Topic selection and justification

Topic Selection paper – Research Methods – 150 points (15% of your final)

Objective: In this 2-page paper you will work on the introduction to your research project, which will be expanded on in the next assignment.

APA Format (Use APA format template from Blackboard):

• Title and References page
• One-inch margins, Times New Roman Font, 12-point size

Due on Blackboard at 11.59pm on Feb 21st

Introduction:

• First, describe your proposed research project in a sentence or two using two reputed cites (news sources or research sources). Also discuss why this topic is important to study right now. Then discuss the historical and contemporary context within which you’re studying this problem.
• Next, discuss: how do you think this project relates to communication studies?
• Next, provide the two concepts you are going to link together.
• Then state your (tentative) research question. i.e. what question do you hope to answer at the end of this project?
• You would then discuss possible text(s) or data. Remember that your text/data is your object of study. E.g., I will analyze XYZ TV show, interpersonal conversation, an ethnographic site such as a student organization’s meetings, interview transcripts, open-ended survey data, etc. If you’re unsure about this, talk to me.
• Then, discuss one prior research study related to this topic, including the study’s research questions, methods and findings.

For example, let’s say you’re studying how TV show genres portray girls/women in the sciences, you will outline how there are fewer women in the STEM fields and you may be interested in arguing that science/medicine/sci-fi themed TV shows reinforce how things are in the real world rather than promoting a more optimistic or enabling representation of women in the sciences.

You might start by discussing generally how fewer women choose to go into science fields in college. You may then preview how this problem relates to communication. So you might start by outlining that TV shows generally depict few women in the sciences and that when they are represented, they do not receive a central storyline. You might then more specifically discuss recent shows of the genres mentioned above and how they represent women in the sciences.