COMS356 Introduction to Behavioral Research Methods in Communication
HW #1: Summary of an Article
THIS SHOULD BE COMPLETED INDIVIDUALLY
Due Date: Friday, September 13th
· If you do not turn your assignment in on the day and time it is due, 10% will be deducted for every day (including weekends) it is late (see the syllabus for detail).
· Remember to submit your summary to SafeAssign before it is due in class.
· Bring a hardcopy of your summary to class.
Points Possible: 20
Pages: 1-2 pages (single space within paragraph, double space between paragraph, 12 font, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins) – Going over 2 pages will result in a 3-point deduction per page.
Objectives:
1. Be able to read an academic research article and understand its content
2. Be able to identify argument toward each hypothesis
3. Be able to identify variables, including the distinction between IV and DV, used in the study
4. Be able to critique the study for future research
5. Be able to follow APA style for in-text citation and reference
Your Mission:
1. Obtain the assigned article through Blackboard. You will choose ONE of the four articles. The articles are each within the co
esponding folder of the project topic they are connected to. (See: Project Materials tab).
2. Read the assigned article thoroughly. The lecture on “How to Read an Article” should provide you enough information regarding the structure of the article as well as the content of each section (i.e., Introduction/Rationale, Literature Review, Method, Results, and Discussion/Conclusion).
3. Summarize each section using your own words. Summary must be in an essay format. Use sub-heading within the summary (e.g., Rationale, Literature Review, Method, etc.). You may use direct quotations only for hypotheses but remember to cite with APA style.
4. After summarizing the article, discuss the following in a few sentences. Review the lecture on “How to Read an Article” and examples shown in class.
a. Argumentation Analysis: Focus on paragraphs leading to Hypothesis 1 in the study. You should analyze the structure of those paragraphs and discuss how the researchers constructed argument to build up to Hypothesis 1 using specific examples from those paragraphs. You may use graphical representations (a
ows, etc.) instead of essay format to describe the structure of argument. Please do not just summarize the paragraphs.
. Criticism: Consider the execution and results of the study and think about limitations. Specifically, discuss reasonable limitations of the study that you see, not just those listed in the article. You should provide possible alternative explanations to the results and explain why.
c. Other Possible Outcomes: Review the lecture on “Independent and Dependent Variables.” In your opinion, what would be other dependent variables that may be related to the independent variable(s) examined in the study? Provide THREE alternative dependent variables that you may suggest for the future research.
Structure of the Summary
1. Full APA (5th or 6th ed.) citation
2. Rationale/Purpose of the Study: a few sentences
a. What is the goal of this study?
. Why is this study important?
3. Literature Review: 1 paragraph for each hypothesis
a. List the independent and dependent variables for each hypothesis.
. Focus on the argument that the researcher(s) built toward each hypothesis.
c. What are pieces of evidence provided to support the prediction?
4. Method: a few sentences
a. What did the researcher(s) do? Survey, experiment, etc?
. How did they collect the data?
c. How many participants and what are the characteristics of those participants?
5. Results: 2-3 paragraphs
a. What is the name of the statistical test did the researcher(s) use for each research question and/or hypothesis?
. What did they find? You don’t have to provide statistical results, but look for places where you can find non-statistical expressions for the findings.
6. Discussion: a few sentences
a. What are the implications that the researcher(s) provide?
. What limitations do you see that are not listed in the article?
7. Argumentation Analysis
8. Criticism
9. Other Possible Outcomes
Grading Ru
ic for HW#1
10. Full APA (5th or 6th) citation (1 pt)
11. Rationale/Purpose of the Study: a few sentences (2 pts)
a. The goal of the study is clearly, accurately, and precisely described.
. The importance of the study is clearly and accurately summarized.
12. Literature Review: 1 paragraph for each hypothesis (3 pts: 1 pt for each DV)
a. The relationship between IV and each DV is accurately summarized.
. Pieces of evidence are summarized in a logical manner.
13. Method: a few sentences (2 pts)
a. Indicates how the study was ca
ied out..
. Demographic information (N, sex of the participants, etc.) is
iefly described.
14. Results: 2-3 paragraphs (4 pts)
a. Co
elational analyses are used for all the hypotheses.
. Results are accurately summarized.
1. H1a:
2. H1b:
3. H2a:
4. H2b:
5. H3a:
6. H3b:
7. H4:
15. Discussion: a few sentences (2 pts)
a. Implications of the study are
iefly summarized.
. At least one limitation is provided.
16. Argumentation Analysis (2 pts)
a. Analysis presents thorough understanding of the structure of the paragraphs for H1.
. Analysis is accurate.
17. Criticism (2 pts)
a. Reasonable criticism is provided.
18. Other Possible Outcomes (2 pts)
a. Three alternative outcomes are listed.
. Alternatives are all DVs.
c. Alternatives are reasonable for the given IV.
Kept within 2 pages: YES / NO ( ___ pages x (-3 pts) = _____ )
TOTAL: /20