Instructions:

Your paper should have the following format.

1. Introduction (do not use a heading for this section)

Here you should remind the reader (that’s me) of your particular communication topic. Open with general comments about communication, and then lead into your thesis statement. This paragraph should answer the question, “What is the gap in research?” Your introduction should also include a preview of the major points of your paper, and a transition to your next paragraph. This paragraph sets the tone for the entire paper, so make it a good one. This section is less than 1 page.

2. Theoretical Background (Center and use Theoretical Background as a heading)
First, devote a short paragraph identifying and defining the variables you want to study. Next, you need to ground these concepts with a theory. What communication theory (ies) helps to
explain/understand your research? For example, if you are studying interpersonal attraction, then what theory (ies) explains interpersonal attraction? If you are studying mass media, then what theory (ies) explains the influence of the mass media? This will be challenging, though your research should uncover the answer. Keep this section brief, though detailed enough to contribute to your paper. See me if you need help figuring out which theory (ies) to use. This section is at least 2 pages.

3. Literature Review (Center and use Literature Review as a heading)
Next, your paragraphs should begin reviewing and summarizing research that justifies and
demonstrates your research problem. Mostly you want to summarize the results of past research. However, you can also include their methodology if it’s relevant. Keep in mind, the research you cite should be relevant to your study to lead me to your Rationale. Be sure to use transitions between each paragraph. Organize this section chronologically, topically, cause-effect, or inductive-deductive. This section is typically at least 3 pages.

4. Rationale (Keep to the left margin and use Rationale as a heading)

The last paragraph(s) of the paper’s Literature Review section should be your Rationale. Here, you should first summarize briefly the literature you reviewed. Then, spend a few sentences critically analyzing the research; try to establish patterns, relationships, strengths, and weaknesses. Where is the “gap” in the research? Finally, make a statement such as, “Given past research . . .” or “Given the literature reviewed in this paper, the researcher poses the following hypotheses (or research questions):” Then, list your research questions or hypotheses (you don’t need both). For this paper, though, I expect very specific, measurable questions or hypotheses. These should resemble the format we have practiced in class. This section is 1-2 pages.

5. Methodology (center and use Methodology as a heading) – the next several sections are the methods or choices you would make if you were to actually conduct your study. Remember: This is hypothetical so write in the FUTURE TENSE. This entire section is at least 3 pages.

a. Research Design (use as a heading on the left margin) – in this section, you are arguing which particular research design is most logical for your study. In other words, would you use an experimental, survey, or content analysis design? You need to explain and justify, given your research problem and literature review, why you have chosen this particular research design.
Also, address details about the research design; if it is an experiment, for example, then discuss the type of experimental design.

b. Participants (use as a heading on the left margin) – given the above research design, in this section you should explain who or what you would study. You should be as specific as possible on the population/universe that would be involved in your research. Explain in detail how many participants or texts would be necessary, how you would sample the population/universe,
and how you would ensure confidentiality for the participants. You can also discuss possible demographics of the participants. Remember, this is all hypothetical, though your research should be reasonable and doable.

c. Procedures (use as a heading on the left margin) – next, discuss the actual procedures of the research. In other words, what would the participants do as part of your study? For example, would the participants fill out a questionnaire, report to some room, watch a video, etc.?
Explain very specifically and in detail how you would go about doing the research.

d. Measurement (use as a heading on the left margin) – in this section, you should determine how you would measure or operationalize the variables. For example, if you are using a survey design, then what questions would you ask? If you were to measure communication apprehension, for instance, then you would explain and justify the use of the PRCA-24. If this is an experimental design, then how would you manipulate variables? How would you measure interpersonal attraction? Gestures? Eye contact? I strongly recommend that you use some
established form of measurement, rather than inventing your own. If you use established measurement scales, then be sure to list past alpha reliability levels, cite the original sources of the scales, and even consider reproducing the scales and including them in an Appendix section of your paper. Finally, it is best to organize this section by variable, a paragraph for
each.

6. Results (center and use as a heading) – this section is a bit unusual for this paper. While you are not actually conducting any research and you will not have any true results, I want you to tell me which statistical tests you would use to find your results. For example, would you test for differences with a t-test or some other test? Would you test for relationships with a Pearson correlation? Tell me which statistic(s) you would use to determine your hypothetical results and why, based on the hypotheses or research questions of your study. Section is less than 1 page.

7. Discussion (center and use as a heading) – here you should first remind the reader of the purpose of this paper. Then, detail the possible results of your hypothetical study, and how these results might contribute to the communication discipline. Next, address limitations of your study. Finally, end your paper with possible suggestions for future research and the need to do this research. Don’t forget the importance of a solid conclusion. This section is at least 2 pages.

Minimum Requirements:

1. Typed, double-spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 pt font, with Title and References pages.

2. The paper is 3500 words minimum (at least 12 pages).

3. Include Appendices for example survey questions, measurements, and tables.

4. Include your paper’s word count on the title page.

5. Minimum of 8 primary source references, though “A” papers will use more. You are allowed to have 2 secondary sources (citation within a citation) for this paper.