Communications Literature Review help!

Created by: Jamie Foster ([email protected])

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COMS 203: Communication and Everyday Life University of San Francisco, Fall 2015

Literature Review Assignment Due Dates: Reference List – 9/28, Draft 1 – 10/23, & Final Paper – 11/30

Purpose of Assignment: The purpose of this assignment is for you to (a) synthesize disciplinary knowledge regarding a topic of interpersonal communication research, (b) effectively write your synthesis in the style of the discipline, and (c) speak to future directions that research regarding your topic might take. Requirements: Using 5 to 7 peer reviewed scholarly communication articles you will prepare a written synthesis of the research. By scholarly, I mean that the articles should come from published peer- reviewed journals, not magazines, newspapers, conference papers, dissertations/thesis, or books. If you have any questions about whether your sources are appropriate, please ask me. You will organize your paper with an introduction, body, and conclusion. See below for specific details about each requirement for this assignment. 1. In your introduction, establish the focus of your research; include:

• A brief explanation, description, and/or definition of the topic • Offer a rationale for focusing on the topic – why is this important to study? • State a thesis regarding your reading of “the literature” (i.e., what’s the bottom line) • Preview what will follow (main ideas that support the thesis and make clear what is

going on in the research literature) • Your introduction should help your audience feel interested in the topic.

2. In the body of your paper, support your thesis with main ideas that summarize the research

regarding your topic. This is the heart of your paper and you should select an organizational framework suited to your topic (e.g., topical, chronological). • Your main points should make specific claims about what different aspects of the

literature are telling us and offer explanations of research to elaborate those claims. 3. In your conclusion,

• Review what is known about the topic • Discuss the limitations of existing research (i.e., What problems exist in our knowledge

of the topic?) • Suggest possible future directions for research (i.e., What areas or questions need to

be examined in future research?) • Propose a research question based on your review • Provide general closure.

Created by: Jamie Foster ([email protected])

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4. Your writing should be free of misspellings and grammatical errors. Refer to handout on Canvas titled, “Common Grammar Mistakes.” 5. Fully adhere to APA style (this includes a title page, reference list, and proper APA in-text format/citations).

• Refer to the APA resources posted on Canvas, as well as the handout titled “Basics of APA Style.” Remember, you will be graded based on your ability to follow APA standards.

à Writing is a process, so we will tackle this assignment step by step. Reference List Draft (10 points, due 9/28) To start practicing with APA format that first part of this assignment will include APA citations of all 5 to 7 articles. You will place your citations in alphabetical order on one page, be sure to follow APA formatting rules – use the handout “Basics of APA Style” for reference. Additionally, you will turn in copies of each articles abstracts for review. You can simply print out the first page of each article (where the author’s abstract appears) for my approval/review. Draft #1 (40 points, due 10/23) The first 4 to 5 pages of your literature review. You will focus on developing a clear introduction (see above requirements), thesis statement, and beginning to develop your synthesis. For this first draft you will develop your first main point regarding research in this area. Also, you will outline your remaining main ideas and indicate which articles have information to support those main points (simply list the heading for your remaining main points and include citations for the articles you will use in each section). Final Paper (100 points, due 11/30) This will be the completed 8 to 10 page literature review (including your APA title page and reference list).

Evaluation: Each step of the assignment is graded separately. I am looking for adherence to all content and style requirements. Evaluation is based on the degree to which those requirements are met. Note: if you have any questions or concerns about my feedback and/or evaluation process please come see me during office hours.

Created by: Jamie Foster ([email protected])

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An important reminder – about Literature Reviews (Taken from Professor Doohan’s assignment sheet) A literature review includes a synthesis of the studies that you examined, focusing on the major findings. You must carefully read the entirety of each article, but you should focus especially on the Discussion section. Please note my use of the word synthesis. I do not want a separate summary of each article; rather, I want you to present an overall picture of what you have learned from studying a small body of literature on this particular aspect of our everyday communication. Your paper should be organized into thematic subsections, each with a clear and separate heading. Some questions that may be useful to think about are: What question(s) is the research trying to answer? What connections or similarities do you see between these studies? What contexts were examined? Are the findings consistent with each other? How are the studies different? Where should we go from here (i.e., future research)? An important part of every literature review is a critique of the literature. You should consider what the studies that you reviewed did well and what was limiting about the studies you reviewed. It is often helpful to carefully review the Method section when critiquing the literature. You should think about gaps in the research overall when constructing your critique. Your critique of the literature will be a separate, labeled section and will lead up to at least one Research Question or Hypothesis. In other words, you should end with a question or educated guess about your topic that was not answered in the literature you reviewed, but that you think future research should examine. You should provide a clear rationale for your research question/hypothesis that is based on the literature you examined. Please note that you need to put the material into your own words. A few direct quotes are okay, but only when completely necessary, and only when cited correctly. Lastly, have fun with this paper, and use it as an opportunity to learn more about an area of our everyday communication that is interesting to you! Important Dates To Remember

Date

Assignment Part Method to Turn In

September 18th Literature Review Topics due

Submit your detailed topic choice on Canvas.

September 21st Library Day – start your research

We will be meeting in the electronic classroom of Gleeson Library/Geschke Center on this day. Our Communication Studies Library Liaison, Mr. Joe Garity, will be teaching a class specifically tailored to this assignment. You will also have ample time to begin your literature search. Even if you have been to a library class before, please do not miss this one. I will be taking attendance.

September 28th Reference List Draft due Bring all parts of assignment in hard copies to class only.

October 21st Workshop Day – Draft # 1 Bring 2 hard copies of 1st draft to class only.

October 23rd Literature Review Draft due Submit 1 copy to turnitin.com to Canvas and bring 1 hard copy to class for grading.

November 30th Final Literature Review Paper due

Submit 1 copy to turnitin.com to Canvas and bring 1 hard copy to class for grading.