COMM 5411 Final Project Hewes

Your goal in this paper is to demonstrate your understanding of an area of group research at greater depth than was covered in class. I. Introduction A. Research Question or Hypothesis. Your topic must involve two variables and the relationship between Them.

1. For continuous variables the more A, the more (or lesser) B. For instance, the greater the cohesiveness in a group, the higher the quality of solution that group will produce. 2. For comparative variables—If there are two (or more) types of X (X1 and X2), X1’s leader to more Y than X2’s. For example, Authoritarian Leaders have groups that are more productive and Democratic Leaders. B. Provide a brief rationale why your topic is important. You should at least one of the types of rationale below, though more types are better. Rationale Types (any or all)—2-3 pages

1. Practical Import–helps to solve real-world problems. You will often find this in either the introduction to the article, the first couple of paragraphs or so, or in the conclusion section. Be sure to spell this out fully. What problem does this research help us solve. How important is that problem.

2. Theoretical Import–advances the development of theory. Be sure to give a brief description of the theory, why it is an important theory, and what role does this research serve in testing that theory 3. Intrinsic Interest–interesting to a discipline but not researched previously. This one is tough for most undergraduates. You need to know what the field of Communication thinks as important and why this article addresses it. C. Preview of the Rest of the Paper—1/2 page II. Review of Literature–Description of five studies that are directly related to your topic. These studies must contain research that directly addresses you research question or hypothesis. Note: These must contain data gathered by the researchers published in a scholarly journal. If you are unsure if what you have fits this description, check with me. 6-10 pages A. What were the results of each? Focus only on those parts of the study directly related to your topic. B. Describe any methodological issues that you think might be important for your critique. It is best to outline the critique before finishing this part for the five articles. Your critiques may be based on problems with those studies. III. Critique Evidence Relevant to Your Research Question or Hypothesis. Approx.. 2-3 pages Summarize the Cumulative Impact of the five studies on your research question or hypothesis.