Introduction to Communication Theory

Knowledge unapplied is typically not overly helpful. Knowledge, rightly applied, can be incredibly useful. Written assignment #2 is designed to give you practice with this application stage in allowing you to connect what you have learned to something concrete. What value does this information have? So what?

Your task is to apply a communication theory to a new object or communication situation and generate a brief research paper addressing this application. Your assignment in brief:

1. Come up with a research question(s) that applies a chosen communication theory to a concrete situation/object/artifact (e.g. sibling relationships/Youtube personality/media text)

2. Use your theory's methodology to approach your question

3. Collect your data

4. Analyze your data to answer your research questions

5. Think about the implications of your answered question

6. Write out your findings in essay format and submit your essay to Turnitin

Details on Each Step -

Step 1 - Select a theory to come up with some research questions

Select a qualitative theory in more detail. These theories take either an interpretive or critical approach (see the relevant section in the 'Approaches to Knowing' chapter in your textbook). Track down some sources that use this theory. In tracking down some sources for your theory, you should note some of the research questions being asked by people using your theory. You might choose to use similar research questions in applying your chosen theory to your new object/situation. No matter where your questions come from, you should establish which ones you plan to try to answer in your research.

It is typical to zero in on one or two questions and answer those rather than trying to answer multiple research questions. Sometimes these questions will be labeled Research Question #1 (RQ1), Research Question #2 (RQ2) and so on, but sometimes they will be implied in the paragraph that includes the essay's thesis statement (this is the way I typically write).

Step 2 - Use your theory to help you pick a methodology you can use to answer your research question

Ask yourself how the authors working with your theory performed their study, i.e. ask about their methodology. To be sure, not all academic articles set out a section on methodology, but most will indicate how they went about seeking answers to their questions. As with the research questions explained above, sometimes a methodology will be implied in a research paper.

You can then use this same/similar methodology for your own project. From here, you can follow your sources' lead and briefly write up your methodology as part of the project you will submit. Your methodology section essentially explains what you did in asking and answering your questions. In your case, it would be wise to devote a paragraph or two to your methodology explaining what object/situation you chose to examine and how you examined it. Maybe you looked at examples from media, maybe you recorded interactions between people, maybe you collected a series of tweets or discussion board posts.

Remember that your methodology is part of your argument, so you want it to be sound. Briefly explain why your methodology is sound. If you can think about why you are using a particular methodology, that can go a long way in ensuring the persuasiveness of your argument.

Step 3 - Collect your data

Your data serves as the evidence you will use to answer your questions. The data you collect will be related to your specific object/situation of interest. This data might be anything from transcribed conversations to careful observation to notes taken on television shows to articles from websites. Different scholars will use all kinds of different data as evidence for their claims.

No matter what data you choose, you do want to be sure you have enough to be able to make some claims about it. How do you know when you have enough data? Look at the sources you found in step #1. Look at how much data and what types of data they collect to make their arguments and pattern your work off of theirs. Your paper will be a stripped down, abbreviated version of the work they do, but you should be able to figure out how they are making their arguments and how much data is needed to support them.

Step 4 - Answer your research questions by analyzing your data/evidence

In this step, you aim to answer the primary research questions you asked by explaining how the data/evidence you will have collected answers these questions. Some scholarly articles will call this the 'Discussion', or 'Analysis' section. This section is used to make arguments in response to your research questions, arguments that are supported by the evidence you will have collected. It might be helpful to go back to the lecture on 'Research and the Research Process' as you think about generating arguments for this part of the project.

No matter, this section should be devoted to answering the research question you proposed earlier. The best analysis sections will use the data as a springboard to make arguments. The worst analysis sections do not make arguments or do not make arguments based on the collected data.

Step 5 - Consider the implications of the answers to your question

At this point, you should ask about the consequences of your research. This gets at the 'so what' question. The 'so what' question may lead to implications connected to real world, concrete situations or it may lead to implications connected to more abstract ideas. Answering 'so what' may do both. In either case, both types of implications are legitimate findings that can come out of a research paper.

In thinking about implications, you might ask one or more of the following questions: 1) What does your application show us about the object/situation? What do we find out about that object/situation that we didn't know before?; 2) What does your application show us about the theory? What might the application confirm about the theory? Where might your application challenge the theory's assumptions or validity? Do aspects of the theory need to be reconsidered in some way?; 3) What consequences does your study have for thinking about communication in everyday life? What difference does your study make?

Step 6 - Write out your findings from steps 1-5 in research paper form and submit to Turnitin Your papers should follow this general format: 1) introduction with a thesis statement; 2) methodology; 3) analysis; 4) implications; and 5) conclusion. It is fine to use headings for each section as a way to organize your project.

Remember that the most important sections are sections (4) and (5) as they most clearly demonstrate your thinking and contribution to learning something new. If (4) and (5) are the most important sections, they should make up the bulk of your paper as well. Submit your completed assignment to Turnitin.