Comm 350: Investigating Communication
Spring 2016
MWF 11:00-11:50
Hepner Hall 221
Contact Information:
Chuck Goehring, Ph.D.
Office: Communication 222
Contact: cgoehring@mail.sdsu.edu
Office hours: MW 1-2, Th 9-11,and by appointment
School of Communication Website: http://communication.sdsu.edu/
TA: Emily Kaiser
Email: ekaiser@mail.sdsu.edu
Office: Comm 227 Office hours: M 10-12 and by appt.*
Goals and Expectations:
This class is designed as an overview of the major “ways of knowing” about communication used by
the discipline. Any scholarly discipline presumes the existence of certain accumulated assumptions,
principles, and practices that form research paradigms within which the legitimacy of knowledge in the
discipline is judged. This course examines the many methods by which the communication discipline
investigates phenomena and generates reasoned conclusions. This examination proceeds with an eye
toward understanding the purposes, applications, advantages, and disadvantages of these methods.
Emphasis is placed on facilitating a broad conceptual understanding of these methods rather than an indepth understanding of their more technical implications. Learning outcomes will be assessed through
exams.
Learning outcome goals are as follows:
 Identify the basic methods used to make knowledge claims about communication behavior
 Understand the implications of methodological choices in studying communication
 Comprehend the basic steps involved in conducting typical forms of communication research
 Discover the conceptual nature of abstraction and propositional thinking
 Become familiar with the process of library-based research and scholarly documentation
 Gain knowledge of research ethics and be able to identify plagiarism
Required texts:
Merrigan, G. & Huston, C. L. (2014). Communication research methods (3rd ed.). New York:
Oxford.
Available for sale and rent at the university bookstore.
Top Hat Software App
This semester we will be using Top Hat educational software to increase student participation
and engagement. You log in using your tablets, smartphones, or computers. The app is $24 for
the semester, $36 for the year, or you can purchase a 5 year subscription for $72.
Course Name: COMM-350 INVESTIGATNG COMMUNICATN
Direct URL: https://app.tophat.com/e/480884
6-digit join code: 480884
Blackboard and email:
We will be utilizing the University Blackboard system extensively throughout the semester. You log
into the system with your Red ID and PIN at http://blackboard.sdsu.edu. All of the students enrolled
in this course will automatically be entered on the Comm 350 course. I will communicate with the
class through Blackboard announcements and email sent from the Blackboard site, so make sure that
you have your current email address on file with the University.
I reserve the right to make changes in the assignments, expectations, delivery, and content of this
course as needed, assuming adequate prior notice is provided to students through class
announcements.
It is exclusively your responsibility to become aware of, and/or obtain, any materials or
announcements missed in class due to your absences, or become aware of any changes to course
syllabus or assignments and their due dates announced in class.
Attendance Policy
Attendance will be taken daily via the TopHat system. In general, as long as you attend 75% of
lectures, you will receive full credit for attendance. Unexcused absences on an exam day will result in
a letter grade reduction per school day starting from the day of absence. Excuses are recognized for
personal illness serious enough to see a physician (and thus, warranting an appointment slip, diagnosis
or prescription record, etc.), family crisis, or participation in school-related activities (and thus,
warranting an official notification from the activity coordinator). The latter requires that prior
arrangements be made. The former two are more credible with notice on the day of absence, and
personal conference as soon as possible thereafter. Exams cannot be given early for any reason.
Record the dates of your exams NOW, and plan travel schedules accordingly.
Textbook Reading
I will be using multiple lecture formats this semester. In some cases, we will not be covering the
complete material from the text in class. However, you are still responsible for all the content of the
text. In other words, do the reading, take good notes, and come to class prepared to ask questions about
the concepts, answer in-class TopHat questions, and engage in interesting and interactive activities to
help understand the material.
Student Disability Statement
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your
responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the
receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible.
Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that accommodations based upon disability
cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from
Student Disability Services.
Respect
You should come to class, arrive on time, and be attentive while in class. Classes will start on time.
Those of you who choose to arrive late, sit in the back and fall asleep, talk amongst yourselves during
lecture, or otherwise create a disruption of classroom process may be asked to leave. The use of cell
phones, and/or laptops/tablets, not directly related to the course and its instructional objectives,
materials, or contents (e.g., using social media or Facebook for conversation, correspondence,
emailing, texting, tweeting, or other activities) is distracting to myself and your fellow students and
will not be tolerated.
You may not audiotape, video-record, or take photographs in this class without prior permission.
Course assignments:
The following assignments will comprise your grade in the class:
 EXAMINATION #1:
50 points
o 50 questions; Covers Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, 6
 EXAMINATION #2:
75 points
o 50 questions, Covers Chapters 3, 11, 13, 14, 15
 EXAMINATION #3:
100 points
o 50 questions, Covers Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10
 APA EXAM:
15 points
o After lectures and reading on APA style, students will take a quiz on Blackboard.
 PLAGIARISM TUTORIAL
10 points
o After several discussions and readings on plagiarism, you are asked to take a tutorial on
plagiarism through the SDSU library. Students will receive all points for completion.
 FILM(S) DISCUSSION
10 points
o Students will be asked to view several short films, then respond to question prompts on a Forum
Discussion Board on Blackboard. Students will receive points based on their engagement with
the questions.
 TOP HAT PARTICIPATION
35 points (includes attendance and in-class quizzes)
 SYLLABUS QUIZ
5 points
Exams
Exams are objective format (multiple choice), covering text, lecture, and any handouts or readings
assigned. Review sheets will be made available two weeks prior to each exam. ParSCORE answer
sheets and pre-sharpened No. 2 pencils are your responsibility on exam days. Exams are subjected to
extensive item analysis. Items that are overly difficult, not discriminating, or unreliable are adjusted
accordingly. There will be no curving of test grades once items have been adjusted. All exams require
the ParSCORE answer form No. 289. Students without the appropriate answer sheet will not be
permitted to take the exam. Please make sure to bring IDs to the exam.
•
The first exam is scheduled for Monday, February 22. The second exam is scheduled for
Friday, April 8. The third exam will be administered on the scheduled day of our final exam:
Monday, May 9. The APA Exam is a blackboard exam to be taken anywhere you have
internet access, and is scheduled for Monday, March 21 during class time.
***Do not make plans of any kind during our class time on these days. The exam dates are nonnegotiable and will not be changed for any student except in the case of University sanctioned
reasons. Under no circumstances should you plan your travel during our exam***
Please note that exams in this class will not be returned. However, you are welcome to make an
appointment to see and review your exam. All exams will be destroyed at the end of the following
semester.
Grade scale
Grades are based on a total point system. Numbers are approximate.
94% +
90-93%
87-89%
84-86%
80-83%
77-79%
=
=
=
=
=
=
A
AB+
B
BC+
74-76%
70-73%
67-69%
64-66%
60-63%
59% -
=
=
=
=
=
=
C
CD+
D
DF
Extra Credit
General SONA Information
The School of Communication offers extra credit research opportunities to students enrolled in courses
participating in SONA, an online research recruitment system. Because the School of Communication
seeks not only to distribute knowledge through teaching, but also generate it through original research,
students in the School of Communication may participate in authorized research projects. Participation
in such research provides important insights into this process of knowledge generation.
Student accounts on SONA are automatically generated at the beginning of each semester. Research
studies with available participation slots can be accessed at the following website: http://sdsu.sonasystems.com. Every 30 minutes of research participation is equivalent to a ½ SONA credit.
Participation in each ½ credit research project will generate 2 extra credit points that can be applied to
a participating communication course.
Students under 18 are typically NOT eligible to participate in SONA studies. Alternative extra
credit assignments are provided for those students by the researcher listed for each individual study.
Extra credit cannot be guaranteed as it is dependent on the NEED of research participants in
departmental research.
1. Eligibility: Only research projects approved and listed on the SONA website are eligible.
2. Announcement of Opportunities: It is the students' responsibility to check the SONA website
for available studies. Announcements of newly posted studies are likely to be made, but not
guaranteed.
3. Availability of Opportunities: Research in a program ebbs and flows. Participation is only
available during the active windows of time specified by each study. Opportunities for
participation may or may not be available in any particular semester, or at any particular time
of the semester.
4. Record of Participation: The SONA researchers will keep a record of student participation. A
record of awarded participation is available in each student account.
5. Grade: No more credit is available than is indicated above--there are no "additional" projects or
sources for achieving extra credit in the course.
6. Ethics: It is also important to emphasize that any attempt to falsify participation in research for
the sake of receiving unearned credit is a form of academic dishonesty, and will be a basis for
failure of a course and initiation of proceedings with the office of Student Rights &
Responsibilities.
Questions regarding SONA account information or questions NOT ANSWERED in this section of the
syllabus can be directed to Dr. Rachael Record (rrecord@mail.sdsu.edu).
Course Specific SONA Information
Students can apply SONA credits to Comm 350 with a MAXIMUM OF 2.5 CREDITS accepted. This
is equivalent to 10 extra credit points in this course. Course instructors should not be contacted
regarding SONA studies, participation, or questions.
Incompletes
Each incomplete creates extensive problems for professors and students, so they will be permitted only
when students have experienced serious unforeseeable emergency or dire personal/family crisis past
the official drop date. An incomplete is not provided because the course or your schedule is too
difficult or because you did not manage your time sufficiently.
THE ACADEMIC DISHONESTY POLICY OFTHE SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
Plagiarism is theft of intellectual property. It is one of the highest forms of academic offense because in
academe, it is a scholar’s words, ideas, and creative products that are the primary measures of identity and
achievement. Whether by ignorance, accident, or intent, theft is still theft, and misrepresentation is still
misrepresentation. Therefore, the offense is still serious, and is treated as such.
Overview:
In any case in which a Professor or Instructor identifies evidence for charging a student with violation of academic
conduct standards or plagiarism, the presumption will be with that instructor’s determination. However, the
faculty/instructor(s) will confer with the director to substantiate the evidence. Once confirmed, the evidence will be
reviewed with the student. If, following the review with the student, the faculty member and director determine that
academic dishonesty has occurred, the evidence will be submitted to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
The report “identifies the student who was found responsible, the general nature of the offense, the action taken, and a
recommendation as to whether or not additional action should be considered by the campus judicial affairs office .” (CSSR
Website[1]).
[1] http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/academics1.html
Intellectual Property:
The syllabus, lectures and lecture outlines are personal copyrighted intellectual property of the instructor, which
means that any organized recording for anything other than personal use, duplication, distribution, or profit is a
violation of copyright and fair use laws.
Proper source attribution
Proper attribution occurs by specifying the source of content or ideas. This is done by (a) providing quotation
marks around text, when directly quoted, and (b) clearly designating the source of the text or information relied
upon in an assignment.
Specific exemplary infractions and consequences:
a.
b.
Reproducing a whole paper, paragraph, or large portions of unattributed materials (whether represented by: (i)
multiple sentences, images, or portions of images; or (ii) by percentage of assignment length) without proper
attribution, will result in assignment of an “F” in the course, and a report to Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Reproducing a sentence or sentence fragment with no quotation marks but source citation, or subsets of visual
images without source attribution, will minimally result in an “F” on the assignment.
Self-plagiarism
Students often practice some form of ‘double-dipping,’ in which they write on a given topic across more than one
course assignment. In general, there is nothing wrong with double-dipping topics or sources, but there is a
problem with double-dipping exact and redundant text. It is common for scholars to write on the same topic
across many publication outlets; this is part of developing expertise and the reputation of being a scholar on a
topic. Scholars, however, are not permitted to repeat exact text across papers or publications except when
noted and attributed, as this wastes precious intellectual space with repetition and does a disservice to the
particular source of original presentation by ‘diluting’ the value of the original presentation. Any time that a writer
simply ‘cuts-and-pastes’ exact text from former papers into a new paper without proper attribution, it is a form of
self-plagiarism. Consequently, a given paper should never be turned in to multiple classes. Entire paragraphs,
or even sentences, should not be repeated word-for-word across course assignments. Each new writing
assignment is precisely that, a new writing assignment, requiring new composition on the student’s part.
Secondary citations
Secondary citation is not strictly a form of plagiarism, but in blatant forms, it can present similar ethical
challenges. A secondary citation is citing source A, which in turn cites source B, but it is source B’s ideas or
content that provide the basis for the claims the student intends to make in the assignment. For example,
assume that there is an article by Jones (2006) in the student’s hands, in which there is a discussion or
quotation of an article by Smith (1998). Assume further that what Smith seems to be saying is very important to
the student’s analysis. In such a situation, the student should always try to locate the original Smith source. In
general, if an idea is important enough to discuss in an assignment, it is important enough to locate and cite the
original source for that idea. There are several reasons for these policies: (a) Authors sometimes commit citation
errors, which might be replicated without knowing it; (b) Authors sometimes make interpretation errors, which
might be ignorantly reinforced (c) Therefore, reliability of scholarly activity is made more difficult to assure and
enforce; (d) By relying on only a few sources of review, the learning process is short-circuited, and the student’s
own research competencies are diminished, which are integral to any liberal education; (e) By masking the
actual sources of ideas, readers must second guess which sources come from which citations, making the
readers’ own research more difficult; (f) By masking the origin of the information, the actual source of ideas is
misrepresented. Some suggestions that assist with this principle:

When the ideas Jones discusses are clearly attributed to, or unique to, Smith, then find the Smith
source and citation.

When the ideas Jones is discussing are historically associated more with Smith than with Jones, then
find the Smith source and citation.

In contrast, Jones is sometimes merely using Smith to back up what Jones is saying and believes, and
is independently qualified to claim, whether or not Smith would have also said it; in such a case, citing
Jones is sufficient.

Never simply copy a series of citations at the end of a statement by Jones, and reproduce the reference
list without actually going to look up what those references report—the only guarantee that claims are
valid is for a student to read the original sources of those claims.
Solicitation for ghost writing:
Any student who solicits any third party to write any portion of an assignment for this class (whether for pay or
not) violates the standards of academic honesty in this course. The penalty for solicitation (regardless of
whether it can be demonstrated the individual solicited wrote any sections of the assignment) is F in the course.
Specific exemplary infractions and consequences

Course failure: Reproducing a whole paper, paragraph, or large portions of unattributed materials
without proper attribution, whether represented by: (a) multiple sentences, images, or portions of
images; or (b) by percentage of assignment length, will result in assignment of an “F” in the course in
which the infraction occurred, and a report to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities
(CSRR2).

Assignment failure: Reproducing a sentence or sentence fragment with no quotation marks, but with
source citation, or subsets of visual images without source attribution, will minimally result in an “F” on
the assignment, and may result in greater penalty, including a report to the CSRR, depending factors
noted below. In this instance, an “F” may mean anything between a zero (0) and 50%, depending on the
extent of infraction.

Exacerbating conditions--Amount: Evidence of infraction, even if fragmentary, is increased with a
greater: (a) number of infractions; (b) distribution of infractions across an assignment; or (c) proportion
of the assignment consisting of infractions.

Exacerbating conditions--Intent: Evidence of foreknowledge and intent to deceive magnifies the
seriousness of the offense and the grounds for official response. Plagiarism, whether ‘by accident’ or ‘by
ignorance,’ still qualifies as plagiarism—it is all students’ responsibility to make sure their assignments
are not committing the offense.

Exceptions: Any exceptions to these policies will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and only
under exceptional circumstances.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE NO EXCUSES ALLOWED BASED ON IGNORANCE OF WHAT CONSTITUTES
PLAGIARISM, OR OF WHAT THIS POLICY IS
SDSU’s Statement of Nondiscrimination
San Diego State University does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, gender identity or sexual
orientation in its education programs or activities. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and certain
other federal and state laws, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, or sexual orientation in
employment, as well as all education programs and activities operated by the University (both on and off
campus), and protect all people regardless of their gender or gender identity from sex discrimination, which
includes sexual harassment and sexual violence.
Sex Discrimination means an adverse action taken against an individual because of gender or sex (including
sexual harassment, sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking) as prohibited by Title IX;
Title IV; VAWA/Campus SaVE Act; California Education Code § 66250 et seq.; and/or California Government
Code § 11135. See also Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the California Fair Employment and Housing
Act (Cal. Govt. Code § 12940 et seq.), and other applicable laws. Any person, regardless of gender or gender
identity, can experience Sex Discrimination. For detailed definitions of Sexual Harassment, Sexual Violence,
Sexual Battery, Sexual Assault, Rape, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Stalking and Consent, please see
CSU Executive Order 1095 at http://www.calstate.edu/eo/EO-1095.html.
Options for Reporting:
If a person would like to report an incident of sexual harassment or sexual violence, there are on-campus and off
campus options available.
• Right to pursuing a university discipline charge: To do so, you should report the crime to a campus official
such as the Title IX Coordinator or Deputy Coordinators. Your complaint of sex discrimination will be
investigated pursuant to university policies, specifically Executive Orders 1095, 1096 and/or 1097. If the
complaint is against a student, the disciplinary process outlined in Executive Orders 1097 and 1098 will be
followed. University proceedings provide a prompt, fair and impartial investigation and resolution, and the
investigations are conducted by officials who receive annual training. Sanctions for violations of university
policy relating to Sex Discrimination and Sexual Violence, include suspension, expulsion, and termination of
employment.
• Right to pursue criminal charges (in cases involving Sexual Violence), whether or not you pursue university
disciplinary charges: You can pursue criminal charges by contacting the police directly, or, if you would like
their assistance, the Title IX Coordinator, Deputy Coordinators, or staff in Student Health Services, Counseling
and Psychological Services or Residential Education can assist the employee or student in reporting an incident
to campus or local law enforcement.
• Right to Report Sexual Violence without Pursuing Charges: Counseling and other support services and
resources are available to you even if you choose not to pursue charges. Regardless of what reporting option a
person chooses, the university will discuss interim measures and the availability of permanent accommodations,
including changing academic, living, transportation and working situations. If you wish to have a temporary
“no contact” order in place, you can request one from the Title IX Coordinator, Deputy Coordinators, or the
Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities. A “no contact” order applies to campus only. In some
situations, you may also be able to obtain a protective order that extends off-campus through a local court.
CSU policy prohibits retaliation against a person who reports Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment or Sexual
Violence, or someone who assists someone with a report of such conduct, or participates in any manner in an
investigation or resolution of a complaint.
Links to University Policy and Procedures:
• Complaints by students: Students who would like to file a complaint of sex discrimination can refer to
Executive Order 1097 - http://www.calstate.edu/eo/EO-1097.html.
• Complaints by faculty, staff, or student employees: Employees who would like to file a complaint of sex
discrimination can refer to Executive Order 1096 - http://www.calstate.edu/eo/EO-1096.html.
• Complaints by other parties: Other parties who would like to file a complaint of sex discrimination
can refer to Executive Order 1096 - http://www.calstate.edu/eo/EO-1096.html.
The California Faculty Association is in the midst of a difficult contract dispute with
management. It is possible that the faculty union will call a strike or other work stoppage this
term. I will inform the class as soon as possible of any disruption to our class meeting
schedule
Comm 350 Daily Schedule – Spring 2016
Day
Date
Topic
W
1/20
Syllabus Review/Course best
practices
F
1/22
M
Reading
Assignment/Activity
Read syllabus thoroughly
Buy Book! Log into BB;
Get TopHat App
Introduction to the discipline &
the text
Text: v-xv (Brief Contents & Contents + Foreword
(Spitzberg, xxi-xxvii)
Course overview; text
overview
1/25
Blackboard Syllabus Quiz
No Class
Quiz available online
W
1/27
Intro to Comm Research
Chapter 1 (pp. 3-13)
F
1/29
What the !@#$ is a Paradigm?
Chapter 2
M
2/1
Paradigms II
Chapter 2
W
2/3
Making Claims
Chapter 4
F
2/5
Making Claims II
Chapter 4
M
2/8
What Counts as Data?
Chapter 5
W
2/10
Communication Data II
Chapter 5
F
2/12
Warrants for Research
Chapter 6
M
2/15
Warrants for Research II
Chapter 6
W
2/17
Warrants III (because warrants
are hard…)
Chapter 6
F
2/19
Exam Review
Review Sheet (available on BB)
M
2/22
Exam #1
Reread Chs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and review sheet
W
2/24
Research Ethics
Chapter 3
F
2/26
M
2/29
WSCA No Class
W
3/2
Discovery Research Design
Chapter 11
F
3/4
Discovery Research Design
Chapter 11
M
3/7
Survey Research
Chapter 13
Research Ethics cont.
Chapter 3 (pp. 46-47) and additional readings
Begin TopHat quizzes
Bring scantron (F-289)
Plagiarism Tutorial
Open
Day
Date
Topic
Reading
Assignment/Activity
W
3/9
APA Style
F
3/11
APA Style II: Return of the Citation
M
3/14
Survey research II
W
3/16
Catch up day
F
3/18
Experimental Research
M
3/21
APA Blackboard Exam at home
NO CLASS (take exam at home)
W
3/23
Experimental Research II
Chapter 14
F
3/25
Descriptive stats and hypothesis
testing
Chapter 15
M-F
3/284/1
M
4/4
Descriptive stats and hypothesis
testing part 2
W
4/6
Exam #2 Review
Review Sheet
F
4/8
Exam #2
Reread Chs. 3, 11, 13, 14, 15
M
4/11
Ethnographic Analysis
Chapter 7
W
4/13
Ethnographic Analysis
Chapter 7
F
4/15
Conversation Analysis
Chapter 8
M
4/18
Conversation Analysis II
Chapter 8
W
4/20
Rhetorical Criticism (traditional)
Chapter 9 (167-179)
F
4/22
M
4/25
Rhetorical Criticism (interpretive)
W
4/27
Rhetoric cont.
F
4/29
Critical Studies
Chapter 10 (195-207)
M
5/2
Critical Studies cont.
Chapter 10 (207-216)
W
5/4
Exam #3 Review
Review Sheet
Study!
M
5/9
Exam #3 (10:30 – 12:30)
Reread chs. 7, 8, 9, 10 and review sheet
Bring scantron (F-289)
Additional Readings (available on BB)
Overview + sample questions
Spring Break!
Deadline for
completion of library
plagiarism tutorial
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
NO CLASS
Rhetorical criticism cont.
Begin Viewing Ethics
Films (home)
Blackboard Exam (15
Questions)
Relax!
Bring scantron (F-289)
Ethics Film Discussion
assignment due.
Chapter 9 (180-194)