Fall 2017 - CMNS 261 C100

Documentary Research in Communication (3)

Class Number: 4705

Delivery Method: Distance Education

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Distance Education

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Dec 8, 2017
    Fri, 3:30–5:30 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    CMNS 110 or 130.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Media and communication studies often utilize historical, governmental and corporate records. The course introduces the techniques necessary to analyze the primary source documents. Topics include: ethics; documentary discourse analysis; Canadian and international documentary searches on NGOs, governments, corporations; writing of policy briefs.

COURSE DETAILS:

The purpose of this course is to help students develop skills in finding and interpreting print and electronic documents, skills you will need for other communication courses. It is a course in which you learn by doing, so most of the mark (75 percent) derives from the three research assignments. The first assignment deals with finding and interpreting statistical information. The second assignment deals with policy research; how policies are made, who makes them, and who benefits from them. The third assignment is about corporate power research; finding, sorting and assessing information about a major media or information company and the people and interests behind it. The exam provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate the skills you have acquired in the course.

Grading

  • Assignments 75%
  • Final Exam 25%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Communication Research: Strategies & Sources (2010, 7th ed.), Rubin et al.

ISBN: 9780495095880

Centre for Online and Distance Education Notes:

All CODE Courses are delivered through Canvas unless noted otherwise on the course outline.
https://canvas.sfu.ca

Required Readings listed on the course outlines are the responsibility of the student to purchase. Textbooks are available for purchase at the SFU Bookstore on the Burnaby campus or online through the Bookstore's website.

All CODE courses have an Additional Course Fee of $40

Exams
If applicable, please refer to Canvas for the most updated Take Home Midterm/Final exam times. Exams are scheduled to be written on the SFU Burnaby campus at the noted time and date (unless noted as a take-home exam).

Students are responsible for following all Exam Policies and Procedures (e.g., missing an exam due to illness).

This course outline was accurate at the time of publication but is subject to change. Please check your course details in your online delivery method, such as Canvas.



*Important Note for U.S. citizens: Effective Summer 2016, as per the U.S. Department of Education, programs offered in whole or in part through telecommunications, otherwise known as distance education or correspondence are ineligible for Federal Direct Loans. This also includes scenarios where students who take distance education courses outside of their loan period and pay for them with their own funding, and attempt to apply for future Federal Direct Loans. 

For more information about US Direct Loans please visit and to read our FAQ on distance education courses, please go here: http://www.sfu.ca/students/financialaid/international/us-loans/federal-direct-loan.html

 

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS