.posters.com
The Road, Effect of Snow (La Route, Effet de Neige)

Contrary to what many students think, a critical paper is not a negative review. By "critical," the idea is that there is a reasoned judgment or evaluation and analysis of certain artifacts or ideas. By artifact, we may mean a webpage, speech, television show, or other communication text. Critical papers go beyond the type of evaluation provided in a literature review.

You might take a class in rhetorical criticism or do historical research or delve into cultural critical reviews in your coursework. Some faculty believe that all papers make an argument—well, critical papers are pure argument. You develop a thesis—Eisenhower’s use of personal persuasion helped the administration achieve three balanced budgets, for example—and prove that thesis with your evidence. Remember the information about general to specific writing? It really comes into play here.

What steps are involved?

Select and narrow your topic.

Search the literature.

Develop a thesis.

Test and adjust the thesis.

Gather additional data and revise thesis.

Edit.

Print and proofread.

Remember, this type of paper is a real argument-- support your ideas thoroughly and carefully.

What is a proposal or prospectus?

Road through a Park in Autumn

http://www.posters.com

More than one class in the program may ask you to write a research proposal or prospectus. A prospectus is the first step in developing your thesis or project. This research plan is the next step beyond a literature review, although the proposal includes an evaluation of the literature that points you to a specific hypothesis or research question(s). The proposal also includes a step-by-step plan for answering those questions.

The basic prospectus requires:
An introduction that gets our attention, introduces us to the topic/problem, and sets out in general what you want to do
A review of the literature much like the one you are writing for this class
A section on how you will do your study. This is very detailed and includes all the steps you will take to finish the research. Explain your method and how to do it. Explain the details of your study such as where you will observe or how you will get subjects for your survey. Explain how you will analyze the data you find.
The final section is a concluding section. This should include a time-line for finishing the research and an outline of the chapters (or sections) you anticipate having in the final write-up.
A reference list of reference.

PROGRAM SUCCESS

Country Road Through Field

http://www.posters.com

Following Procedures and Meeting Deadlines Are Each Student's Responsibility

To be admitted to Park University's Communication and Leadership program, you must complete all requirements. To graduate, you must complete all requirements.

This is a program in leadership. If you don't take care of your responsibilities, you have failed to show exemplary leadership. So take initiative. Leaders follow the rules, meet deadlines, and treat people with equity.

Expectations for Students: http://onlineacademics.org/Guidelines.html

Graduate School http://www.park.edu/grad/

Graduate Catalog http://www.park.edu/grad/catalog.aspx

To Be Admitted in the Program

(You cannot stay on provisional admission)

· A bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from an international institution

· A minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA in the bachelor's degree

· A GRE General Test score no more than five years old at the time of application GRE website

· A copy of current résumé

· Three (3) Letters of Recommendation

· A student who is accepted pending receipt of all required documentation must submit complete and satisfactory records within completion of 12 credit hours. If you don't have this done, please do not expect me to serve as your advisor or on your committee.

Materials may be sent to:

Park University
Graduate Admissions
911 Main, Suite 900
Kansas City, MO 64105

Students not fully admitted within their first 12 hours of enrollment will have a Graduate 12 hour hold placed on their record, which will stop their registration through the OPEN system.

To Stay in the Program

Follow each course's syllabus: http://www.park.edu/syllabus/list.aspx

Build positive relationships with faculty so that you will have an advisor and committee members for your thesis or project. We have a small faculty, so you will need to create a positive relationship with everyone.

Buy and use the APA manual! The American Psychological Association Publication Manual contains all the information you need about what goes into the thesis and how to write. For my summary on writing, see my APA Style Requirements http://onlineacademics.org/APA.html.

Apply for graduation by the deadlines. https://www.park.edu/registrar/gradapp/

August Completion or December Commencement Deadline: April 1

May Commencement Deadline: November 1

Conduct all research in the field of Communication (use EBSCO Host Communication and Mass Media) using current, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles. Only go outside our field if you have specific approval from your course professor. Online Database Tutorial for Review of Literature: http://onlineacademics.org/LibraryTutorial/

Begin your thesis or leadership project with your advisor's approval at least 6 months in advance of your graduate date. Your proposal must be approved by your committee BEFORE you begin and before it can go to the IRB: http://www.park.edu/irb/ Dr. Aitken's IRB Tutorial: http://onlineacademics.org/IRB

Forms: http://onlineacademics.org/CA797/Forms/

Your thesis or project should be complete week one of your final term and needs to be defended by week 4 of your final term. If you can't finish everything by week 8, you will need to pay for continuous enrollment.

Note, Communication Arts faculty are not on staff during the summer. Faculty are swamped at the end of terms, so submit your work (e.g., comprehensive exams, proposal) to your committee by week 6 of the term.

Final day to withdraw from a course is Week 5. http://www.park.edu/online/faq_currentstudent.aspx#changescourseschedule

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM

Autumn Road http://www.posters.com/pv-541245_Autumn-Road.html

Within two terms of graduating or earlier, make arrangements to take the comprehensive exams. Here is Dr. Aitken's information about comps http://onlineacademics.org/comps/ Comprehensive exams need to be passed before your last term.

The GRE is required to enter the program, and the Comprehensive Exam is required to exit the program. The Comprehensive Exam contains general questions to ensure you have met program goals. We will email the questions to you and you have 24 hours to answer about 6 questions on what you've studied. You can use notes and books, but not other people. This process enables you to review materials and synthesize what you've learned in the program.

PROJECT, THESIS, OR REFLECTION OPTION?

Challenge - Road

http://www.posters.com/pv-453214_Challenge--Road.html

You can complete either a reflection, project, or a thesis as the culmination of the program. You will want to start thinking about the content of this closing work now so that you can work toward your goal during some of your courses along the way.

Here is an explanation of each option.

PROJECT

A project takes a creative approach to study. For example, one student created a handbook for using text messaging. Another student created a handbook of strategies for parents to improve communication with their children when they enter college. Another student developed instructional strategies for teaching CPR administration in combat situations.

The project requires a briefer survey of the literature and prospectus, but more time spent on the development of artifacts or programs.

Project Information: http://onlineacademics.org/CA700/

REFLECTION

The third option is a Reflection. In this case you take an extra course and complete the Reflection for two hours credit.

The reflection is an online capstone course with other students. In this case, you reflect on how you can apply theories you've learned in your personal and professional life. Your professor may focus on a particular aspect of the program, such as intercultural communication. The reflection is only two hours, so this option requires that you take one additional course to graduate. The project and thesis are typically 5 credit hours, which are taken over a period of six months or so.

THESIS

A thesis is a completed original research report. The thesis requires significant study of the literature and a detailed prospectus before you carry out your actual research. In the thesis, there is extensive writing, typically about 100 pages in length, with about 100 cited and referenced sources. Dr. Cohn recommends this approach for students who want to continue on with a Ph.D. program.

GRADUATE SCHOOL GUIDELINES ABOUT THESIS

The writing of a thesis is a highly valued academic exercise and has been traditionally regarded as the culminating activity in a master’s degree program. Students may earn up to six hours of graduate credit for writing a thesis, by enrolling in 700 and 701 courses [CA797, CA798, CA799], sequentially.

Students should carefully plan their activities, in order to ensure that they develop a workable proposal, conduct the research, write the thesis, and get it approved by the Committee, in a timely manner. A copy of the completed thesis should be submitted to the major advisor no later than six weeks prior to the date of commencement. The Graduate School should receive a copy for final approval no later than three weeks prior to the day on which the degree is to be conferred.

Thesis Committee

Candidates should consult their major advisor in forming a Committee and clarifying the role of the Committee members in the research and writing process. The primary responsibility for directing the thesis resides with the major advisor. The Committee should consist of a minimum of three approved graduate faculty, including the major advisor in the discipline area. It is advisable to include additional faculty member(s) from outside the discipline, because faculty external to the discipline can bring fresh perspectives or provide valuable assistance in the conduct of research.

Enrollment in XX 700 (3 credit hours)

The candidate must register for a 700-level course in order to begin the process of developing a thesis proposal. The registration allows the student to receive advice from a member of the faculty and to utilize University facilities in preparation for the thesis. While enrolled for this course, the student is expected to be actively working on developing a formal proposal related to an area of research interest, under the direction of a faculty member who will be the major advisor or the Committee Chair.

At minimum, the research proposal should identify the problem, clarify the thesis statement, select an appropriate research methodology (including the data gathering instruments and data analysis techniques) and provide an effective overview of the scholarly literature. The following general outline may be helpful in developing a proposal.

Key concepts and definition of the project. Concisely and clearly state what the project intends to accomplish. What are the basic questions to be explored?

Significance of the study. Why should the scientific community be interested in this study? What contribution will it make to the discipline, the profession and the society?

Review of relevant literature. How does your research relate to the work of others? Where are the gaps in literature? What do you hope to add to the literature?

· Methodology. How do you plan to approach the subject? What is your methodology and what instruments or procedures will you use to gather the data/information that you would need to address the questions? What is the justification for the use of this methodology? Do you have the resources to conduct the study, such as access to people, data, archives, collections, time, etc.?

Plan of work and timetable. Present a realistic timetable including specific dates by which you plan to complete specific facets of the research. It would help you and the Committee to decide if you can realistically complete the project.

· Bibliography. Present a working bibliography that includes scholarly books and articles. Naturally, you will revise and expand this bibliography as you continue with your project.

Proposal Defense and Submitting the proposal to the Graduate School

When the proposal is ready for defense, the student must work with the Chair in setting a date for the proposal defense. The defense must be conducted at least a semester prior to graduation and the proposal must be submitted to the Graduate School once it is approved by the Chair and all members of the Committee.

Submitting the Proposal to the Graduate School

The student must work with the Chair in submitting the proposal to the Committee members for their approval. Once approved by the Committee, the Chair will forward the proposal to the Graduate School office at least a semester prior to the semester in which the student is expected to graduate.

Human Subjects Protection and IRB review

In preparing the thesis proposal, students must be aware that any research which involves human subjects must be approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University in order to assure compliance with applicable federal regulations and University policies. The proposal must be reviewed and approved by the IRB according to the University procedure. Failure to gain the IRB approval will result in denial of the proposal. It is a violation of the procedures to contact human subjects prior to the IRB approval of the proposal. It is highly recommended that the IRB approval be received prior to the submission of the proposal. Additional information related to the IRB may be found at: http://captain.park.edu/irb/index.aspx . [This process may take several weeks and must be completed BEFORE you collect any data. We recommend you submit to the IRB mid-way during the first course of CA797.]

Enrollment in XX 701 (3 credit hours)

WE'RE ACTUALLY USING ONE COURSE FOR ALL THESIS HOURS.

Following the approval of the thesis proposal, students may enroll in 701 and begin data gathering. [In reality, you need to submit your final thesis to your committee week one or two of this final term because of the time involved in the defense, revisions, submission to the graduate school, obtaining a copyright, printing, and binding.] Data may be collected using qualitative, quantitative, participatory, documentary, or

action research methodologies, as may be appropriate. The writing of the thesis may then begin, with the guidance of the Committee Chair. Students are encouraged to consult the Chair regularly, to ensure that they receive timely and useful feedback throughout the research and writing process.

Thesis Defense

An oral defense of the thesis must be satisfactorily completed and approved by the Committee, and the result of the defense must be submitted to the Graduate School, three weeks prior to graduation. Thesis defense is open to the University community.

Enrollment in XX 799 (1 credit hour)

When additional time is needed to complete the thesis work, enrollment in XX 799 is permitted, in consultation with the Chair.

For additional information on the thesis procedure, please consult the Director of your graduate program, or the Executive Director for the Graduate School.

WEEK 7 Revising Your Writing and Meeting the Faculty

http://www.novaweather.net/Flood_2003/Flood_road_sign.jpg

Discussions will focus on revising writing and peer editing each others' papers this week and on other questions you have about any relevant topic.

Objectives:

At the end of this unit you should be able to:

· Use APA citation and reference style in writing.

· Write a brief review of the literature on a designated topic.

PEER EDITING

Houston Road and Skyline, Texas http://www.posters.com/pv-422319_Houston-Road-and-Skyline-Texas.html

Some faculty advocate peer editing and others do not. You can support your colleagues in classes by working together and providing feedback to each other. Some students share books to save money. Some students share the Leadership Practices Inventory software for CA675 to save money. Some students study together for comprehensive exam or other tests. You may have to make a little extra effort to find a sense of community and collaboration in an online program. You can do find collaboration rewarding and helpful.

Peer editing helps you help your peers which is an important part of graduate school. Peer editing also will help you improve your own writing. Peer editing helps you stand away from your own writing and view it more objectively. Read the information at http://web.uvic.ca/~sdoyle/E302/Notes/Peer%20editing.html. You are encouraged to pair up with another student or a small group and edit each other's papers using the checklist below.

Literature Review Peer Editing

Criteria	Yes or no?	Suggestions
Introduction–begins with attention getter, identifies topic, identifies importance of topic, gives thesis, previews paper
Research question or statement of problem is clear and well justified
Includes at least ten sources with brief information about each source
Sources are varied in type and origin– books as well as journal articles and scholarly journals as well as popular or practitioner publications