{"id":626,"date":"2017-08-17T08:07:50","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T08:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/?p=626"},"modified":"2017-08-17T08:07:50","modified_gmt":"2017-08-17T08:07:50","slug":"using-low-stakes-research-projects-to-critically-analyze-course-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/using-low-stakes-research-projects-to-critically-analyze-course-content\/","title":{"rendered":"USING LOW-STAKES RESEARCH PROJECTS TO CRITICALLY ANALYZE COURSE CONTENT"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Professor Catalina Toma,\nCommunication Arts\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Assignment #1: Theories of relationship formation in reduced-cue online environments<\/strong><\/p>

In class, we have discussed four theories of how strangers form personal relationships in reduced-cue online environments (e.g., social presence theory, social information processing theory, social identity\/deindividuation effects theory, and the hyperpersonal model). Choose two of these theories, describe them in detail, and identify similarities and differences between them. Then, propose an empirical study that tests an aspect of one of your chosen theory that was not discussed in class or in the readings. Use either Facebook or online dating as a context for your proposed study. Clearly state your hypothesis, and why it logically flows from your chosen theory. Then, briefly describe the study procedure (i.e., what will participants be asked to do? Will anything be manipulated? What will be measured and how?). Finally, identify the variables you will be testing and specify their nature (dependent\/independent, categorical\/continuous).<\/p>

Grading rubric:<\/em><\/p>

Describe theory #1\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u202620 pts<\/p>

Describe theory #2\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u202620 pts<\/p>

Similarities between theories\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..\u202615 pts<\/p>

Differences between theories\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.15 pts<\/p>

Proposed study<\/p>

Description\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.10 pts<\/p>

Hypothesis.\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026….10 pts<\/p>

Variables\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.10 pts<\/p>

Total: 100 pts.<\/u><\/p>

Formatting. <\/em>Please format your paper in the American Psychological Association (6th<\/sup> Ed) style. You can find helpful information about APA here<\/a>.<\/p>

Please use (1) a separate title page; (2) 1-inch margins; (2) Times New Roman font, size 12; and (3) double-spacing throughout the manuscript.<\/p>

Length. <\/em>Your paper should NOT exceed 3 pages in length. We will not be reading beyond the third page. Please note that, while we value conciseness in writing, a paper that is shorter than 3 pages is unlikely to address the requirements of the assignment adequately.<\/p>

Due date:<\/em> Monday, July 22 at 10 am. Please submit your paper as a Word document using the Dropbox function on Learn@UW.<\/p>

Assignment #2: Close relationships and media use<\/strong><\/p>

Choose one close relational partner (i.e., family member, close friend, romantic partner) and track your interactions with him\/her during one full day. Use the attached questionnaire to record all your interactions with this person. Please submit the completed questionnaire along with your paper. Note that your questionnaire does NOT count towards the required paper length.<\/p>

Analyze your responses. You do not have to calculate statistics (although you are welcome to do so if you wish). Simply \u201ceyeballing\u201d the data is sufficient. Which theories and concepts discussed in class are relevant to your experience? Why? Does your experience support the theories or not? Be sure to describe, in detail, the theories you are using, to connect your responses\/data with the theories, and to argue persuasively why your own interaction patterns support or do not support the theories. Discuss at least two<\/u> theories\/concepts.<\/p>

For instance, you may consider theories related to long-distance relationships, jealousy, Hyperpersonal model, etc. You may consider issues such as (1) how the level of intimacy you experience in your contact with your partner is affected by media use; (2) how the duration\/quality of contact affects your overall feelings of intimacy\/closeness with your partner; (3) how media multiplexity occurs in your relationship, etc.<\/p>

Grading rubric:<\/em><\/p>

Summarize your interaction data\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.20 pts<\/p>

Describe theories\/concepts\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..30 pts<\/p>

Connect your responses\/data with the theories selected\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u202620 pts<\/p>

Argue how your experience supports\/ does not support the theories\u202630 pts<\/p>

Total: 100 pts<\/u><\/p>

Formatting. <\/em>Please format your paper in the American Psychological Association (6th<\/sup> Ed) style. You can find helpful information about APA here<\/a>.<\/p>

Please use (1) a separate title page; (2) 1-inch margins; (2) Times New Roman font, size 12; and (3) double-spacing throughout the manuscript.<\/p>

Length. <\/em>Your paper should NOT exceed 3 pages in length. We will not be reading beyond the 3rd<\/sup> page.<\/p>

Please note that, while we value conciseness in writing, a paper that is shorter than 3 pages is unlikely to address the requirements of the assignment adequately.<\/p>

Due date<\/em>: Monday, August 5th at 10 am<\/p>

Submission format.<\/em> Please submit your paper as a Word document using the Dropbox function on Learn@UW.<\/p>

Relational Questionnaire<\/strong><\/p>

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Partner initials:<\/p>

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Type of relationship:<\/p>

a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Family<\/p>

b.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Friendship<\/p>

c.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Romantic<\/p>

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Generally speaking, how close\/intimate do you feel with this person?<\/p>

1 (not at all)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 7(extremely)<\/p>

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>How long have you been in a relationship with this person? _________<\/p>

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>On a weekly basis, which media do you use to communicate with your partner? Select all that apply.<\/p>

a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Telephone (i.e., voice calling)<\/p>

b.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>E-mail<\/p>

c.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Texting (SMS\/Blackberry message\/iMessage)<\/p>

d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Instant messenger (including Facebook chat and text-only Skype chat)<\/p>

e.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Video-conferencing<\/p>

f.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Facebook (e.g., wall posts, comments, likes, photo sharing, tagging)<\/p>

g.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Twitter<\/p>

h.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Video Games (including console, phone and online games, but excluding Facebook games)<\/p>

i.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Other ____________________<\/p>

j.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>None<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

\u00a0<\/p>

Interaction Diary<\/strong><\/p>

Instructions: For every contact<\/u> you have with this person during the diary day, answer the following questions.<\/p>

By contact, we mean one face-to-face meeting, sending or receiving an email\/text to this person, having an IM\/Facebook chat with this person, looking at this person\u2019s Facebook profile, liking or commenting on this person\u2019s Facebook\u2019s profile, reading this person\u2019s Twitter, viewing this person\u2019s Instagram, etc.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

CONTACT #1<\/p>

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>In which media did the contact take place?<\/p>

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>What did the contact involve? (e.g., phone convo, viewing Facebook profile)<\/p>

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Duration of contact: ______hrs; ______minutes<\/p>

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>How would you characterize your contact with this person? (on a scale from 1 to 7)<\/p>

Relaxed (1) \u2013 Strained (7)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 _______<\/p>

Impersonal \u2013 Personal _________<\/p>

In-depth \u2013 Superficial __________<\/p>

Awkward \u2013 Comfortable _________<\/p>

No misunderstandings \u2013 A great deal of misunderstandings __________<\/p>

Free of conflict \u2013 Full of conflict ______________<\/p>

Satisfying \u2013 Not satisfying _____________<\/p>

Intimate \u2013 Not intimate ________<\/p>

Planned \u2013 Spontaneous _________<\/p>

Positive \u2013 Negative __________<\/p>

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Did this contact change your feelings about the relationship?<\/p>

a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Enhanced my positive feelings<\/p>

b.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Enhanced my negative feelings<\/p>

c.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>No change<\/p>

6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>How positively do you view your partner at the end of this interaction?<\/p>

1(not at all)\u00a0\u00a0 2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a05\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 7(extremely)<\/p>

7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>How negatively do you view your partner at the end of this interaction?<\/p>

1(not at all)\u00a0\u00a0 2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 7(extremely)<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Professor Catalina Toma, Communication Arts Assignment #1: Theories of relationship formation in reduced-cue online environments In class, we have discussed four theories of how strangers form personal relationships in reduced-cue online environments (e.g., social …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[53,68,34,56,66],"class_list":["post-626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-designing-effective-assignments-courses","tag-analysis","tag-communication-arts","tag-low-stakes","tag-research","tag-summary"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":628,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626\/revisions\/628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dept.writing.wisc.edu\/wac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}