Prerequisites

At least 60 credit hours including two of: CMNS 253, 260 or 261.


Course Description

The course will introduce students to techniques for research design and evaluation in the study of the introduction, uses and consequences of new media and technologies.


Grades and Assignments

Course grades will be established as follows:

25% Assignment One: Participation

While attendance at all classes and workshops is important and required for successful completion of the course, this mark is specifically awarded for quality of discussion in tutorials, and class activities.

30% Midterm Exam:

The midterm exam will be held in Week 7, and covers all lecture material, readings and discussions that have been introduced.

45% Assignment Two (Two Parts)

Small groups (of Four) will work collaboratively to apply the internet research methods taught in the first half of the course to a study/analysis of two online seminars. The groups will present draft reports to the class in Weeks 10 and 11 (worth 15%- grade will be partially determined through peer evaluation). The final research report is due Week 13, the final day of class (worth 30%).

There is NO FINAL EXAM for this course.


Required Reading

A specific reading list will be provided in class. All readings are to be done prior to the week in which they are discussed.

Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences 3rd Edition
Bruce L. Berg, Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1998
(available in Library reserves.)

Understanding eLearning:Research Handbook:
Harasim Edited (will be available through the class email list)


Communication 362 Course Outline

Sept. 4 Introduction to the Course

Sept. 11 Introduction to Research & Field Evaluation
Key Terms and Concepts
Qualitative vs. Quantitative research
Inductive vs. deductive approaches
Introduction to Virtual Communities
Special issues in Internet based applications

Sept. 18 Research Ethics: Issues in Internet-based research
Ethical perspectives on research
Ethical context of the Internet
New platforms, new challenges
Privacy, confidentiality, anonymity
Authenticity and consent
Secondary of analysis of data and consent
Private-public eSpace
Introduction to Assignment One

Sept. 25 Research Design
Ideas and theory
Framing the research question
Literature review
Designing projects

Oct. 2 Data Collection/Data Sources
Interviews/surveys
Focus groups
Documentation
Archives (public/private)
Participant observation
Usage statistics
Conference transcripts/headers/etc
Introduction to Assignment Two

Oct. 9 Data Analysis: Using Computers
Content analysis
Discourse analysis
Pattern analysis
Transcript analysis
Emerging approaches: neural networks, data mining, Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA)
Workshop on data analysis: Assignment Two

Oct. 16 Midterm Exam: Bring a Pencil!

Oct. 23 Work shop on analysing your data (Assignment Two)

Oct. 30 Assess your evidence, reporting your evidence

Nov. 6 Class presentations: Assignment Two Draft

Nov. 13 Class presentations: Assignment Two Draft

Nov. 20 Preparing the Research Report

Nov. 27 Final Assignment Two: Due by 5:00 pm

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