This document outlines the requirements for Project #3, an original research project, in a Communication Research course. Students will design and conduct small-scale primary research on a topic of their choice using surveys, interviews, or focus groups. The project involves submitting a proposal, obtaining approval, collecting and analyzing data, and writing a final report. Key deliverables include a research proposal, measurement tools, data collection and analysis, and a written report of the results and discussion sections adhering to APA format. The goal is for students to learn about the research process from developing questions to interpreting findings.

1. Dr.
Kushin
Shepherd
University,
Department
of
Communication
You
are
free
to
modify
and
adapt
this
content
for
your
own
use
so
long
as
attribution
is
given.
Project
#3:
Original
Research
–
Interviews,
Focus
Groups,
Surveys
Comm
435:
Communication
Research
Summary:
Two
related
projects
Proposal
%
of
total
grade:
7%
Due:
see
syllabus
Finished
Study
%
of
total
grade:
20%
Due:
by
end
of
final
exam
time,
on
day
of
exam
(no
papers
will
be
accepted
late
beyond
24
hours
for
any
reason)
Purpose:
Design
and
execute
a
small-­‐scale
study
on
a
subject
of
interest,
using
surveys
and
focus
groups/or
interviews.
This
study
focuses
more
on
the
methods
of
study
(your
methods
section,
execution
of
research,
interpretation
of
results),
and
less
on
the
“problem
overview”
and
“secondary
research”)
Notes:
Group
Assignment;
There
is
a
Group
Report
Card
after
to
evaluate
your
participation
in
the
group.
Things
You
Will
Learn:
• Research
report
writing
• Using
a
problem
statement,
campaign
objectives
to
create
research
objective
and
RQs/hypotheses
• How
to
conduct
surveys,
interviews,
focus
groups.
• Creating
Surveys
in
XLS
using
FormHub
• Introductory
level
analysis
of
data
using
SPSS
software
• Interpreting
Data
•
Deliverables:
Attend
Prepared
for
Group
Meeting
(sign
up
in
class.
Dates
marked
on
syllabus
“required
group
meetings”)
Failure
to
attend
w/o
university
absence
will
result
in
a
reduction
in
final
project
grade
for
individuals
who
miss.
Part
1;
Proposal
–
upload
to
dropbox
• Pick
subject
• About
½
page
a. Write
your
Problem
Overview
&
Research
Objective
(I
understand
there
might
not
be
a
“problem”
in
the
literal
sense,
it
may
be
a
subject
of
interest,
event,
etc.
You
are
not
running
a
campaign
–
so
leave
out
campaign
objectives.
Tell
me
your
research
objective)
• About
1-­‐1.5
pages:
(see
Handout
for
structure)
relying
on
external
research.
a. Secondary
research
–
Answer:
Why
is
the
problem
a
problem?:
Provide
brief
background
on
subject
of
study
(organization,
issue,
etc.),
and
any
needed
history/context.
Who
is
being
studied
and
how
do
they
relate
to
the
“problem?”
What
are
you
planning
to
research
to
address
this
problem?
End
with
RQs/hypotheses
• References
a. 3-­‐4
sources
needed
–
used
in
secondary
research.
i. In
alphabetical
order.
We
will
complete
measurements
in
class
on
an
assigned
date
(see
syllabus).
Then,
upload
to
Dropbox
b. Design
Measurement
–
Use
or
modify
existing
measures,
or
design
new
measures
for
both
your
survey
and
interview/focus
group.
i. List
of
measures
you
can
use
is
under
“Measurement”
below
(though
you
may
develop
new
measures,
or
pull
from
other
measures)
1. Do
not
use
Rank
Order
Questions
in
your
survey;
the
software
we
use
isn’t
compatible.
ii. Refer
to
your
measures
handouts
for
guidelines.
See
“Data
collection
and
analysis
requirements”
below
for
#
of
questions,
and
respondents.
Do
not
begin
any
data
collection
until
you
have
my
approval
on
“Proposal
Feedback”
day
(see
syllabus);
However,
I
strongly
encourage
you
to
begin
recruiting
subjects
for
interviews/focus
groups
as
soon
as
possible.
Part
2:
Conduct
study
and
complete
data
analysis
and
write
up
(In
depth)

2. Dr.
Kushin
Shepherd
University,
Department
of
Communication
You
are
free
to
modify
and
adapt
this
content
for
your
own
use
so
long
as
attribution
is
given.
Fix
any
feedback
in
the
proposal,
and
attach
the
following
to
it:
• Write
Methods
–
clearly
explain
your
sampling
procedure,
measurements,
data
collection
and
analysis,
as
discussed
in
class.
(~1
page)
(See
Handout
for
structure
&
requirements)
• Administer
&
Collect
data
–
both
via
survey
and
1
of
the
options:
interviews
or
focus
groups
(use
informed
consent
–
on
Sakai)
• Analyze
data
-­‐
Survey
data
analyzed
via
SPSS
(We
will
do
basic
correlations
–
beyond
what
we
did
with
SPSS
last
time.
I
will
demonstrate
in
class
[see
syllabus]
and
I
will
help
anyone
wanting
my
help)
• Write
Results
and
Discussion
(length
as
needed)
(See
Handout
for
how
to
structure
&
requirements)
Formatting:
We’ll
use
APA
formatting
in
this
class.
Rely
on
the
“APA
Research
Paper
Template”
on
Sakai
when
writing
your
paper.
You
can
type
directly
into
it.
Overview
For
your
final
project,
your
team
will
pick
a
topic
of
interest
related
to
1
of
the
5
key
PR
variables
discussed
by
(Stacks,
2011):
Confidence,
credibility,
relationship,
reputation
(which
may
include
awareness),
trust.
If
there
are
related
attitudes
or
if
there
are
behaviors
you
are
interested
in
studying,
please
talk
to
me.
I
am
flexible.
Choose
an
event
such
as
a
speaker,
issue,
subject,
organization,
etc.,
to
do
your
project
on.
It
must
be
real
and
timely
–
so
that
the
people
participating
in
your
study
will
be
familiar
with
the
topic.
Examples:
§ Trust
in
XYZ
company
following
news
that
their
CEO
embezzled
$500,000
§ Reputation
of
Shepherdstown,
WV
in
the
county
§ Confidence
in
the
reliability
of
university
Internet
Because
this
study
will
not
undergo
IRB
(unless
you’d
like
to
apply
for
IRB):
It
must
not
be
related
to
illegal,
immoral,
sex,
alcohol,
or
other
such
subjects.
May
not
involve
vulnerable
populations
–
under
18,
pregnant,
elderly,
prison,
etc.
The
project
results
CANNOT
be
shared
outside
of
class
Measurements
We
will
discuss
measurements
in
class.
Though
you
don’t
have
to
use
these,
some
measurements
for
studying
relationships
include:
trust
(integrity,
competence,
dependability),
commitment,
satisfaction,
control
mutuality,
communal
relationships,
exchange
relationships
Measures
available
here:
§ Qualitative
–
Appendix
1
of
“Measuring
what
Matters”
or
http://bit.ly/435_measurerelationship
(p.
4-­‐5)
§ Quantitative
–-­‐
http://bit.ly/435_meas-­‐relationships
(pp.
28-­‐30).
Other
measurements:
http://bit.ly/435_othermeasures
Data
Collection
and
Analysis
Requirements
What?
• Conduct:
1
of
the
following
–
your
choice:
Interview
(4
interviewees),
Focus
Group
(1
focus
group,
with
3-­‐6
people)
• AND:
A
survey
(15
questions
minimum
including
5
max
demographic
questions.
18
respondents
minimum)
• Your
survey
and
interviews/focus
groups
can
be
on
same
subject,
but
you
may
focus
those
questions
a
little
differently
based
on
advantages
of
qualitative
and
quantitative
methods.
Collection:
(use
informed
consent
–
on
Sakai)
Again:
Do
not
begin
any
data
collection
until
you
have
my
approval
on
“Proposal
Feedback”
day
(see
syllabus);
However,
I
strongly
encourage
you
to
begin
recruiting
subjects
for
interviews/focus
groups
as
soon
as
possible.
• Interviews
–
in
person
or
phone/skype
(no
email
or
other
text-­‐based)

3. Dr.
Kushin
Shepherd
University,
Department
of
Communication
You
are
free
to
modify
and
adapt
this
content
for
your
own
use
so
long
as
attribution
is
given.
• Focus
Groups
–
In
person
or
via
a
G+
Hangout
where
all
are
present.
• Surveys
–
Digital
Surveys
using
the
Web
and/or
Field
Collection
via
Tablet
Device
Analysis:
• Interviews
and
focus
groups
analyzed
using
qualitative
approach
discussed
in
class.
• Survey
data
entered
into
Excel,
imported
into
SPSS,
and
basic
correlation
analysis
and
frequencies
will
be
conducted
in
class.