COMM THEORY - ATTRIBUTION THEORY/CRISIS/COVID

Submit: Assignment 1 – Final Project Literature Review, due Tuesday, Week 2 (9/1)

Instructions

COMM 300 6380 Communication Theory (2208)

Assignment 1 – Final Project Literature Review, due Tuesday, Week 2

This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade.

For this step of your final project’s development, you will write a literature review on what you have learned from your research and understand about the communication theory that you plan to use in your final project. You should be able to use the material that you develop here in your final project. Before you tackle this exercise, please make sure you have read the Week 2 course materials.

Objective: To demonstrate a thorough understanding of your communication theory and how it relates to your workplace* communication problem.

Skills: This assignment will help you refine your abilities to execute the following skills for professional-level research:

identify and formulate research questions that clearly define and focus what you would like to investigate in school or on the job; locate authoritative information in library and internet resources; analyze and assess the relevance of information to a research question, and synthesize new knowledge and establish context for your inquiries.

Background: Please begin this assignment by reading the following information carefully.

A literature review is a critical summary of what subject matter experts have to say about a question or topic. In your case, you will write an account of what scholars have published in peer-reviewed journals about the communication theory that you have determined to be relevant to the communication issue in your workplace.*

Occasionally, you will be asked in school or on the job to write a literature review as a stand-alone report. More often, you will use a literature review to establish the context

for a larger business report or business proposal, or for a scholarly report. In your case, your literature review will become a part of your report’s introduction where it will help your readers to understand why the theory is applicable to your workplace communication problem. You will use your literature review to disclose the knowledge and ideas that already have been established on your theory. However, it must not be just a description of the information available. To gain a better understanding of what a literature review is and is not, watch this video from UMGC’s Effective Writing Center at https://youtu.be/2IUZWZX4OGI .

(*Remember, if you are not employed or cannot discuss your workplace, you should be using a communication problem from another organizational setting in which you are involved for your final project, such as school, church, or a community group.)

Steps:

Begin by reviewing the list of communication theories in the Week 1, Overview 1.1, “Introduction to Theory, Theory Building, and Communication Theories.” Click on the links for any theories that you think may address your workplace* communication problem. The links will take you to entries about that theory in the < Encyclopedia of Communication Theory >.

Once you have reviewed the theories, select a communication theory that appears to be related to your paper’s research question. Then click on Resources > Library in the navigation bar across the top of your classroom screen or go directly to the UMGC Library at http://www.umgc.edu/library/library.html. The links will take you to the library’s OneSearch page.

Using OneSearch and the name of your communication theory as a search term, select the “scholarly journals only” search function and locate three academic resources about your communication theory.

Content: Based on what you learn, write a 2-page, double-spaced essay in which you explain how the theory that you have chosen relates to your final paper’s research question.

Your literature review should begin with an introduction that contains your research question, an explanation of its significance, and any other background information setting the context of your research.

Use the body paragraphs to describe and assess what you learned about the communication theory that you plan to use in your final project.

The conclusion should summarize the major issues that the researchers reported about the theory; it also should evaluate whether the theory accurately explains or can be used to resolve the workplace* communication problem you are investigating.

Format:

2 pages Double-spaced 12 point font 1” margins APA-style cover page

Do not use any quotes or paraphrases in your writing. Just synthesize and summarize what you learned about your communication theory and critique its utility for your final project.

Use American Psychological Association-style end-of-text references to document to create a list of the resources you consulted to learn about your theory. See the university library’s website at https://libguides.umgc.edu/apa-examples for guidance on how to format your references according to the latest edition of the APA’s style manual.

Resources to support this activity:

The following resources can provide you with guidance on how to analyze, write, and format a literature review.

“Writing a Literature Review Section” at https://vimeo.com/kinglibrarysjsu/lit- review-section

“Locate and Evaluate Scholarly Articles” at http://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/articles.cfm

“Secrets of My Research Success: Article Selection” at http://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/research_tutorial_articleselection.cfm

“Is My Source Credible?” at http://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/credibility.cfm

"How to Read a Research Study Article in a Scholarly Journal" by UMGC Faculty in the Week 2 learning resources

Sample format for an APA-style paper at https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_an d_style_guide/apa_sample_paper.html

Due September 1 at 11:59 PM

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Task: Submit to complete this assignment Assessment

Assignment 1 - Final

Project Literature

Review_2018

REFRESHed

Our library also has videos on how to format an APA-style paper according to the latest APA rules at https://libguides.umgc.edu/apa-document-formatting-7h and on how to create your APA-style references page at https://libguides.umgc.edu/apa- references-list-formatting-7h

Grading: For insight into your instructor's expectations for this assignment, scroll down here to click on and review its grading rubric.

Due Date: Submit your literature review as a Word .doc, .docx, or .rtf attachment only in its assignment folder under the Assignments link in your classroom by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday of Week 2. Do not submit your assignment in .pdf, .Gdoc, .Pages, or other format. See the Course Schedule in the syllabus for the exact final due date for this assignment.

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Activity Details

Synthesis and Analysis (50

points)

Exceeds Standards 5 points

Meets Standards 4.25 points

Needs Improvement 3.25 points

Does Not Meet Standards 2.5 points

Criterion Score

Identifies workplace

communication problem / 5

States research question clearly / 5

Explains significance of

research question / 5

Provides context for research

question / 5

Describes the origins, major

ideas and definitions of one

relevant communication theory

/ 5

Explores the communication

theory's meaning,

generalizability/parsimony, and

testability

/ 5

Identifies key research studies

used to develop the

communication theory

/ 5

Explains the communication

theory's applicability to a

specific workplace

communication problem

/ 5

Draws conclusions that convey

a clear understanding of the

communication theory

/ 5

Meets minimum length

requirements / 5

Documentation Style (20

points)

Exceeds Standards 10 points

Meets Standards 8.5 points

Needs Improvement 6.5 points

Does Not Meet Standards 5 points

Criterion Score

Total / 100

Overall Score

In-text citations reflect

American Psychological

Association rules

/ 10

End-of-text reference list

reflects American Psychological

Association rules

/ 10

Variety of Sources (10 points) Exceeds Standards 5 points

Meets Standards 4.25 points

Needs Improvement 3.25 points

Does Not Meet Standards 2.5 points

Criterion Score

Information reflects research

from at least three

authoritative sources

/ 5

Resources include peer-

reviewed academic journals / 5

Writing Fluency (20 points) Exceeds Standards 10 points

Meets Standards 8.5 points

Needs Improvement 6.5 points

Does Not Meet Standards 5 points

Criterion Score

Employs college-level spelling,

capitalization, punctuation, and

grammar

/ 10

Organizes information

cohesively / 10

Exceeds Standards 94.96 points minimum

A to A+

94.96 to 100 points

Meets Standards 69.96 points minimum

C- to A-

69.96 to 94.95 points

Needs Improvement 5 points minimum

D

59.96 to 69.95 points

Does Not Meet Standards 0 points minimum

F

0 to 59.95 points

Close