Interpersonal Research Project

It’s your turn! For all of the research we have examined about interpersonal communication, here is an opportunity to add your voice to our understanding. This assignment requires you to examine a particular aspect of interpersonal communication of interest to you and to review how it has been studied in previous scholarly works as well as to conduct your own original research and analysis. To accomplish this, you will select a communication problem, issue or topic and read at least five (5) scholarly articles on the topic. Because your study will be relatively informal, your conclusions will not carry the weight of statistical significance; nonetheless, your experience will testify to the importance of conceptualizing, measuring, testing, and analyzing the various ways humans interact with one another and their environments. You will be collecting original data but please note, you may not collect data from your COMM 207 peers. While not a formal research study, your academic references should be listed in APA format on a bibliography at the end of your paper. Additionally, you should include in-text citations where the information is referenced within the paper.
Working as an individual or in pairs, you (and your partner) will design and conduct an informal communication study. You will submit a written report via Blackboard (please see deadline in your syllabus €“ no late papers accepted). You will also present your findings to the class at the end of the semester in a brief presentation.
In your double-spaced written study presentation, include the following:
1. What you want to know . . .
Identify a communication-related topic you want to explore. What question about interpersonal communication do you want answered? Make it narrow and be specific. State this as a research question or hypothesis.
2. What you know so far . . .
Describe what prompted your question. How did you think of it? What did we discuss in class or what have you read that made you ask this question? What do we know about this topic so far? Summarize all the pertinent information we have studied in class as well as your own outside research to provide a rationale for your question. This is the justification for your study to be conducted. You must discuss
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and cite a minimum of five (5) research articles. These references should be included on your bibliography at the end of the paper and in-text citations should be used where the information is referenced in the paper.
3. What you’re going to find out . . .
Describe in detail the methods you used to answer your question/hypothesis. Include a copy of any questionnaires, surveys, or other such measurement instruments used during data collection. How did you arrive at your data collection instrument (Did you construct it? Did you borrow from other researchers? Did you modify an instrument you located?)
4. What you did . . .
Describe how and when you conducted your study. Describe your study population. Include the number, age, and gender of participants, the time and days during which the study took place, and any other pertinent details.
5. What you found . . .
Analyze and interpret your results in detail. You must tie your research activity and results back to a minimum of two (2) interpersonal concepts or theories. What conclusions, if any, can you make? Did you get any unexpected results? How do your results compare to others who conduct this type of research?
6. Bottom line . . .
Offer a conclusion. Discuss what you learned about interpersonal communication and what you learned about conducting a research study. What didn’t get answered or still needs to be addressed in future studies? Would you do anything differently?
7. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar in written report Your paper should include the above referenced six (6) sections. Please be certain to respond fully to each section and questions included in the section description. There is no page limit for this activity; however, papers submitted in past semesters have ranged from 6-8 pages in length
All papers (double-spaced) are due by the deadline stated in your syllabus, regardless of your presentation date, and should be submitted online via Blackboard. Late papers will not be accepted. You are encouraged to begin your work early to allow time for troubleshooting any computer mishaps you might encounter as they are not an acceptable excuse for a late paper. .