Assignment: Health Communication Research Paper

Select a topic of your choosing within the field of health communication. Suggestions for topics include but are not limited to such subjects as:

• The design and/or analysis of messages of public health information campaigns
• The role of culture in health communication
• Discussions of patient- provider interactions
• Communication systems or networks in Health Care Organizations
• Health-care advertising
• Health and public policy (HMO's, Healthcare legislation)
• How the news media covers health care
• Communication related to: death and dying, chronic illness, treatment regimens (medication adherence and health care)
• Content analysis or critical analysis of media treatments of film or television programming focusing on health care

Paper requirements

• APA style (cover page, page numbering, citation, references)
• Paper length 10 pages (double spaced)
• A minimum of 8 expert sources. Note: you may use additional popular press sources. Seek reliable, credible, and accurate sources.
• Inclusion of relevant literature.
• Note that late research papers will be reduced by a grade in they are not turned in on the due date.

What is your goal?

To combine research and relevant literature with your critical/analytical thinking to present a well-crafted argument or analysis.

Two major types of research papers.

Argumentative research paper:

"The argumentative research paper consists of an introduction in which the writer clearly introduces the topic and informs his audience exactly which stance he intends to take; this stance is often identified as the thesis statement. An important goal of the argumentative research paper is persuasion, which means the topic chosen should be debatable or controversial."

Analytical research paper:

"The analytical research paper often begins with the student asking a question (a.k.a. research question) on which she/he has taken no stance. Such a paper is often an exercise in exploration and evaluation."