International Communication Program
SRP and Thesis Guidelines
1. Identify a project
--develop a research question for specific phenomenon
--SRP represents an original, substantive contribution to knowledge in the field
2. Formulate a proposal
Please consider the following:
--statement of research question/problem and significance to the field
--review of relevant literature
--methodology for research
--preliminary bibliography
--timeline
3. Identify a faculty supervisor with expertise related to your project
--typically, full-time IC faculty members serve as supervisors
--the director will review requests for non-IC faculty supervisors on a case-by-case basis
--students pursuing a thesis will need to have a second faculty member on their committee as well
4. Have faculty supervisor review and approve the proposal
--student should seek clarity from faculty supervisor on grading criteria
--if applicable, student also should obtain IRB approval
5. Register for independent study credits, SIS 795 for SRP or SIS 797 for thesis
6. Conduct the project
--relevant literature
--application of identified methods for data collection (e.g., quantitative and/or qualitative)
7. Write up the project
--project should be of the highest quality with an eye to publishing in professional journals and
presenting to conferences
--length of final product will be determined between student and supervisor
--final product must be in Turabian format, thesis students must consult the AU Library for specific advice
on formatting final thesis for submission to the University Library
8. Present project at Practicum Forum (including the ‘niche’ that your project occupies in the field), this is
in lieu of the oral comprehensive exam
Please consider the following:
--creative methods of presentation/demonstration of the final project for a diverse audience, e.g., faculty
members, peers, prospective employers, and/or alumni who will offer comments and feedback
--presentation/demonstration as a professional networking opportunity
--seek out opportunity to formally present your findings to the professionals in the field (or conferences)
Or the traditional oral comprehensive exam
--with your SRP/thesis supervisor, arrange an exam date and specific questions
--at a pre-arranged time before the exam, submit an outline to your supervisor from which the
conversation will start
--the outline should contain a variety of key references from subfields in IC