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.
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.
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. Do not go over the results study by study. You did that in II. I want to know about the distribution of research results. Did two of the five support you hypothesis? Three? All five?
B. Critique the results either–
1. in terms of inconsistencies in results across the studies–why are they inconsistent? This
only applies if only some of the studies support your hypothesis. Provide justified
explanations for why some studies are consistent with the your topic and some not. If for
instance three of your studies are consistent with your topic and two are not, what
differentiates the three from the two? That difference must explain why the researcher
got such different results.
2. in terms of future directions for research on your research question or hypothesis, if you do not have inconsistencies. What should researchers do next and why in terms of your rationale?
