Form a research question specific to the communication discipline (e.g., What is the relationship between culture, communication style, and preventative health practices? What are effects of the media on sports culture? What is the relationship between intrapersonal communication and motivation?).
Example of the Problem Statement
Here is an example of a problem statement, prepared by one of my students in a previous section of the Communication Theory course here at FIU:
Sample Problem Statement and Annotated Bibliography_SPC3210.pdf
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You don’t need to do the annotated bibliography shown in the example.
Review of Literature (approximately 3 pages). In the Review of Literature section of your paper, you will write about your secondary sources about your selected theory (minimum of two articles). The articles must be peer reviewed articles, published in an academic journal which you find in the FIU Library data base. You may also use textbooks, not including the course textbook. You’ll write a thorough review and synthesis (not description) of the sources, with some discussion of how it connects with your problem statement. Altogether you paper should be between 3-4 pages long. Within the Review of Literature section, you will have many sub-sections with sub-headings.
Examples of the Review of Literature Here are examples of the Review of Literature: https://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=215199&p=1420828
WRITING THE THEORETICAL REVIEW PAPER
5. Required Content
In your paper, you will need to address the following questions:
What research questions were the authors attempting to answer?
What methods did they use?
What did they find?
What unique information is set forth?
What consistent information is set forth?
What arguments/reading portions connect with the theory you are researching and writing about?
6. Important Content to Include with the Required Content
In addition to those questions, be sure to think about and include some thoughtful discussion on:
Theoretical approaches
Applicable traditions
Appropriate communication contexts
Implications of the theory/theories in understanding communication everyday life
Also, think about:
Communication context/level (e.g. intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organizational, public, mass or cultural communication)
The models of communication (linear, interactional, transactional)
The value of your topic (What significance does it have? Why do you care about it? Why should anyone care about it?)
Which of the seven traditions would be best to study your topic? (socio-cultural, socio-psychological, critical, semiotic, cybernetic, rhetorical, phenomenology)
Which research approaches to knowing are important for your topic? (positivistic/empirical, interpretive, critical)?
What types of questions are important to ask about your topic? (think about epistemology, ontology, axiology)
Which approach to theory building would be important to understanding your topic? (think theory building: deduction, induction)
Respond to each of the above questions in relation to your preferred topic, and then write a research question.
Here are some examples of research questions from previous Communication Theory students here at FIU:
How are college students affected by the nonverbal communication of their romantic partners?
What is the relationship between negative intrapersonal communication and the performance of a college athlete while playing soccer (or any sport)?
What types of intrapersonal communication have the most influence on self-esteem?
How does communication in social media promote safer health practices in college students?
What effects of rhetoric promote the highest rates of voter registration among young adults in South Florida?
FORMATTING THE THEORETICAL REVIEW PAPER
7. Here is more information on writing a review of literature:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/conducting_research/writing_a_literature_review.html
(Links to an external site.)
Look at this link and you will find samples: https://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=215199&p=1420828
(Links to an external site.)
8. APA Style Paper
Each paper must be written and cited in APA style. A good source for learning APA style is: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html
(Links to an external site.)
Use a cover page, abstract, and references page; cover, abstract, and references pages do not count toward the total page requirement
9. REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING OF THIS ASSIGNMENT
Your paper will be graded on the basis of the following:
All instructions and criteria have been followed
Content and how well you understand the communication theory course material, reasoning and how well you synthesize theoretical source material
Quality and quantity of your sources (authoritative, peer-reviewed, and a minimum of 2 sources per paper)
Writing: thesis statement, organization of entire paper and organization of each paragraph, syntax, mechanics, and grammar. Writing Rubric.pdf
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The problem statement should be approximately 1/2 page. The rest of the paper should be approximately 3 pages. Altogether (problem statement with the entire paper) you should have between 3-4 pages of writing.
Turnitin score must be lower than 15%
On-time submission
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