Fostering Civic Engagement in the Communication Research Methods Course

Courses: Communication Research Methods, Senior Capstone.

Objectives: After completing this course, students will be able to: ? appreciate the role of empirical communication research in solving social and organizational problems;

? identify issues and needs in the community that can be addressed with empirical communication research;

? choose appropriate research methods for addressing different issues and needs;

? use various communication research methods to address community issues and needs;

? present research findings and recommendations to community organizations;

? demonstrate an increased commitment to active citizenship.

     

A critical examination of communication textbooks

ABSTRACT

Courses: This single-class teaching activity was designed for courses on critical communication pedagogy (CCP), gender and race, communication education, research methods, and visual communication.

Objectives: By completing this activity, students should be able to (1) describe the principles of CCP, (2) examine critically how race and gender are represented in communication textbooks, and (3) identify how textbooks reproduce and reflect dominant assumptions about the study of communication, race, and gender.     

Children's Literature in the Undergraduate Course on Communication Research Methods

Objective: Students will develop positive attitudes toward communication research by linking new values and principles with the familiar values and principles contained in children's literature

Course: Communication Research Methods

Objective: Students will develop positive attitudes toward communication research by linking new values and principles with the familiar values and principles contained in children's literature     

Blogging in the Communication Technology Course

Courses: Communication Technology or New Media; could also be used in Broadcast Journalism, Print Journalism, Public Relations, Advertising, or other communication courses

Objectives: By creating and maintaining a blog, students will improve their research and writing skills, participate in collaborative learning, and acquire the digital literacy skills necessary for success in rapidly changing media and communication industries     

Introducing computational social science for Asia-Pacific communication research

ABSTRACT

Computational social science has caused a shift of research paradigm in social science in general and communication in particular. The special issue brings together a community of active researchers to introduce computational social science for Asia-Pacific communication research. The special issue outlines major computational methods closely related to communication research and demonstrates how computational methods can be applied to address theoretical and practical questions in Asia-Pacific societies. The advantages and limitations of computational methods have been conceptually discussed and/or empirically illustrated. Finally, the special issue provides a guideline of conducting computational research for communication researchers in Asia-Pacific societies and beyond.     

Directions in television and aging research

Following from a summary review of television and aging research studies, methodological difficulties of past investigations and needed directions for future mass communication and aging research are discussed.     

Street Crossing: Observational Research and Developing Health Communication Strategies

Courses: Advertising Account Planning, Research Methods, Health Communication

Objective: In this unit activity, students learn about conducting observational research, segmenting audiences for communication campaigns, and the importance of sharing the thinking behind their research—explaining how they operate as problem solvers.     

Self‐report scales of communication apprehension and autonomic arousal (heart rate): A test of construct validity

Previous research has typically relied upon self‐report scales of communication apprehension without assessing construct validity. This study attempts to assess the construct validity of selected scales and the constructs “communication anxiety” and “communication fear.” The results indicate higher levels of physiological arousal increase for females. Only scales purporting to measure communication fear were able to predict an a priori product of communication apprehension autonomic arousal.     

Role of the Information Professional in the Development and Promotion of Digital Humanities Content for Research,Teaching, and Learning in the Modern Academic Library: An Irish Case Study

ABSTRACT

The Internet has been the catalyst for the convergence of many subject areas and online platforms. Information professionals such as Archivists, IT developers and especially Librarians have been impacted in the development and promotion of digital humanities content for research, teaching, and learning in the modern academic library. In this case study, relevant findings from research that sought to determine the level of awareness of digital humanities in Irish Libraries is examined. The research project, The Mary Martin Diary, is highlighted as an example of a multidisciplinary collaboration project that utilized library communication skills, project management skills, digital humanities tools and techniques, as well as other online resources in its development. These skills and tools have the potential to be applied to similar projects that librarians engage in. Recommendations derived from this research highlight the practical application of skills for information professionals and their roles in the development and promotion of digital humanities content for research, teaching, and learning in the modern academic library.     

Interoperable community platforms and identity management in the university domain

Abstract

Community support systems (community platforms) that are providing a rich communication medium for work‐ or interest groups are gaining more and more attention in application areas ranging from leisure support and customer support to ‘knowledge management. One of these application areas is the support of teaching and research activities in universities. In this article we first identify possibilities for community platforms in universities and present some applications at Technische Universität München (TUM). From the current situation at TUM we motivate that a key feature of future community platforms has to be interoperability, and concentrate on how to provide interoperability in general, and how we are doing it in the environment at TUM. In particular we focus on service independent identity management as one central aspect of interoperability.     

P-value Club: Teaching Significance Level on the Dance Floor

Courses: Beginning research methods and statistics courses, as well as advanced communication courses that require reading research articles and completing research projects involving statistics

Objective: Students will understand the difference between significant and nonsignificant statistical results based on p-value     

Critical communication pedagogy and service learning in a mixed-method communication research course

ABSTRACT

Course: Mixed-Method Communication Research Methods

Objective: The purpose of this semester-long activity is to provide students with opportunities to cultivate mixed-method communication research skills through a social justice-informed service-learning format. Completing this course, students will be able to: recognize the unique strengths of quantitative and qualitative research methods; locate, evaluate, and utilize scholarly literature for a literature review; conduct an original research project using quantitative and qualitative research methods to gather and analyze data; and raise self and community awareness about a social issue through collaboration with a community organization.     

Methods and Approaches to Using Web Archives in Computational Communication Research

ABSTRACT

This article examines the role of web archives as a critical source of data for conducting computational communication research. Web archives are large-scale databases containing comprehensive records of websites showing how those websites have evolved over time. Recent communication scholarship using web archives is reviewed, demonstrating the breadth of research conducted in this space. Subsequently, a methodological framework is proposed for using web archives in computational communication research. As a source of data, web archives present a number of methodological challenges, particularly with regards to the accuracy and completeness of web archives. These problems are addressed in order to better inform future work in this area. The closing sections outline a forward-looking trajectory for computational communication research using web archives.     

‘Health literacy for all’: exploring the feasibility of an intervention to reduce health disparities among rural children

ABSTRACT

Roughly one in five U.S. children live in rural areas and they are more likely than nonrural children to experience chronic illnesses, unfulfilled medical needs, and poverty – yet health literacy intervention research for rural children is lacking. Thus, this study explores a health literacy intervention in two rural public elementary schools that have very different socioeconomic levels, educational achievement rates, and initial health literacy scores. Findings show significant improvement in health literacy in the low-income school, such that the initial differences in health literacy between the two schools were no longer present at posttest (p?<?.001). There was a slight improvement in School 1 students' perceived confidence to communicate with healthcare providers, but School 2 students' communication confidence did not change from pre to post intervention. The hopeful outcomes suggest implications for future school-based interventions that teach young children about health communication, self-efficacy, and critical decision-making.     

Understanding the scope of a field: Using awards to enhance graduate student socialization and network building

Graduate courses are designed to help students learn discipline-specific knowledge, theories, and methods, but also to socialize them into the larger professional network. The awards assignment in this paper is designed to familiarize students with a wide variety of scholars and research within a field of study, to engage them creatively with synthesizing and assessing a field of study, to build strong arguments, and to enhance their socialization and networking opportunities.

Course: Any graduate-level survey course focused on a particular area of communication studies (e.g. instructional communication, health communication, family communication).

Objectives:

• (1)?Understand the historical, philosophical, and foundational roots of a field of study, including people, concepts, theories, and research studies.

• (2)?Critically evaluate scholars, constructs, theories, and research.

• (3)?Develop sound and supported arguments regarding critical evaluations and decisions.

• (4)?Socialize students into a field of study.

• (5)?Begin building students’ scholarly networking opportunities.

     

Relational Framing Theory and Coming-Out Narratives: A Data Analysis Activity

Courses: This single class activity would be most useful in interpersonal, family, gender/sexuality communication, or research methods courses. This activity facilitates better discussion in a small or seminar-style class with students who have had pervious exposure to or who are in the process of learning about interpersonal communication theory or research methods.

Objectives: The goals for this activity are to (a) practice data analysis utilizing a specific theory, (b) identify the presence of relational frames and judgments to become more familiar with the interpersonal dimensions of coming-out interactions, (c) appreciate a multiplicity of data interpretations through the practice of group coding, and (d) practice evaluating the quality of data interpretations.     

Stay woke: The Black Lives Matter movement as a practical tool to develop critical voice

Courses: This unit activity is suited for upper-level college courses on persuasion, intercultural communication, diversity, leadership, social justice, civil discourse, argumentation, debate, and political communication.

Objectives: After completing this unit, learners should be able to: improve their capacity to examine arguments; enhance their ability to self-reflect; improve their ability to engage in civil discourse; take a position on a social justice issue based on research and recursive communications; and make connections to learners and social activists who share their perspectives.     

A study of the communications of executives in business and industry

This research study was addressed to the question of how group composition, based upon Machiavellian characteristics and under conditions of structured and unstructured task assignments, would affect the dispersion of group communication and reactions. The data suggested that both Machiavellianism and task structure significantly influence group communication, but that they are not dependent upon one another. Reasons for these findings and the applications to group communication theory are discussed.     

Logical empiricism and the study of human communication

The logical empiricist philosophy of science which underpins the bulk of contemporary communication research is outlined and recent criticisms of this view are surveyed. Two implications concerning the conduct of communication theory and research are drawn from these criticisms: (i) maximally productive research involves the systematic extension, elaboration, and defense of a theoretical framework and (ii) theoretical and conceptual analysis should be recognized as an important element in the achievement of a satisfactory theoretical account.     

A consumer's view of crisis communication: Can an organization benefit from having a response plan?

Crisis communication research establishes the importance of relationships between organizations and their publics. While theoretical treatments and case studies support this relationship, limited empirical investigations have examined how organizational responses to crisis influence public responses. This study sought to determine if grocery shoppers responded differently to organizations engaging in crisis communication practices and those that do not. Results indicate that respondents express stronger intention to continue purchasing from an organization and see the organization as concerned and respectful of the consumer when it engages in crisis communication practices. The discussion section addresses implications of these findings for future research and public relations practice.