Last syllabus update: 8/9

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San José State U

Communication Studies

Comm 156I, Qualitative Communication Inquiry, Section 1, Fall 2011

Instructor:    Ted M. Coopman

Office location:    HGH 216

Telephone:    408-924-5865

Email: comm156@gmail.com

Office hours:    online and Th 1:30- 3:00 by appointment

Class days/time:    Online T 9-10:30 am  via Skype (tmcoopman) and TH 12:00-1:15 pm

Classroom:    Online and HGH 219

Prerequisites: Comm 101

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Catalog Description 

Qualitative approaches to communication facilitate student understanding of the philosophical foundations of developing research questions, research design, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Methods covered include ethnography and participant observation, interviewing, textual/thematic analysis, focus groups, action research, and grounded theory.

 

Succeeding in a Four-Unit Course

At SJSU, students are expected to spend two hours outside of class for every one hour of class time. Because this is a hybrid (online/F2F) four-unit class, you can expect to spend a minimum of eleven hours per week in addition to time spent in class and on scheduled tutorials or activities. Careful time management will help you keep up with readings and assignments and enable you to be successful in all of your courses.

 

Engagement Unit

At SJSU, students are expected to spend two hours outside of class for every one hour of class time. Because this is a four-unit online class, you can expect to spend a minimum of ten hours per week in addition to scheduled tutorials or activities. Careful time management will help you keep up with readings and assignments and enable you to be successful in all of your courses. In this class, one of the four units is an engagement unit, which consists of an interviewee and report on a persuasive professional. You are expected to spend 45 hours this semester (both to prepare for and to complete the work) to successfully complete this unit. This unit is worth 25% of your final grade. In this class, the engagement unit is the Semiotic Analysis research project.

 

Desire2Learn Class Website

We will be using Desire2 Learn < https://sjsu.desire2learn.com> for quizzes and to view your grades. If you are having issues with Desire2Learn you should contact eCampus. The best way to reach someone fast is by phone at 924-5865. The student resources website <http://www.sjsu.edu/ecampus/students/D2L_students/> has Tutorials and Guides on how to use D2L

 

Course Web Resources – Wiki & Google Groups

Copies of the course syllabus and major assignment sheets may be found on the class wiki site [http://comm156.pbworks.com]. You are responsible for regularly checking messages sent via Google Groups. Please use the comm156@gmail.com email address to contact me. I will also send regularly messages through an announcement only listserv. You are responsible for signing up for the class listserv and reading the posts.

 

Foundations, INQUIRY, Practice

COMM 156I is an Inquiry course. Each course in the Department of Communication Studies primarily focuses on one of three areas: Foundations (theoretical underpinnings of the discipline), Inquiry (research in the discipline), or Practice (application of communication theories and concepts to real world contexts). Although the course addresses theory (foundations) and practice (application), the primary purpose of COMM 156I is to facilitate your understanding of qualitative research methods.

 

Inquiry Area Objectives

This course satisfies the INQUIRY area of Communication Studies learning objectives. All INQUIRY courses, including COMM 156I, share these learning objectives:

 

Students will be able to demonstrate proficiency in methods of communication inquiry.

• Research Methods: Demonstrate understanding of methods of communication research and analyses, such as rhetorical, critical, interpretive, performative, and social scientific approaches
• Research Critique: Develop and apply analytical skills for understanding and evaluating communication research studies.

 

Course Goals

Within the INQUIRY area, COMM 156I is unique in emphasizing communication research using qualitative communication research methods. Specifically, it introduces students to concepts of qualitative inquiry. It shows how ethnography, field interviews, semiotic analysis, and other methods are used in communication research. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of such methods. In addition, this course provides an opportunity to “enrich the student experience” in research methods by engaging students in assessing and reflecting upon their learning through a variety of research assignments that may be used for the ePortfolio project.

 

Course Learning Objectives

After successfully completing this course, you will:

LO1. Utilize primary methods of qualitative communication research.

LO2. Discriminate between qualitative and quantitative research methods.

LO3. Identify and discuss the ethical issues associated with qualitative research.

LO4. Critique and evaluate qualitative research.

 

Required Texts

Textbook

Lindloff, T. R. and Taylor, B. C. (2011). Qualitative communication research methods (3rd ed). Sage ISBN 978-1-4129-7473-8. [make sure you get the THIRD edition - 2011]

 

Recommended Texts

Rubin, R. B., Rubin, A. M., & Haridakis, P. M. (2010). Communication research: Strategies and sources, 7th ed. New York: Wadsworth

 

Kirszner, L.G., Mandell, S.R. (2008). The pocket Wadsworth handbook 4^th ed. New York: Wadsworth

Available from Robert's Bookstore, Beat the Bookstore, the Spartan Bookstore, and online textbook retailers.

 

Other Readings

as required

 

Library Liaison

The Communication Studies Department encourages vigorous and ethical research as part of information literacy for all of its students. For assistance contact Crystal Goldman our Academic Liaison Librarian <Crystal.Goldman@sjsu.edu>, in the library go to the King Library Reference Desk (2^nd floor; 408-808-2100) and/or utilize the Communication Research Guide available at http://libguides.sjsu.edu/communication.

 

Classroom Protocol/Terms of Service

 

General Behavior

Don’t be a jerk. Show respect for your peers, the course, and myself. If you do not want to be in class or would rather be doing something else than participate, then don’t come.

 

Food and Drink

Eating and drinking in class is okay as long as it is not disruptive (noisy/smelly), that you pick-up after yourselves, and clean up any spills.

 

Tardiness

Being late to class is disruptive and rude. It is your responsibility to be in class when it begins. If you have a schedule or an event that may result in you being late then contact me ahead of time. Extreme tardiness may result in loss of credit for in-class activities. At the very least, expect to be called out on it if you are late.

 

Policy on Personal Electronic Devices

Personal Electronic Devices (PED) includes laptops, tablets, mobile phones, or any web enabled communication device. PEDs are ubiquitous both in and outside the classroom. Research and my own experience finds that when someone is using a PED they are, for all practical purposes, “absent” from class as completely as if they are physically gone. Of course, for the individual student, being physically absent is a personal choice.

However, in-class use of PEDs ceases to be a personal choice when it has negative impacts on peers and the course. Experience has shown that:

• PED use is annoying and distracting to those around you and interferes with your peer’s classroom experience. Students complain about it regularly.

• PED users are much more likely to ask questions on information that has already been discussed in class. This wastes class time and is annoying to both your peers and myself. This is effectively stealing other’s time – time which they and taxpayers have paid for.

• PED users are much more likely to be confused on class assignments and expectations or miss critical information with three results:

     1. Contacting the instructor with requests for repeating information disseminated in class, which is disrespectful of

     my time.

     2.  Being much more likely to misinterpret assignment directions and miss important deadlines and instructions and

     thus receive lower grades or no points for missed assignments/deadlines.

     3. Habitual in class PED users earn poorer final grades.

 

Rules on use of Policy on Personal Electronic Devices

1. PEDs are to be kept off desktops and on silent mode at all times (ear phones should be removed and stored).

2. Checking PEDs for messages, texting, or any other activity is prohibited.

3. Students who violate this policy will receive one warning (for the semester). After that, the student will be ejected from the class session and forfeits any class activity points.

PED use is allowed when:

     • It is explicitly authorized by the instructor. Laptops and smart phones may be used for some activities or during

     breaks.

     • If students have an ongoing need to be available via mobile phone such as communication with young children,

     family medical issues, or other similar serious and compelling reasons they need to contact me to work out an      arrangement immediately. 

     • If students have a serious and compelling reason on a particular day such as an emergency situation involving family

     or work they need to contact me at the start of class and exit the classroom to answer calls or text replies. Note that      abuse of this privilege will not be tolerated. 

 

Missed Assignment Policy

Deadlines for assignments are required for several important reasons. First, deadlines keep students together and moving forward at the same rate. This allows enough time to cover all course material over the semester. Moreover, deadlines help students to distribute their workload and ensure enough time and attention to successfully complete assignments. Second, instructors usually teach between 3 and 5 classes (or more) per term. Designing a course is complex and requires a tight schedule. These classes, in turn, must be scheduled so that they do not conflict with each other and there is enough time for the instructor to assist students and grade assignments. Late assignments complicate this schedule and need to be made-up within specific framework to lessen their negative impact. Therefore, this class uses the following Missed Assignment Policy:

 

Regular access to a fully functional computer with internet access is a requirement for this course. Lack of internet access as an excuse for failure to complete assignments or meet deadlines is not a valid excuse.

 

Since quizzes are open and available for 7 days, quiz make-ups will only be allowed for students who did not have access to D2L due to administrative issues such as late ads, suspension due to financial issues, or verified technical problems with D2L. To avoid problems, do not wait until the last day to take the quizzes.

 

Students who miss assignments due to legitimate excuses for unplanned/unscheduled events such as illness, emergencies, or sudden changes in work schedule must contact the instructor by the next class period via email only (for documentation purposes) to request permission to make-up these assignments. If approved, students must make-up the missed assignments with the specific time frame proscribed by the instructor. Requests made to make up assignments after the Missed Assignment Policy deadline will be rejected. Assignments submitted after the specific time frame proscribed by the instructor will not be accepted.

 

Students with regular or planned absences due to sanctioned campus activities, work, family issues, deployment, or other unavoidable occurrences need to contact the instructor immediately, explain the situation, and (if accepted as valid) come to an understanding on the best course of action. Please note, the range for valid excuses is limited and if there are many times students will miss class then the best course of action is to drop.

 

Any alternative assignments or submissions for missed class sessions with graded assignments or activities must be turned in PRIOR to the deadline or day missed to earn credit.

 

Requests to make-up assignments at the end of the term will not be accepted.

 

Dropping and Adding

You are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drops, academic renewal, and similar topics found at sa.sjsu.edu/student_conduct.

 

Assignments and Grading Policy

 

Quizzes

Readings and lectures will be assessed though regular quizzes. All quizzes are open book and note and are timed (LO4).

 

Online Quizzes (10). Administered via D2L, they consist of 15 multiple-choice questions (15 pts), are open book/note, and timed (20 minutes). Quiz questions are randomly drawn from a pool of questions, so every quiz is different. All quizzes open at the beginning of the semester and close as we finish covering the material. See the assignments page for details and the course schedule for closing dates. (LO1, L02, LO3)

 

Final

The final consists of an opportunity to retake OR make-up ONE of the 9 online quizzes on the Lindloff text OR attend/present at the iResearch Conference December 2 for 15 points of EC.

 

Workshops

There are 9 workshops (APA, Annotated Bibliography, & Scholarly Sources; Getting Started; Ethics and Source Credibility; Data Coding 1 and 2; Observation, Survey; Semiotics; and interviewing ) to concentrate on different research skills. Workshops have both an online and in-class component and involve a task. See the assignments wiki page for details (LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4).

 

Assignments

There are two research assignments for this course. Assignments are broken down into several sections. First, you will create a proposal, collective literature, create and execute a study, write a summary of your findings, and present them.   Students will self-select into teams that cover certain areas of research.  See the assignments wiki page for details (LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4).

 

Discussion

Discussion posts on the D2L Discussion Board are worth 5 or 10 points each. There are 2 required discussion posts per week.

The discussion board is designed to keep students engaged in the course, to exchange information, understanding, and support among student and between students and the instructor. This is a critical part of the course.

For complete details, instructions, and posting rules see the assignments page.

(LO2, LO3, LO4).

 

Extra Credit

Students have several opportunities to earn extra credit.

• Orientation workshop and quiz: 15 points (max)
• Discussion Week 1 (10 points max)
• Turn in assignments early (30 max)
• Discussion Course Review (10 points)
• The last week of the course students may post feedback on the course. Specially, at least three things they enjoyed, and 3 things they felt could be improved, added, or deleted.

 

Grading

 

Discussion	8x15	120
Online Quizzes (10)	15x1=15	150
Workshops (9)	9x20	180
Participant Observation	50+100+100	250
Semiotics	50+100+100	250
Presentations	(2x25)	50
Total		1000

 

Grading Scale  (points = letter grade>)

990-1000+	A+	840-869	B	700-739	C-
950-990	A	800-839	B-	670-699	D+
900-949	A-	770-799	C+	640-669	D
870-899	B+	740-769	C	600-639	D-
				> 600	F

 

University Policies

 

Academic integrity

You must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy available at sa.sjsu.edu/student_conduct. “Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State University and the University’s integrity policy, require you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the office of Student Conduct and Ethical development.”

I will not tolerate instances of academic dishonesty. Cheating on quizzes or plagiarism (presenting the work of another as your own, or the use of another person’s ideas without giving proper credit) will result in a failing grade and sanctions by the University. For this class, all assignments are to be completed by the individual student unless otherwise specified. “If you would like to include in your assignment any material you have submitted, or plan to submit for another class, please note that SJSU’s Academic Policy F06-1 requires approval of instructors.”

 

Campus Policy in Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the DRC (Disability Resource Center) to establish a record of their disability.

 

Student Technology Resources

Computer labs for student use are available in the new Academic Success Center located on the 1^st floor of Clark Hall and on the 2^nd floor of the Student Union. In addition, computers are available in the Martin Luther King Library. The COMM Lab, located in Clark Hall 240, also has a few computers available for student use.

A wide variety of audio-visual equipment is available for student checkout from Media Services located in IRC 112. These items include digital and VHS camcorders, VHS and Beta video players, 16 mm, slide, overhead, DVD, CD, and audiotape players, sound systems, wireless microphones, screens and monitors.

 

COMM Lab

The COMM Lab is located in Clark Hall 240. Tutors for the lab are recruited from well-qualified communication studies graduate and upper division students. The Lab provides resources for enrichment and assistance for those enrolled in all Communication Studies classes.  Lab hours vary by semester. Check the Communication Studies Department website at sjsu.edu/comm for the most-recent Lab schedule. Support for the Lab is provided by enrollments in COMM 80.

 

Learning Assistance Resource Center

The Learning Assistance Resource Center is designed to assist students in the development of their full academic potential and to motivate them to become self-directed learners. The center provides support services, such as skills assessment, individual or group tutorials, subject advising, learning assistance, summer academic preparation and basic skills development. The Learning Assistance Resource Center is located in Room 600 in the Student Services Center.

 

SJSU Writing Center

 

The Writing Center in Clark Hall 126 offers tutoring services to San Jose State students in all courses. Writing Specialists assist in all areas of the writing process, including grammar, organization, paragraph development, coherence, syntax, and documentation styles. For more information, visit the Writing Center website at
http://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter or call 924-2308.

 

Comm 156I, Qualitative Communication Inquiry, Fall 2011 Class Schedule can be found on the Course Schedule page.