Lecture 2 hours/week
Seminar 2 hours/week
This course emphasizes learning by doing. Some or all of the following methods will be used:
- lecture/discussion
- group work
- peer review
- independent research or project
- instructor feedback on students’ work
- individual consultation
- presentation (individual or group)
- fieldwork
1. Introduction to the Research Process
Students will
- identify the basic categories of research (primary and secondary; qualitative and quantitative) and the range of related techniques (for example, surveying, interviewing, observational, database searching)
- plan a simple primary research project
- examine different design methodologies
- learn the basic terminology of statistical measurement: mean, median, mode, standard deviation, levels of significance, and significant difference
- investigate effective survey design and the limitations for interpretation, including how broadly results can be generalized
- understand the purpose of experimental and control groups
- understand the difference between causality and correlation
- identify and avoid bias and pre-judgment in interviewing
- know how to prepare for an information-gathering interview
- examine the issues of comprehensiveness and credibility
- use APA or another appropriate documentation style
2. Access to Information
Students will
- learn about the information cycle (for example, creation and distribution, storage and preservation, and retrieval of information) and its significance for writers
- learn how to develop appropriate search strategies
- learn how to use bibliographic, statistical, full-text databases, and websites
- survey trends for print and electronic publications
- learn how to judge the quality of information (for example, currency, authority, reliability, suitability)
- examine examples of ethical problems (for example, misinformation, fraud, plagiarism)
- learn how to locate and use Statistics Canada data
3. Reports and Proposals: Theory and Practice
Students will
- examine the genres of reports and proposals
- examine the rhetorical situation for these specialized writing tasks
- develop awareness of the stages of client-centred report/proposal production: initial contact, scope, progress reports, client-centred outlines, reader-based reports and proposals
- develop awareness of the sub-textual level of document production: social and cultural context (organizational culture), interpersonal protocols, rhetorical strategies
4. Time Management
Students will
- develop an action plan
- structure activities to satisfy short- and long-term priorities
- establish a system for organizing workload
- meet production deadlines
5. Report and Proposal Development
Students will
- clearly establish audience, purpose, context
- identify major, minor, and irrelevant issues (scope)
- determine appropriate data bases
- analyze appropriateness of data sources
- develop surveys, questionnaires, interview questions
- practise interviewing skills
- utilize appropriate secondary data sources (reference texts, libraries, grey literature, market research)
- manage information in an ethical manner
- produce applicable related documents as necessary (letters, memos, short reports)
- produce an organizational culture analysis (essay)
6. Document Production
Students will
- collect and organize source material in terms of issues
- prepare an outline
- produce a progress report
- produce a coherent, reader-based report/proposal which fulfills its purpose
- produce an accompanying abstract (executive summary)
- make use of coherence and persuasive strategies as required
- revise the report/proposal for tone, structure, and content in relation to audience
Students who successfully complete this course will
- be introduced to and learn how to use a variety of primary and secondary research resources
- develop a critical awareness of the use of information in researched writing tasks
- develop skills in gathering and managing information for researched writing tasks
- practise writing and related tasks for research reports and proposals
- take responsibility for working through a complex, multi-faceted, field-based project requiring focus, organization, and self-motivation
Students are expected to be self-motivated and to demonstrate professionalism, which includes active participation, good attendance, punctuality, effective collaboration, ability to meet deadlines, presentation skills, and accurate self-evaluation.
Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.
Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the ÌÇÐÄvlog´«Ã½Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the ÌÇÐÄvlog´«Ã½Evaluation Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course. This is a graded course.
Example evaluation scheme:
| Short exercises | 20% |
| Analysis of report and proposal genres | 10% |
| Empirical research progress report | 10% |
| Theoretical research progress report | 10% |
| Organizational culture analysis | 10% |
| Research report/proposal | 25% |
| Peer review of formal report/proposal | 10% |
| Attendance/professionalism/participation | 5% |
| Total | 100% |
A list of required textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of the semester. Example texts include:
- coursepack of required readings
- Booth, Colomb, Williams, Bizup & Fitzgerald. The Craft of Research (current edition)
- Leedy & Ormrod. Practical Research: Planning and Design (current edition)
Acceptance into the Post-Degree Diploma in Professional Communication
OR
A minimum of 45 credit hours including a university-transfer course in English, Communications, or Creative Writing with a grade of B or higher
OR
Permission of the Professional Communication Program Coordinator
None
None