| COM 306: Introduction to Research Methods Dr. Geoff Leatham | |||||
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| COM 306 Syllabus Professor Geoff Leatham Office Hours 308A Independence M, W 10:30-12 874-4735 leatham@uri.edu Purpose: This class is designed to introduce you to some of the quantitative methods used to explore human communication. After completing this class, you should be able to understand the methods sections of most quantitative journal articles in communication. You will understand how the results reported in a journal article support (or fail to support) the claims of the investigators. You will also develop the skills necessary to perform basic tests on hypotheses or research questions that you have formulated. This class is skills-oriented. Text: Stewart, Thomas D. Principles of Research in Communication. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct involves cheating on an examination, plagiarizing, fabricating information, willfully interfering with another students work or similar unethical activity. For example, if you work with another student on a project that is assigned to you, you are guilty of plagiarism. The effort of that student is being reported as your own. Academic misconduct will be dealt with as outlined by university procedures. I can safely guarantee you that you will not pass my class if you do not conduct yourself with honor. On this issue, I donŐt give second chances. If you are unsure if an activity is an instance of academic misconduct, talk to me about it. If the activity is something that you do not feel you can talk to me about, it probably is academic misconduct. Attendance: Attendance will be taken at the beginning of class. If you are not here by; the time I am done taking attendance, it counts as an absence. You do not need to notify me that you will not be in class unless you have an assignment, examination or exercise that is due that day. If you cannot make arrangements to get your assignment in, you must inform me before the class begins that you will not be in class. Your attendance will affect your final grade as follows:
Late assignments: No late assignment will be eligible to receive a grade higher than C. If you fail to complete a required assignment, you will fail the class. Grading: All graded assignments will receive a letter grade of A through F. Your final grade will be determined by taking the average of each of these grades. Each assignment is weighted equally. The assignments include the following: announcements
In figuring your grade, an A is worth 4 points, a B is worth 3, et cetera. If you got a B on each of the examinations, an A on the experiment, a B on your survey, a C on the homework and an A on the final paper, you would figure your grade as follows: 3 + 3 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 4 = 19 19/6 = 3.16 3.16 is halfway between 3.0 and 3.33 so I would round to B+ Halfway between two grades, I will round to the higher. But if the grade is closer to the lower grade (e.g. 3.4 is closer to 3.33 than it is to 3.67) then I would round down to 3.33. Description of Assignments: Examinations will consist of multiple choice and fill in the blank questions. You will have 50 minutes for the exams. Exams may include computation as well as comprehension. You must bring your own calculator for the examinations. Original Research is For your final paper, you will construct the second half of a research paper. The components will be as follows: Title Page, Abstract (250 words or less), Statement of Hypotheses, Conceptual Definition, Subjects, Measurement, Descriptive Data, Hypothesis Testing, Discussion, Implications and Future Research, References. You will identify two variables, define them and figure out a way to measure them. You may either use a self-report survey, experimental manipulation or observation to measure the variables. If you use a survey to measure a variable, you must ask at least 3 questions for each variable. One of the variables must have something to do with communication. Each variable must take on more than two values, so you cannot use a dichotomous variable like gender as one of the two variables. The relationship between the variables must be stated as a testable hypothesis. You may work alone or with one partner. If you work alone, you must have 20 subjects. If you work with a partner, your team must collect data from 30 subjects. In the descriptive data section, you must report means and standard deviations for all items measured on an interval scale and frequencies for all items measured on a nominal scale. In the hypothesis testing section, you must use chi square or a t-test to test your hypothesis. There is no lit review required for this project. Experiment description is a one to two page paper where you state a testable hypothesis, describe your manipulation of the independent variable and how you would measure the dependent variable. You must use on of the experimental designs described in the text. You will be graded on reliability and validity of experimental design and measurement as well as clarity of your description. Survey construction includes creation of a survey to measure attitudes of a given population and a sampling scheme to generate a representative sample. You will be graded on the reliability and validity of your measurement as well as the completeness, clarity and workability of the sampling scheme. Definition Write-up: Write a paper comparing how the conceptual and operational definitions of the variable you were presented with differ and how those differences affect the fit between different combinations of conceptual and operational definitions. Homework will consist of the following projects. 1) Identify variables in hypothesis Feb. 17 2) Conceptual and Operational Definitions Feb. 17 3) Select a research hypothesis March 16 4) Excel homework as assigned |
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