Blog 10

Many times, I think research methods has a very dull kind of connotation to the students. To help students get excited about a subject like research methods, I think we should give them a taste of what it feels like to construct a research project. I propose we take the first half the semester doing bookwork. Learning how research is conducted and the different ways of conducting it. In the second portion of the semester, students would group up and create a research project together. They would learn to work together in a research team and create a research project that they found to be interesting. Not only will they be broadening their skills in a group communication, but they will be furthering their understanding of the research field.
Course Description:
In this course, we will focus on research, and how research is conducted in the communication field. We will cover scholarly research articles and break them down as a class. We will learn the differences in research and learn how to read and understand research data.
Course Learning Goals:
By the end of this semester students will have a clear understanding of the importance of research in a communication setting and the ways of conducting that research. They will learn how to read the data, and how the data is collected from the research projects.
Assignments:
The semester will be split up in two halves. The first half of the semester the students will be doing book work; blog posts, milestones, and tests. In this time, the students will be gaining a clear understanding on how and why research is conducted, and how to implement those things into their own research. They will learn the differences between qualitative data and quantitative data, and how that data is collected. The second half of the semester will be the application of their knowledge. Each of the students will be given the opportunity to showcase their knowledge by creating a mockup research project. They will be working alongside an imaginary research team comprised of their fellow classmates. There will be milestones, that will keep Dr. Delaney in tune with the groups progress. At the end of the semester, the students will give a group presentation covering what they learned in their research, and how they decided to conduct that research.