SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
CMNS 362-4

Paul Reynolds	Summer Semester 2001
Telephone: 604-291-3687	Burnaby Evening
Email: preynola@sfu.ca

EVALUATION METHODS FOR APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

Prerequisites:

At least 60 credit hours, including CMNS 253, and one of CMNS 260 or 261.

This course combines methods and theories of communication research and develops your skill with methods that can be applied to research questions in many areas, particularly those which are undergoing rapid change. The course examines the differences between the qualitative and quantitative research paradigms, and explores their implications for actual practice. It teaches how research questions should be formulated and how research projects should be designed and executed. In addition, we will also tackle many of the ethical and policy implications of applied communication research.

Students will be introduced to and practice a wide variety of research methods and techniques, which may include:
- interviewing - oral history
- participant observation - ethnography
- documentary research - focus groups
- survey/opinion research - case study research

There are three substantive issues on which students may concentrate in order to develop skills in these methods: 1) the introduction, uses and consequences of new media and technologies; 2) communication in conflict and intervention; and 3) the study of organizational, institutional, and/or community cultures. Students will design, develop, and implement a pilot study about one of these issues using two or three methods introduced in class. Most course activities require team-work, and practicing methods is at the heart of this workshop-style course. The pilot study will lead to preparation of a final research proposal that incorporates findings from the pilot study. This proposal is a basis for the final evaluation in the course.

Required Text:

Sandra Kirby & Kate McKenna, Experience, Research, Social Change: Methods from the Margins, Toronto: Garamond Press, 1989.
Recommended Text: John Lofland & Lyn Lofland, Analyzing Social Settings: A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1995 (3rd Edition).
A packet of required readings will be available for purchase at the SFU bookstore.

Assignments and Evaluation:

(Subject to Minor Revisions)
Project Proposal 20%
Three Method Reports 30% (10% each method)
Final Proposal 40%
Participation 10%

The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to the established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to “Intellectual Honesty” and “Academic Discipline” (see the current Calendar, General Regulations section).