Communication 801-5:

Design and Methodology in Communication Research

Course Description:

An examination of problems, methods, and theoretical assumptions in qualitative and empirical communication research. You will be asked to consider the relationship between methodology and its theoretical underpinnings. You will also gain practical experience in applying research methods.

This course is intended to introduce you to a range of techniques, but also to enable you to assess their appropriateness, limitations and assumptions in relation to your own research program. The course is informed particularly by the interdisciplinary nature of communications, with emphasis on the methodological discourse of the social sciences.

Topics will include the formation of research questions, research design, ethics in field research, the exploration of problems from different theoretical perspectives, and the link between theoretical perspectives and practical techniques used in communications research. Students will be introduced to a variety of research methods which may include participant observation, interview techniques, content analysis and other approaches to analyzing media texts, documentary research, ethnography, focus groups and other techniques as required by student interests and needs.

Required Texts:

Marshall, C. & Rossman, G.B. (1995). Designing qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA.: Sage.

Students will be required to read additional articles that will either be on reserve or available for photocopying in the copy room in the School of Communication.

Course Requirements:

A detailed description of assignments is available prior to the start of term upon request from Ellen Balka. Assignments will be cumulative in that they will all become building blocks for the final paper. Students may choose one of two assignment schemes.

Scheme 1: Assignment % of Grade Due Date

Theory paper 20% Prior to week 8

Methodology exercises (2) 15% each 1 week after method is discussed in class; at least 1 by week 6.

Class participation 15% Ongoing

Research proposal 35% 1 week after last class

Scheme 2: Same as above except a third methodology exercise (worth 20%) is substituted for the theory paper.

Description of Assignments

Methodology exercises (2): 2 at 15 points each

Over the course of the semester, several research methods will be presented (according to student needs and interests). Students will be required to gain practical experience with at least two of these techniques (the nature of the requirement will vary from method to method). Students will be required to hand in the results of their 'field trials' for comment, within two weeks of when the method is presented in class. Each exercise is described below.

Participant Observation:

Select a place to conduct participant observation. Go to that location, and act as a participant observer for one half hour. Plan your time so that you have several hours free after doing your observation, to write up your field notes. Later in the week go back to the same sight and do another observation for 15 minutes. Again, leave time after your observation to write up your field notes. Turn in notes made during your half hour and 15 minute observations, as well as your write up of field notes from both sittings.

Interviews:

Three types of interviews will be presented in class-- two types of particularistic interview and an approach to a generalizable interview. For this assignment, you will be required to generate a set of interview questions for each type of interview, and then go out and conduct a trial interview with each set of questions. After conducting the trial interviews (they will likely take about half an hour each) you should make sure you have time free to write up both your interview notes and your reflections on conducting the interviews. You should hand in the three sets of interview questions, the interview texts, and your notes made after conducting each of the interviews.

Content / Textual Analysis

Several approaches to analyzing media texts (primarily news) will be presented in class. For this assignment, you will be choosing a small textual corpus and subjecting it to a preliminary content analysis by first generating a set of questions, then designing a coding protocol and applying it to several units. Then select another approach to textually analyzing the same material. In an even more preliminary way, generate a set of questions appropriate to that approach, and suggest how the results of the analysis might compare with those of the content analysis. You should hand in the textual corpus, your lists of questions, coding protocol and preliminary analyses.

Archival Research and Government Documents:

For this exercise you will be required first to identify and locate an exhaustive list of possible sources for archival and government documents related to your area of interest. Once you have identified a list of potential sources, you should indicate the type of information you expect to find in each source of information. Again, this list should be as exhaustive as possible. Finally, you should choose one document from your list, and locate it. Once you have located it, identify other documents it refers to and locate those if possible. Continue with this process until you have spent at least 8 hours searching for documents that were referred to in other documents (or until you hit a dead end). Once you have stooped locating documents, sit down and draw a diagram of which documents led you where. From this you should also be able to compile a timeline of events described in your documents, a list of people, agencies and institutions identified in your documents, and perhaps other phenomenon (such as reference to regulations, hearings etc.). Identify as much information as you are able to, and then sit down and write up a summary of what you have learned as a result of your document search. You should turn in a list of documents you consulted, the lists and diagrams you generated in doing the exercises, and your written summary of what you learned.

Case Study Research

If you are electing to do this exercise with a focus on case studies, you will be required to describe the case study you would like to do. You should start by indicating what you expect to find, what data sources might be available to you (an exhaustive list), what problems you expect to encounter), how you will delimit your case study population, potential problems in identifying, gaining access to or delimiting your case study population, and how you will conduct your case study (e.g., what data sources you will pursue, why you have chosen those sources, what you expect to find, problems you expect to encounter and so on). You should turn in all written material this process generates.

Focus Groups

If you do this exercise with a focus on focus groups, you will be required first to identify who will be asked to participate in your focus group, and why you have chosen to delimit the population in the way that you have. You should also indicate what you would like to find out in holding a focus group, and submit a list of questions that have been designed to illicit answers to the questions your are posing. You should indicate where you would hold your focus group and why you have chosen that location, whether or not you would use audio and/or video tape and why you made the decision you did, what problems might arise and what you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of this approach. You should turn in all written material this exercise generates.

How to question statistics

Go to the library and locate several (a half dozen) articles in your research area that include statistics. What type of statistical tests are used? For two articles, answer the following questions: Does the author describe the sampling procedure? Whether the integrity of the data was checked, and if so how it was checked? Whether the research instrument was pre-tested, and if so, how? Is gender a variable of investigation? What other variables have been excluded, and what if any limitations might this pose for the study? Are you given adequate information to determine whether the research instrument was valid? Do the authors' conclusions seem to you to reflect what the numbers day? If not, provide some examples. Are there other conclusions that might explain the statistical patterns the author(s) found? You should refer back to the Eichler article in doing this exercise.

Non-obtrusive methods

If you choose this exercise, you should identify as many non-obtrusive measures as you can related to your area of research, and potential problems associated with each type of data. In particular, you should attempt to identify as many ethical problems as you can, as well as all of the things that might come to bear on the validity of the conclusions that might be reached from working with each data source you identify.

Theory paper (20 points) Roughly 5-7 double spaced pages

For this assignment, students will be required to read in depth about a theoretical perspective upon which a research method is based. So, for example, a student doing textual analysis might choose to read on semiotics; a student wishing to do interviews based on an ethnomethodological perspective might choose to read on ethnomethodology, and so on. Following reading outside of class, students will be required to write a brief paper on the theoretical perspective of their choice. The purpose of this assignment is to give students an opportunity to investigate the theoretical basis of research methodology in greater depth.

Research proposal (35 points)

As a final requirement for this course, students will be required to prepare a research proposal which ideally will resemble the research proposal that will be pursued in their thesis research. It should contain

· an introduction and background that contains enough of a literature review to provide a context for posing your research question.

· a clear statement of research objectives and research questions;

· a methodology section that details the approach that will be followed in answering the research questions. In the methodology section, you should justify your choice of research methods, and you should include a discussion of both the strengths and limitations of various methods that could be employed in your research.

· a section on problems that may be encountered in conducting the proposed research;

· completion of university ethics forms appropriate for your proposed research.

Class participation (15 points)

Students are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. Students are expected to speak in class and will be required to work in small groups from time to time during class time. Students may be required to make a presentation about their work during the course of the term.

Style:

You should consult with your supervisors about the referencing procedures they will use in writing their thesis. Students will be expected to follow whatever style guide (such as MLA, APA etc.) is prescribed by their supervisors, and may want to purchase a style guide for use in this course. If you make use on-line resources in your work, you must properly reference on-line resources. Guidelines for citing on-line resources can be found on several WWW sites, including http://www.mun.ca/library/ref/virtuallib.html#grants.

Short Excercises (strictly optional- I will comment on them if you like):

These excercises have been developed to help students think through and develop their research question. They are not required. If students complete them and hand them in they will receive feedback on them.

1. Defining Key Concepts that are central to your research interest. Suggested completion: Week 2

Identify at least three key terms or phrases related to your area of interest. For example, key terms relevant to my current interests might include technology, participatory design and ergonomics. Once you have identified key terms in your area of interest, either locate definitions from other people's work for each of the terms, or, write your own definitions. You should turn in a list of your terms, a list of definitions, and a brief write-up indicating some of the definitions you rejected, and why.

2. Locating your research interest from different disciplinary perspectives. Suggested completion: Week 3

Go to the library and find ten articles that are related to your research interests, written from at least three different disciplinary perspectives. (E.g., in light of my interest in women and technological change, I might find an article about women and technology written by a sociologist, another by someone in women's studies, a third by a historian, a forth by a computer scientist etc., all having to do with women and technology in the workplace). You should skim all of the articles, and then select three from different disciplines for further analysis. Once you have read the three articles, answer the following questions about them. What are some of the differences in how authors within different disciplines address your topic of interest? Are there similarities? If so, what are they? What points are implicit in the different treatments of your topic (or, what is assumed within different perspectives?) Are there similarities between perspectives? If so, what are they? Are any ideas treated as implicit within the different disciplinary perspectives? If so, what are they? What points are made explicitly, that relate tot he disciplinary perspective? What research methods are used within different disciplines?

3. Articulating your research question. Suggested completion: Week 5

See table 3.1 in Marshall and Rossman (p.41). For each of the categories Marshall and Rossman describe, try to generate one or more research questions in your area of research. Next, identify appropriate research strategy and methods for each of the questions you identify. Your end result should be a table like the one in Marshall and Rossman, where all the examples reflect your research interests. If you complete and hand in this exercise, I will be happy to comment on it.

Weekly Schedule