Research Methods in Communications

Catalog description

The scientific method; survey of basic concepts of theoretical and empirical research; variety of methodology; criteria for adequate research. COMM 506 Introduction to Mass Communications Research (3) COMM 506 provides an overview of and foundation in research. Students are exposed to the nature of scientific inquiry, the process of concept explication, operationalization, measurement, and sampling. They also learn how to ask a research question. Research ethics, the logic and mechanics of experimental methods, fundamentals of survey design, and content analysis are also discussed. Students demonstrate the concepts learned in class by completing their own research project. Students also are exposed to statistical logic and practice in the context of their own project.