Course Title: Introduction to Communication Research

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Introduction to Communication Research

Credit Points: 12

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
COMM1096	City Campus	Postgraduate	335H Applied Communication	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 1 2009, Sem 2 2006, Sem 2 2007, Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009
COMM1096	City Campus	Postgraduate	345H Media and Communication	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2010, Sem 1 2011, Sem 1 2012, Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011, Sem 2 2012

Course Coordinator: Dr Emsie Arnoldi

Course Coordinator Phone: 61 3 99250000

Course Coordinator Email:emsie.arnoldi@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None.

Course Description

This course - which in 2012 will be run in conjunction with COMM1178 Professional Research and Evaluation - presents an overview of the process of research and evaluation relevant to professional research. In the course you will explore issues of professional ethics and reflective practice along with professional research and evaluation methodologies relevant to your discipline.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course is delivered across a number of programs. You will be assessed on your development of the following generic graduate capabilities:
• research and evaluation
• reflective professional practice that is globally focused.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
• assess ethical issues that confront professional research
• apply principles of reflective practice to your own praxis
• analyse, critique and apply the four key research components in addressing a research problem
• utilise research techniques to evaluate professional research 
 

Overview of Learning Activities

The course will take a blended approach in its delivery with learning activities that involves a range of activities including lectures, tutorials, group activities and class discussion. You will access and gain most of the concepts through the practical work and material provided in the seminar and tutorials, supplemented by the text. While some use will be made of the internet and online (eg Blackboard), reading in ‘analogue’ form may be required (eg text).

The twelve weeks have been organised into four modules, starting with the problem, followed by the context, the method and finishes with the outcome of the research process. The text authored by Leedy and Ormrod (see reference details elsewhere) will inform and guide learning activities. Where relevant, other sources have been identified and you may access that online/library. Some chapters of the other sources have been digitised as noted in the teaching schedule. The course is delivered as a one-hour seminar, two-hour tutorial. Week 4 will follow a combined delivery of seminar-tutorial, weeks 6 will require self-study, and 10 group presentations.

Students are encouraged to do their own enquiry and research on course material and debates. Students are expected to spend between 3 and 6 hours per week in preparation and activities. That include material prepared for assessment purposes and discussion board debate and activities. Please follow the Harvard Referencing style guide, available on the RMIT library website http://www..rmit.edu.au/library

Overview of Learning Resources

A list of recommended learning resources will be provided by your lecturer, which may include books, journal articles and web resources. You will also be expected to seek further resources relevant to the focus of your own learning.

Overview of Assessment

 You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes and on your development against program capabilities. Assessment will cover theoretical and practical aspects of your learning. You will be able to develop your work in relation to your own specific areas of interest in your professional practice. Assessment will occur during the course and at the end of the course. Methods may include any combination of assessment tasks such as reports, projects, assignments, group work and presentations.

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or the Disability Liaison Unit if you would like to find out more