Overview
Communication 228
My topic: Is the size of one's social network related to communication apprehension?
Research Design Paper • I will provide you with a research question that you will use to write a short research report. (Note, you MUST use the question I provide. Failure to use the provided question will result in a grade of 0 for the paper.) • Using the skills that you have learned from class you should identify an effective method for answering the research question (e.g., an experiment or a survey). • You should then describe the specific fashion in which you would design a study to answer the research question, including conceptual and operational definitions of the variables, the subject population, the procedures you would follow, and the statistical test you would use. • Keep the paper focused on the specific question – do not get distracted by related issues that are not specifically a part of the assigned question (e.g., whether there are gender differences when the research question does not specifically mention them). • The deadline for the paper is 10 PM Tucson time on Wednesday, November 27. Please upload your paper to D2L under 'Assignments'. The paper MUST be arranged in the following fashion with the headings specified (i.e., method, sampling, key variables, analysis): Paper Format Introduction Your Name RQ: Your assigned research question (retype it on assignment—remember, it must match the one you were assigned) H: Write the RESEARCH (i.e., alternative) hypothesis, which should be directional (null hypothesis will be graded 0) Section 1: METHOD Explain which method you would use to examine the question (e.g., an experiment or a survey), and why that method is most appropriate for the specific question. Your explanation should specify the advantages of using the method you choose over others, and/or specific constraints (e.g., feasibility) that compel you to use one method instead of another. Consider the ethical implications of your research. Acknowledge any limitations. Max: 300 words. Note that under no circumstances should you propose a content/interaction analysis or some version of a qualitative study!
Section 2: SAMPLING Explain your sampling procedure, including who will be in the sample, where your participants will come from, how many participants will be included, and how they will be selected. Define the population of interest (e.g., all people in the United States of a specific age or characteristic) and identify the specific sample type (e.g., a convenience sample of University of Arizona undergraduates). Explain why the sample is appropriate (e.g., is it representative of the population to which you want to generalize?) and what constraints make it less than perfect. Acknowledge limitations in the sample. Max: 200 words. Section 3: KEY VARIABLES Say explicitly which variables are being examined—each student’s research question contains two variables so you must describe both in this section. Provide conceptual and operational definitions of each (and you can find these explained in Chapter 4 of your text) and why you think the variables should be related in the manner stated in your hypothesis. These definitions should be clear and explicit. Providing materials like an exact replica of questionnaire items or experimental stimuli will be rewarded (e.g., describe the specifics of experimental stimuli, and so on, if applicable). You are encouraged to do some research to find out if others have already measured your variable, and you may use an existing measure in your paper if it fits your research question and hypothesis. Materials like questionnaire items are additional to this word limit and should be included as an Appendix (labeled and referred to in your narrative, e.g., “See Appendix A”). Your goal is to help the reader understand exactly how you generate NUMBERS in order to do the statistical analysis. Max: 400 words. Section 4: ANALYSIS Describe which statistical test(s) would be used, and provide example data (e.g., means, correlations, a graph, a table, etc.) that reflect your expectation of what you would find assuming you reject the null hypothesis. It is not necessary to show complete calculations with fake raw data—the goal here is to demonstrate your understanding of what the data would look like, how the data would be analyzed, and what the analysis might show in order to reject the null hypothesis. For example, if your hypothesis were “Communication undergraduates have higher intelligence than sociology undergraduates,” you would provide two means on the scale of the intelligence variable identified in the previous section (with a higher mean for the communication undergrads), confidence interval, degrees of freedom, and so on. Again, you do not need to supply fake raw data (i.e., scores for each fictional person in your study). Max 200 words (plus possibly graphs/tables of numbers). TO REITERATE: You will NOT collect ACTUAL data for this paper!
General Instructions Formatting The paper should be double-spaced in 12-point font with 1” margins all around. Standard grammar, spelling, and presentation expectations apply. The maximum number of words is a MAXIMUM. You can check this easily with the “word count” feature (under “tools” in the file menu) in MS-Word. I will use it to check so you should use it, too. (By the way, you may be able to achieve a top grade using significantly fewer words.) Should you provide citations in your paper, you must use APA format. Failure to follow these instructions will significantly worsen your grade. * Useful materials about the APA style ⚫ The official guidelines: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines ⚫ The guidelines about the references: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar- guidelines/references/examples ⚫ Examples of different types of references: https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional- aids/reference-examples.pdf
When citing external sources—such as definitions, scales, survey items, rationales, etc.—you must adhere to APA style. If all the content in your paper is your own, citations are not necessary. However, if you use any established components from others’ work, you must cite them properly. This information is also included in the instructions.
How You Will Receive Your Topic I will upload a spreadsheet with your name and topic to the Announcement board on our D2L. How Your Paper Will Be Returned to You I grade papers within D2L, using Turnitin’s annotation/rubric system. You’ll need to click on the “feedback” link that will appear once the papers are graded and ready to be returned. Plagiarism I will not tolerate plagiarism so make sure that your work is original. I will submit your papers to Turnitin.com and if it flags your paper, I will not hesitate to talk about it.