SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
CMNS 362-4

EVALUATION METHODS FOR APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

Prerequisiste:

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

This course will introduce students to research design and techniques for the study of impact of new media and technologies, new communication policies and practices in their socio-economic and cultural context. The emphasis in this course will be on qualitative methods and approaches that can be applied to research questions in many areas, including those relevant to both public and private sector organizations.

During the course students will develop an original research proposal from scratch, working through the various steps and operational decisions needed to design and implement an applied communication study.

Required Readings:

Nicholas R. Walliman. (2001). Your Research Project: A Step-by-Step Guide for the First-Time Researcher. SAGE. ISBN: 0761965394
David Silverman. (1997). Qualitative Research: Theory, Method, Practice. SAGE: ISBN: 0803976666
Marilyn L. Mitchell. (1998). Employing Qualitative Methods in the Private Sector. SAGE. ISBN: 0803959818

Assignments and Evaluation:

Literature review exercise (20%)
Three pilot study reports (30%)
Final research proposal (40%)
Participation (10%)

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