Details about the Comm research paper
The topic of my Comm research paper is the effectiveness of micro social media
influencers vs using traditional social media
advertising on Instagram. (This needs some
work)
I have attached what I wrote so far, it needs some work.
I have also included a sample paper that received a perfect score.
There also needs to be a few sample survey included in the paper. See the paper
example.
Also, the research articles need to come from the SBCC (Santa barbara
Community College Luria Library). Some can
be outside of this. Let me know if you can get
access to this.
Instructions:
Your paper should have the following format:
1. Introduction (do not use a heading for this section)
Here you should remind the reader (that’s me) of your particular
communication topic. Open with general comments about communication,
cite past research, and then lead into your thesis statement. Your
introduction should answer the question, “What is the gap in research?”
Your introduction should also include a preview of the major points of your
paper, and a transition to your next paragraph. The introduction sets the
tone for the entire paper, so make it a good one. This section is at least 2
paragraphs and about 1-2 pages.
2. Theoretical Background (Center and use Theoretical Background as
a heading)
First, devote 2-4 paragraphs identifying and defining the variables you
want to study. Next, you need to ground these concepts with a theory.
What communication theory(ies) helps to explain/understand your
research? For example, if you are studying self-disclosure, then what
theory(ies) explains self-disclosure? If you are studying persuasion in
advertising, then what theory(ies) explains why advertisements are
persuasive? This will be challenging, though your research should uncover
the answer. This is a good place to use textbooks as sources. See me if
you need help figuring out which theory(ies) to use. This section is at
least 2 pages.
3. Literature Review (Center and use Literature Review as a heading)
Next, in this section the paragraphs will review and summarize journal
articles that justify and demonstrate your research topic. You are trying to
help the reader understand past research about your topic. For each
article, you should summarize their results and make a connection to your
study. In addition, you can also include the methodology of the article if it is
relevant. Keep in mind, the articles you cite should be relevant to your
study to lead me to your Rationale. Be sure to use transitions between
each paragraph. This section is typically at least 3 pages and cites at
least 5 articles.
4. Rationale (Center and use Rationale as a heading)
Here, you should first summarize the articles in your Literature Review. Do
not just repeat the Literature Review. Instead, critically analyze the
research; try to establish patterns, relationships, strengths, and
weaknesses. Where is the “gap” in the research? How did these
articles get you to your hypotheses? Finally, make a statement such as,
“Given past research . . .” or “Given the literature reviewed in this paper, the
researcher poses the following hypotheses:” Then, list your hypotheses
(you can also have research questions, but must have hypotheses). For
this paper, I expect very specific, measurable hypotheses. These
should follow the format we practiced in class, see the Guide to Variables
and Hypotheses. This section is 1-3 pages.
5. Methodology (center and use Methodology as a heading)
The next several sections are the methods or choices you would make if
you were to actually conduct your study. Remember: This is hypothetical
so write in the FUTURE TENSE. This entire section is at least 3
pages.
● Research Design (use as a heading on the left margin) – in this
section, you are arguing which particular research design is most
logical for your study. In other words, would you use an
experiment, survey, or content analysis design? You need to
explain and justify, given your research problem and hypotheses,
why you have chosen this particular research design. Also,
address details about the research design; if it is an experiment,
for example, then discuss the type of experimental design.
● Participants (use as a heading on the left margin) – given the
above research design, in this section you should explain who or
what you would study. You should be as specific as possible on
the population that would be involved in your research. Explain
in detail how many participants or texts would be necessary, what
your sampling frame is, how you would sample the population,
and how you would ensure confidentiality for the participants. You
can also discuss possible demographics of the participants.
Remember, this is all hypothetical, though your research should be
reasonable and doable.
● Procedures (use as a heading on the left margin) – next, discuss
the actual procedures of the research. In other words, what would
the participants do as part of your study? For example, would
the participants fill out a questionnaire, report to some room, watch
a video, etc.? Explain very specifically and in detail how you
would go about doing the research. Look at your articles for
examples.
● Measurement (use as a heading on the left margin) – it is best to
organize this section by variable, a paragraph for each variable.
In this section, you should determine how you would measure the
variables. For example, if you are using a survey design, then
what questions would you ask? If you were to measure
self-disclosure, for example, then you would explain and justify
how to do that. If this were an experimental design, then how
would you manipulate variables? If this is a content analysis
study, then you would explain your coding form and categories.
You can use some published measurement scale (you can find
one), or you can create your own. If you use a published
measurement scale, then be sure to list past alpha reliability
levels and cite the original source of the scales. Either way, you
should include a complete example of your measurement in an
Appendix section of your paper.
6. Results (center and use as a heading)
This section is a bit unusual for this paper. While you are not actually
conducting any research and you will not have any true results, I want you
to tell me which statistical tests you would use to find your results and
how these statistics work. For example, would you test for differences
with a t-test or some other test? Would you test for relationships with a
correlation? Tell me which statistic(s) you would use to determine your
hypothetical results and why based on the hypotheses of your study.
Section is 1-2 pages.
7. Discussion (center and use as a heading)
Here you should first remind the reader of the purpose of this paper.
Then, explain the possible results of your hypothetical study, and how
these results might contribute to the communication discipline. How would
your hypotheses turn out? Next, address limitations of your study. Finally,
end your paper with possible suggestions for future research and the
need to do this research. Don’t forget the importance of a solid conclusion.
This section is 2-4 pages.
Minimum Requirements:
1. Typed, double-spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 pt font, with Title and
References pages.
2. Submit your paper as a PDF. The formatting works better this
way!
3. The paper is 3500 words minimum (at least 12 pages).
4. Include Appendices for example survey questions,
measurements, and tables.
5. Include a your paper’s word count on the title page.
6. Minimum of 8 primary source references, though “A” papers will
use more. Remember you must cite at least 8 COMM journal
articles.
7. Give yourself enough time to edit your paper.
8. You will submit your paper directly on Canvas using the turnitin
tool.
9. I will grade your paper anonymously (I will NOT know your
name) using the Anonymous Grading tool on Canvas.
10.Good luck!!
