Instructor

Dr. C. Edward Wotring (ewotring@mailer.fsu.edu)
Office: 338 Diffenbaugh
Office hours: 12:00-1:15 M,W & by appointment
Office phone: 644-8773
Home phone: 668-9655
Fax number:  668-3522

Assistants

Scott W McCord (swm0650@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)

Michael Korcok (mmk1913@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)

Kostadin Kostadinov (kgk5679@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)

Dr. Jamie Murphy (jbm4162@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)

Robert Riley (rws4300@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)

Kerrie Stillman (kjs8434@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)

Course Objectives

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the conceptual and operational methods used to study communication phenomena. The scientific, humanistic/interpretive and critical paradigms will be discussed as well as quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The course will cover all aspects of the research process including general purposes and logic, philosophical perspectives, conceptualization and theory, operationalization and research design, data collection procedures, statistical applications, and interpretation of findings. During the course you will learn to read and interpret research literature, abstract journal articles, and write a research proposal much like a thesis or dissertation prospectus. This research proposal, the final paper, is the major focal point of the course. It is hoped that by the end of the semester you will have an understanding of the importance of knowledge development, in the philosophical as well as practical sense, and the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches to this goal.

Required Resources

Earl Babbie, The Practice of Social Research, 8th edition, Wadsworth, 1998.

Fred Pyrczak and Randall R. Bruce, Writing Empirical Research Reports, 1992.

COM 5312 Web Site:  Course Notes,  Assignments, and  Proposal Examples

Recommended Resources

On-Line Resources

John W. Creswell, Research Design: Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches, Sage, 1994.

W. Paul Vogt, Dictionary of Statistics and Methodology: A Nontechnical Guide for the Social Sciences, Sage, 1993.

Campbell and Stanley, Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research, Rand McNally, 1963.

George Homans, The Nature of Social Science, Harcourt, Brace & World, 1967.

Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd edition, The University of Chicago, 1970.

J. Bronowski, Science and Human Values, Harper & Row, 1965.

Hubert M. Blalock, Jr., Basic Dilemmas in the Social Sciences, Sage Publications, 1984.

Paul D. Reynolds, A Primer in Theory Construction, Bobbs-Merrill, 1971.

Steven H. Chaffee, Communication Concepts 1: Explication, Sage, 1991.

Ken Brewer, Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Statistics but Didn't Know How to Ask, Kendall-Hunt, 1978.

Hans L. Zetterberg, On Theory and Verification in Sociology, The Bedminister Press, 1956.

Glaser and Strauss, The Discovery of Grounded Theory, Aldine, 1967.

Goetz and LeCompte, Ethnography and Qualitative Design in Educational Research, Academic Press, 1984.

R. B. Rubin, A. M. Rubin and L. J. Piele, Communication Research: Strategies and Sources, 2nd edition, Wadsworth, 1990.

F. Williams, R. E. Rice and E.M. Rogers, Research Methods and the New Media, The Free Press, 1988.

Journal articles in your area of interest.

More journal articles in your area of interest.

Presentations, Projects, Examinations

Each week I will assign major course concepts to class members. Using the textbooks, course notes on our Web site and other available materials you will prepare a short (5-10 minutes) in-class presentation defining and describing each concept assigned to you and provide a short written synopsis of you presentation for each class member. You will also write 5 short answer essay questions covering each major course section and provide copies for the class via our class e-mail account-- I will identify these sections in class. Questions for the final examination will be selected from those you submit and others that I will add. You will be provided with a master list of all questions to serve as a study guide for the final examination. Additionally, there will be several written projects to help you understand the material.

Grading

Note: NO INCOMPLETES.
Late papers will be reduced by 1/2 a grade point for each day late.

Survival Tips

Now that you are in graduate school, here are some behaviors that will help keep everyone happy. The list is not exhaustive:

1. Come to class.
2. Come to class on time.
3. Read assignments before class.
4. Do not put problems off until the last week of the semester; if you are experiencing difficulty,   please see me or the assistants as soon as you can.
5. Ask questions; participate; talk; think critically; act interested.
6. All papers and assignments are required to be typed and stapled. Please do not use paper clips or   binders.
7. Make sure you turn in assignments on time. Do not put them off until the last minute; allow for   computer problems, printer problems, assignment due dates in other classes and all other   problems. I will reduce the grade of assignments turned in late.
8. Talk to your fellow students; help each other; form study groups; get help from more advanced students in the program.
9. Read journals and books beyond what is assigned. In particular, read journal articles in your area of interest; they are examples of your major papers.
10. Become computer literate. If you do not own a computer with a modem consider buying one.   There is a world of resources available on the net.
11. Be Very Very Very Careful About Plagiarism. If your thinking and writing is based even   remotely on any source, you must cite that source in your writing at its point of use. If you use   any source word for word, you must use quotation marks and include the page numbers of the   source. If you paraphrase a source, cite the source and refer to the page on which you are basing   the paraphrase. If in doubt, always cite.
12. Don't take things too seriously; graduate school is a rare opportunity, so try to enjoy it.

Americans with Disabilities Act

It is our desire that all of our students fully participate in the curriculum of our department. But we need your assistance. If you have a disability or condition that compromises your ability to complete the requirements of this course, you must notify the instructor immediately. All reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate your needs. Further, if you do not understand or accept the contents of the terms of this syllabus, you must notify the instructor in writing by one week after receiving the syllabus.

Academic Honor System

Students are required to uphold the Academic Honor System published in The Florida State University Bulletin and the Student Handbook.

The Academic Honor System of Florida State University is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility (1) to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work, (2) to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University community, and (3) to foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the University community.

Tentative Timetable and Readings

(Use the Dictionary and course and course notes on the Course Web site to help with concept presentations. Text assignments are given below.)

Week

1 (August 24 -28)

Introduction to course

2 & 3 (August 31- September 11)

Paradigms and Assumptions (Burke Notes, Text preface, prologue, holographic overview, ch. 1, 19; course notes section I)   Topics: Positivist (quantitative) and Interpretivist/Critical (qualitative) paradigms; philosophical assumptions--ontological, epistemological, axiological, rhetorical and methodological.

4  (September 14-18)

Scientific Communication (Text appendices A&B; course notes section II) Topics: Associations and journals; Articles, proposals, abstracts. Journal assignment. Abstract assignment.

5  (September 21-25)

Developing a Study Idea (Pyrczak ch.4,5,7; course notes section II) Topics: using the literature, defining and justifying a problem and the problem/purpose statement. Problem/Purpose Statement assignment.

6 & 7 (September 28 - October 9)

Questions, Objectives and Use of Theory (Text ch. 2,3; Pyrczak ch. 1,2,3; course notes section IV) Topics: description, explanation, prediction, propositions, hypotheses, grounded theory, deductive theory, verification, falsification, rationale. Hypotheses/ Research Questions Assignment

8  (October 12-16)

Explication and Measurement (Text ch. 5,6,7; Pyrczak ch. 6; course notes section III, V) Topics: Conceptual and operational definitions, variables, level of measurement, scaling, reliability, validity.

9  (October 19-23)

Research Design Overview (Text ch. 4; Pyrczak ch. 8; course notes section V) Topics: control vs. generalization, internal and external validity, causality; true experimental, quasi-experimental, non-experimental designs.

10  (October 28 -30)

Experimental Design (Text ch. 9; course notes section V) Topics: causality, internal and external validity factors, experimental design variants, field vs. laboratory experiments. Article Critique Assignment.

11 (November 2 -6)

Survey Design (Text ch. 8, 10; course notes section V) Topics: Probability and sampling, generalization, probability and nonprobability sampling techniques, sampling and nonsampling error. Article Critique Assignment.

12 (November 9 - 18)       (November 11 is Veteran's Day so No Class)

Qualitative Designs (Text ch. 11; course notes section V) Topics: Historical/Critical research, case studies, ethnographic and participatory research, assumptions, role of researcher, data collection and analysis, reliability and validity. Article Critique Assignment.

13 (November 20 - 25)

Results, Data Analysis (Text ch. 15,17; Pyrczak ch. 9; course notes section V) Topics: Qualitative and quantitative approaches to results. Uses of statistics. Power analysis.

14 (November 27)

Thanksgiving Break

15 (November 30 - December 4)

Conclusions and Ethics (Text ch. 18,19; Pyrczak ch. 10; course notes section V) Topics: Interpretation of results. Ethics: handling and interpretation of data, treatment of subjects, and professionalism. 

* Research Proposal is due at start of class on Dec. 4. *

Time and Place of Final Exam will be Announced in Class.