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A Research Policy Study on the Innovation, Technology &
Research in Designing A Communication Style Guide
Asst. Prof. Jose Arsenio Salandanan, M.A.
Asst. Prof. Maria Gwenetha Y. Pusta, Ph.D*
*gwenetha@gmail.com
University of Santo Tomas
Abstract
A fundamental question that can be posed within any field of research
is: What constitutes a high quality research practice? Since research
is ontologically challenging, different views remain ambiguous.
Studies that have explored on the concept of research Patton (1990)
mentioned that it is important to identify the purpose of research.
Gall et al (1996) discussed how research might contribute in the
field of education. Grinnell, 2000 considered the balance between
realism and constructivism in everyday life. In our view, the practice
of evaluation of research can be defined as an activity in which
certain aspects of the quality of research practice are investigated.
The current debate highlighting the problem of having evaluation is
‘led by the data rather than judgment’ (Hicks et al, 2015:429). An
often cited definition of evaluation is “...a process for collecting and
synthesizing evidence that can make conclusions about the state of
affairs, value, merit, worth, significance or quality of a program”
(Mathison, 2005) which implies that evaluation can use numerous
methods and measure a wide variety of aspects. Quality is the focus
and is examined in a variety of contexts such as (1) research grant
evaluation (2) research manuscripts and publications (3) specific
research topics (4) research groups and constellations (5) institutions
and (6) national systems for producing innovation. The lack of widely
acknowledge quality standards for research practice is somewhat
surprising. A consequence of it is that judges of the quality research university boards, scholars, funding agencies and journal reviewers apply the values and standards of their own minds, fields or discipline.
This paper examines empirically and theoretically the interface of
innovation, technology and research in designing a communication
style guide. In order to achieve this policies on research design and
practice will be drawn by the department to guide the crafting of the
style guide.
Keywords: research, standards, quality, communicability, credibility,
scholarship
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International Journal on Social Innovation & Research
Introduction
The study is significant because it shall address and crystalize issues, debates
and paradigm shifts in creating a standard presentation of communication
researches. It shall reinforce the Research Agenda of the department in an
attempt to provide a multi and transdiciplinal nature of communication and
media studies by an assessment of quality research practice for responsible
innovation.
Specifically, it shall address the blurring distinctions of what constitutes
high quality research communication practice in terms of: (1) credibility,
(2) contributory to scholarship, (3) communicability and, (4) conformity to
acceptable standards.
Rationale of the Study
There a few widely acknowledged quality standards for research practice
and a few definitions of what constitutes good research. the overall aim is to
describe what constitutes research and use this description to develop a style
guide of research practice.
Research Policy Study will examine empirically and theoretically the interface
of innovation, technology and research in designing a communication style
guide. It is expected to yield impli-cations for policy and ultimately design a
communication style guide for the department of communication & media
studies.
The study is significant because it shall address and crystalize issues, debates
and paradigm sifts in creating a standard presentation of communication
researches. It shall reinforce the research agenda of the department and
attempt to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to assessing re-search
quality and practice for responsible innovation.
Problem statement
What constitutes for high quality communication research practice in terms
of the following framework?
1.
2.
3.
4.
credible
contributory
communicable and
conforming
Review of Related Literature
A fundamental question that can be posed within any field of research
is: What constitutes a high quality research practice? Since research is
ontologically challenging, different views remain ambiguous. Studies that
have explored on the concept of research Patton (1990) mentioned that it
is important to identify the purpose of research. Gall et al (1996) discussed
how research might contribute in the field of education. Grinnell, 2000
considered the balance between realism and constructivism in everyday life.
ay practice as a contextual ledge between the two. Ulrich (2006) analyzed
different traps that are common and that lead to a somewhat reflective
research practice and describes a rethinking ap-proach. Quaye (2007) argues
for extending what counts as research within social sciences so that it is more
likely to include different methodologies and writing genres. Nickelson
(2009) in a similar approach, supports the notion of interventionist research
approach that is not just focused on simple one-way causation in the field
that is being studies.
In parallel with this, there has been ongoing discussion about rethinking
knowledge production in general. Hessels and van Lente, 2008 and Tsao et
al, 2008 knowledge is produced in the context of application. Gibbons et
al, 1994 added that knowledge can be produced in different contexts, and
the concepts of ‘knowing in action’ (Amin and Roberts, 2008) and ‘situated
learning’ (Lave and Wengar, 1991) highlight the importance of a variety of
contextual factors.
In our view, the practice of evaluation of research can be defined as an activity
in which certain aspects of the quality of research practice are investigated.
The current debate highlighting the problem of having evaluation is ‘led by the
data rather than judgment’ (Hicks et al, 2015:429). An often cited definition
of evaluation is “...a process for collecting and synthesizing evidence that can
make conclusions about the state of affairs, value, merit, worth, significance
or quality of a program” (Mathison, 2005) which implies that evaluation can
use numerous methods and measure a wide variety of aspects.
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International Journal on Social Innovation & Research
Quality is the focus and is examined in a variety of contexts such as (1)
research grant evaluation (2) research manuscripts and publications (3)
specific research topics (4) research groups and constellations (5) institutions
and (6) national systems for producing innovation.
The lack of widely acknowledge quality standards for research practice is
somewhat surprising. A consequence of it is that judges of the quality research
- university boards, scholars, funding agencies and journal reviewers - apply
the values and standards of their own minds, field s or discipline.
A fundamental question therefore is how research carried out within a
particular field should be evaluated. It is a complex process to attempt to
apply a certain evaluation model that can be used in a specific setting to
another subject domain.
In previous research on quality dimension it has been shown that many
models describe the qual-ity of research practice. Gummerson, 1991;
Keen, 1991; Mason, 1996; Maxwell, 1996; Martens-son, 2003; Martensson
and Martensson, 2007; Rubin and Rubin, 1995; Sutherland et al, 1993 all
suggested sets of dimensions that often overlap in different ways. Others
argue that certain di-mensions are generally better suited to some kinds
of research than to others. A distinction is of-ten made between rigor and
relevance (Keen, 1991). In conclusion, specific criteria for evaluating the
quality of research practice seem to be lacking, or at least they are not well
defined. At the core of the problem is a contemporary debate over quality
criteria and thus a need for deter-mining a universal concept model for the
quality of research practice.
The theoretical underpinnings of this research study was adopted from the
framework of Strokey and Lechhauser (Glendessary Press, 1992, A Primer for
Policy analysis. The five criteria areas was found suitable and appropriate to
the study’s objectives and its particular units of analysis suits the operational
cycle for this research.
The starting point of the policy analysis is to conceptualize the problem that
leads to the speci-fication of information systems to achieve the desired
goal. Adopted from Strokey and Lechhauser model in the context of thesis
management in Communication department. This five-part framework
will be: (1) Establishing the Context that will tackle the research problem
and the objectives to be pursued. (2) Laying out Alternatives will tackle the
alternative courses of action (3) Predicting the Consequences shall deal
with techniques (4) Valuing the Outcomes would de-fine the criteria to be
adopted and (5) Making Choices will draw out all aspects of analysis.
Study Framework
Methodology and Design
The study will employ a Qualitative Research Design of humanities where
conceptualiza-tions of Style Guide will come from a three-day workshop
among Thesis Advisers, Read-ers, Panel of Examiners and the Thesis
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International Journal on Social Innovation & Research
Coordinator of the department. Through the The-sis Management Workshop,
data will be gathered and inputs on issues and practices in Communication
research shall be tackled intensively and extensively. Attendees to the
workshop will be determined by the Department Chair.
Its starting off point was to revisit the Department’s The Research Agenda as
a driver for change: adopts a “quality” framework, aligned with the unique
blend of humanities and social sciences in its fusion of creative works and
professional practice, Thus a seven-fold objective evolved as:
In as much as the study is highly data driven, discussions will be videorecorded and ap-propriately transcribed for accuracy. Textual interpretation
of the data will follow.
1.
Engaging faculty and students in producing national, regional
and global scholarly research that are theoretically grounded and
methodologically sound.
The strategy to be employed in analyzing the data is summed up in the
Figure presented below.
2.
Showcasing transdiciplinal nature of communication & media
studies.
3.
Promoting creative thinking and assessment on social issues in
media and communication.
4.
Disseminating research productions in national and international
conferences and eventually publishing research output.
5.
Collaborating with other disciplines and industry in research
consumption.
6.
Capitalizing on the values of communication in various disciplinal
knowledge and research and
7.
Adhering to the highest ethical standards guided by the Thomistic
philosophy.
Findings of the Study
The ‘state of the art’ of communication technology determines the field of
psychoanalysis (De-rida, 1996) in the sense that technological devices
invented by humans dialectically shape the manner in which the users of
these devices comprehend and act the world. The rapid develop-ment of
technology ultimately cause greater optimism about the future.
Innovation, coupled with technology in thesis writing had propelled
the department to reconfig-ure its policies, taking stock of where we are
right. Now and where we are heading in an increasingly technologicalized
environment.
This Policy & Communication Research Style Guide for Students advances a
framework, process and compositional approaches for designing a scholarly
written research study in the discipline. The process is inclusive of deciding
on a paradigm, using literature, writing the introduction, stating a purpose
for the study, framing research questions and hypothesis, use of theory,
defining and delimiting scope, stating the study’s significance, advancing
methods and proce-dures for data collection and analysis and formulating
conclusions and recommendations for further research.
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International Journal on Social Innovation & Research
1.
In as much as the design of the study begins with the selection of a topic
for research, the AB Communication & Media Studies shall adopt a
blend of 50% faculty-directed research and 50% student/ individual
research interest study that can be drawn from any of the following
thematic research interests:
Broadcast/ Digital Studies: Broadcast Research
Digital Studies
Cultural Studies: Pop Culture
Film Studies
Populism and Communication Media
Development Studies:
Political Communication:
political economy
governance
leadership
Specialized Studies: Communication in Post-Truth Era
Big and Small Data Re-wiring
Cyber Wellness: Balanced Online & Offline
Science & Health Communication
Communication & PWD’s
2.
Development Communication
Social Transformation
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature
Chapter 3: Framework: Theoretical/ Conceptual/ Operational
Chapter 4: Methodology
Chapter 5: Data Presentation/ Analysis & Interpretation
Chapter 6: Conclusion & Recommendations
Narratives on Migration, Identities and Exclusions Social and Behavior
Change Communication
Environmental Studies:
Environmental Advocacy
Risk Reduction
Disaster Prevention
Engendered Communication Media
Gender Studies: 3.
Feminism
Integrated Marketing Communication Studies:
Advertising
Marketing Communication
Public Relations
Strategic Marketing Studies
New Media Studies:
Digital Story Telling
Story Telling
Marketing Analytics
Digital Analytics
Creative & Innovation Studies
Computer-Mediated Communication
The Department shall strictly adhere to the Component Parts of the
Communication Re-search as follows:
It shall be the policy of the department that the Rationale shall be guided
by the Review of Related Literature with citations that shall contextualize
the study. This academic essay must be scholarly written, free from
motherhood statements and sweeping generalizations. It should clearly
address the research gap based on the literature review and articulate
the purpose of the research and the research argument in a clear and
concise manner.
“Four key components in writing the introduction, regardless of paradigm,
(a) establishing a problem leading to the study; (b) casting the problem
within the larger scholarly literature; (c) discussing deficiencies in
literature about the problem; and (d) targeting an audience and noting the
significance of the problem for this audience” [Crestwell John W. (1994)
Research Design. Sage Publications pp.41-42]
4.
In framing the research questions, the study must be anchored on current
literature scholarship. Rationalization may come from Communication
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International Journal on Social Innovation & Research
5.
& Media Studies, global events and happenings or imbalances or
problems that are being apprehended from phenomenology.
and extending prior studies (Marshall & Rossman, 1989); (c) It provides a
framework for establishing the importance of a study with other findings.”
The problem (the issue that leads to the study) should address a Filipino
communication issue/s and/or related or allied fields that encourages
innovation and originality.
13. The Theoretical Framework is an explanation of the theory. In cases
where a graphical representation of the theory is absent, the researcher
must faithfully adhere only to the theory explanation and defer from
interpreting the theory in use. In cases of multiple theory in use, the
researcher must integrate all theories in use and provide detailed
explanation of the integration.
“It must create readers’ interest by posing a good narrative hook” [Creswell,
John W. (1994) Research Design. Sage Publication,p.48]
6.
The Statement of the Problem must be a series of specific questions.
7.
The flow of the Rationale must be parallel to the flow of these research
questions.
8.
The Significance of the Study and the Scope and Limitations must be
stated in a scholarly manner with appropriate citations.
9.
The entire research proposal should rely on journal articles and this
should be evident in a 90% composition of journal articles in bibliography
and only 10% may come from academic books and other sources.
10. This style guide provides in its Appendix, a list of all available online
sources from the Miguel de Benavides Central Library, detailing even
the Library’s floor plan.
11. It shall be the policy of the department to ensure that an initial 30 journal
articles should be evidence in the Review of Related Literature section
with appropriate cross-referencing.
12. The logical flow of the Review of Related Literature must stem from the
flow of the problem rationale.
“The literature in a research study accomplishes several purposes: (1) It
shares with the reader results of other studies that are closely related to the
study being reported [Fraenkel & Wallen, 1990); (b) It relates a study to
the larger, ongoing dialogue in the literature about a topic, filling in gaps
14. The Conceptual Framework is a model created by the researcher where
the theory is applied in the study’s context. In instances where multiple
theories are in use, the researcher need not use all the elements of the
theory but select appropriate elements in designing the framework.
15. The Operational Framework is the data operationally applied into the
study’s paradigm.
16. To better illustrate this, a matrix is provided to guide researchers
adopting an integrated tri-angulation that stems from general to
specifics or deductive perspective.
Theoretical
[constructs]
For example:
manifestation of
“un truth”
Conceptual
[variables]
posting
untruthful
information on FB
Operational
[data]
posting of news
articles in particular
re-posting of news
articles in particular
17. The Department’s policy is to identify the Research Design as Qualitative,
Quantitative or Critical.
18. The Methodology section is comprised of
1. Selection of Respondents or Tests as the Sampling Scheme
2. Background of Respondents
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3.
4.
5.
6.
Pusta
Method of Analysis,
Units of Analysis
Matrices of Analysis
Instrument/ Questionnaire
Indicator 1
Indicator 2
Formatting
Guidelines
Indicator 3
Analysis & Interpretation: Comparative Formatting Guidelines of UP
MassComm and UST Communication Department
Formatting
UP
UST
Guidelines
Mass Communication
Communication
Style Manual
Uses style guidelines
Style guidelines are
of UP Library and
adopted from the
Information Science
American Psychological
and the Ohio
Association (APA) and
University
the MLA style.
Content
General Guidelines,
General Policy
Formatting Guidelines Guidelines, Formatting
and Supplementary
style and Sample
Materials
Presentation
Text Formatting
Includes citation and
Includes citation and
references, font, paper, references, font, paper
margins, spacing, page margins, spacing, page
numbers, foot-notes
numbers and samples for
each.
Formatting of
Included guidelines
Includes guidelines for
Charts, Pictures,
for format-ting of
formatting of charts,
Tables, Matri-ces
charts, pictures,
pictures, tables, matrices
and Illustrations
tables, matrices and
and illustrations with
illustrations
appropriate samples for
each.
Includes external
features, Preliminary
Section and Body
Includes formatting
sample of cover and
spine and parts of
the Communication
Research chapters from
Introduction , Body and
Conclusion.
The table presented above illustrates the comparative analysis of the contents
and formatting guidelines of the Style Guide for UP Mass Communication
and the UST Department of Commu-nication. Operational formatting of
the UST Communication Style guide presents the Preamble that itemizes
the department’s policies governing Communication research. Further,
appropriate guide samples are provided to better illustrate scholarliness in
writing.
Conclusions
The last phase of conducting the communication research is presenting
and reporting and it is extremely important as it demonstrates the strength
of the design and how well the research pro-ject had been conducted. Its
impact is therefore highly dependent on the quality of organization and
the presentation of its material. Thus the report is written for a variety of
audiences.
Careful attention then should be devoted to its writing style. The American
Psychological Asso-ciation (APA) writing style is commonly used in
communication research. Plagiarism must also be avoided, this is the
unacknowledged borrowing of ideas and words from other authors. APA
style is useful in this respect as it requires the researchers to identify their
sources of information in the body of the text and to include a complete
bibliography at the end of the written report.
By organizing the report into sections, the researcher can include relevant
material and discuss issues under key headings (Jackson & Verberg,2007).
The introduction should inform the readers about the research problem and
its problematique; it also raises interesting questions and resolves issues that
justify the significance of the research study. The literature review provides
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International Journal on Social Innovation & Research
readers with an overview of other research that is relevant to the topic of
investigation. This leads to a section that defines the hypothesis or research
questions to be examined. At this point, identify-ing the research design
and the data collection procedures are required. The sampling strategy and
the description of the intended sample should be discussed in detail. A
thorough explanation of the variables, indexes and measurement procedures
contributes to an understanding of the key concepts and relationships being
investigated. Presenting basic results, organizing summary tables and
creating tables are major sections in te report that need to be well planned.
The next step explains the results of testing the hypothesis. Following this,
a discussion should be devoted to tying the whole project together. Finally,
conclusions should be drawn and suggestions for further research should be
made.
To ensure a high quality report, is also important that the research report
incorporates a review of the final checklist. This list may include: the title,
abstract, introduction, literature review, state-ment of hypothesis ore
research questions, methodology, results, discussion, conclusions, references, spell check, format, view document, print and proofreading.
The process of presenting the qualitative or quantitative findings results
includes the creation of tables and figures —e.g., graphs, charts, and
illustrations (Cookman, 2003). Tables present actual numbers organized in
rows and columns. Graphs present numbers with physical markers such as
columns, lines, wedges, and data points.
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