Syllabus for JTC 501 Processes and Effects of Communication
Fall 2011
Meetings:
Professor:
Email:
Office Hours:
Course wiki:
Tuesdays, Thursdays, 4:00 - 5:40 p.m. Clark C 364
Dr. R.M. Martey
rosa.martey@colostate.edu
Tuesdays, 1:30 – 3:00, Clark C-218
http://jtc501.pbworks.com
Course Description
This course is designed to provide an overview of selected theoretical frameworks, primarily among the
social-science approaches, that are applicable to public, technical, scientific and strategic communication.
In particular, students should come away from this course with a solid understanding of some of the major
theoretical models, claims and perspectives researchers use in communication studies across intrapersonal,
interpersonal, group, organizational and societal dimensions, as they are applied to communication
management issues in technical and scientific communication, public relations, public information, mass
media and communication technology. The course has three main goals:
1. Instruct students in performing theory-driven research
2. Provide familiarity and facility with a large range of theories used in communication research
3. Instruct students in writing an effective literature review for research projects
The course will use a seminar style that focuses on fostering discussion and debate rather than using
lecture style. The course is required for JTC Master's students. It is intended to prepare students for
performing academic research in the field of communication.
Course Requirements
Baran, S.J. & Davis, D.K. (2011). Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and
Future (5th or 6th edition). Stamford, CT: Wadsworth. (available in CSU bookstore)
The following text is strongly recommended as it serves as a writing manual for your work in this and other
JTC courses as well as theses and dissertations:
American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th Ed.). Washington, D.C.: APA.
Assigned readings. There also is a collection of required readings (books chapters & excerpts, articles,
etc.) available to you in the electronic reserve system of the Morgan Library. The readings are easy to
access and print out when you need them: log on and go to the library Web page (www.lib.colostate.edu/)
and click on “Course Reserves” under the “Services” heading. Click on the “Login & View” prompt and
enter your ID number and last name, and the readings will be listed and available in PDF. You will want to
print out most of the readings.
Assignments Summary
Assignment
Reflections (12)
Final flashcard packet
Participation
Lit review outline
Lit review draft – peer review?
Lit review final
Worth
20%
15%
25%
10%
10%
20%
Due
Throughout semester
29 November
Throughout semester
11 October
8 November
14 December
1
Class Participation (25%)
As a seminar, discussion and debate will be the focus of class sessions. Students are expected to have
completed the readings and come prepared with related responses, reflections, and questions.
Weekly Theory Reflections & Flash Cards. (35%)
Each week, you will explain and describe several assigned theories based on the readings and your own
literature search (20%). Write a clear and thorough summary of the theories assigned in your own words,
using more than 500 words per theory. You may NOT include any direct quotes in these summaries.
Submit your summaries in class, on paper, in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced. Use APA
style.
In addition to your summaries, you will create and maintain a series of flashcards on, for example, 3”x5”
index cards with brief descriptions of theories you learn in this class. You will refine and finalize the
flashcards in collaboration with the class and present the final collection for grading at the end of the
semester (15%).
Research Paper. (40%)
Develop an original literature review on a topic in communication that thoroughly discusses prior research
on as well as implications of communication theories on a topic selected in consultation with the professor.
Your paper should have an introduction, a main body in two or more sections, and a conclusions section.
You may use additional subsections, but do not over-use them. APA suggests you only use subsections
when you need two or more.
Submit all drafts of your paper electronically as a Word-compatible document with 12-point, Times New
Roman font, double-spaced, 1” margins on all sides. Include page numbers and use APA style throughout,
including for headers and title page. The final draft should be between 10 and 20 pages (~3,000 – 6,000
words).
You will submit the paper in the following stages for credit:
1. Outline (10%) – Write a comprehensive outline of the argument, types of evidence, and flow of your
literature review. Note which theorists/scholars will be addressed in the main sections, although you do
not need to include all your anticipated citations. Include a bibliography of at least 10 sources, properly
formatted in APA style.
2. Rough Draft (10%) – Write a rough draft of your paper for review by the professor. This version will
not be graded for minutiae, but instead is an opportunity for you to receive feedback on your overall
approach and the flow of your argument. Include a full bibliography and all sections (e.g., intro,
conclusions, etc.) you anticipate for your full paper.
3. Final Draft (20%) – Submit the final draft of your literature review using proper formatting, perfect
spelling and grammar, and a clear and considered argument.
Research Policies, Practices and Recommendations
Google Scholar is recommended for literature searches. Although you can access a range of databases
such as Communication Abstracts through the Morgan Library, I recommend using Google Scholar to find
academic works of interest. To do so, go to Google.com and click the “more” link at the top of the page,
then select “Scholar.” If you perform a search this way on campus, you can generally click through the
resulting links to access any electronic content CSU subscribes to. Sometimes, however, you will need to
note the name, year, and issue of the journal to search manually through Morgan’s electronic access.
2
Collaboration is not cheating. Although you must perform all your own work, including writing and
literature searches, I encourage collaboration with peers and colleagues. Searching for and sharing tips,
resources, bibliographies, or interpretations of scholarly notions are crucial for any scholar. Do not,
however, assume anyone else’s ideas are better than your own. Collaboration is acceptable only when it
contributes to, rather than replaces, your own scholarship.
Research skills are critical in this course. Hence, you will be required to demonstrate that you personally
are working to develop those skills in using the library and the Internet, including e-mail, listservs and the
World Wide Web. Evidence that you are not doing your own research will be treated as plagiarism. No
student shall give or receive any assistance not authorized by the instructor in the preparation of an
assignment. Students may not submit any work previously or simultaneously submitted for credit in
another course.
Use APA style for all course materials. APA style is the standard citation styles used in the field of
communication. Follow the guidelines very carefully from the APA Manual, or see the Purdue Online
Writing Lab for summaries (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/). Note that every period, comma,
abbreviation, and quotation mark matter in APA style. Indeed, careful adherence to APA is a way many
scholars identify those who do careful work. In this class, failure to follow APA style, even in tiny
ways, will result in grade reductions.
You may not cite Wikipedia. Although this encyclopedia is a useful starting point and can be a good way
to get an overview of topics new to you, academic scholars do not cite encyclopedias except in rare,
specialized cases. I encourage you to use Wikipedia to start your research, but you must go to (and cite) the
actual academic works to learn about the topic at the level required for this course.
Develop an argument. Your literature paper should not simply report on theories and past research, but
instead develop a careful argument with clear and effective evidence. For literature reviews, “evidence” is
demonstrated through the arguments and analyses of others. Each claim you make in your paper must be
backed by compelling evidence and fit into your argument. Never make claims – even if they are your own
– without providing some cited evidence that the reader should believe them.
You may not use more than 2 lines of any one quotation in this literature review, and you may not
use more than one quote for every two paragraphs of text. This rule is to emphasize the importance of
putting others’ work into your own language.
A few rules of thumb about using quotations in literature reviews:
 Never plagiarize. See below, and http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/researchsources/understandingplagiarism/ for
more detail on what constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarized work will result in an F for the assignment, no
exceptions. See Policies below for more.
 Never use a quote to begin a sentence. Instead, always provide context, even if it’s simply, Jones
(2007) suggests that, “quotes should be used sparingly.”
 Use quotes very sparingly. Only use a quote when the language is particularly beautiful, paraphrasing
would diminish the clarity, or briefly when defining precise terms. Otherwise, rephrase into your own
words. Sparing use of quotes is a sign of a thoughtful scholar.
Policies
Students with Special Needs or Arising Issues
Students with physical or learning disabilities or with other special needs are encouraged to come meet
3
with me individually so we can discuss how I can accommodate you. Similarly, if insurmountable barriers
arise during the semester, I encourage you to talk to me about them. Incompletes, late withdrawals, and
extensions are given only in extremely exceptional cases.
Late-Submissions Policies
All assignments are due on the date specified on the course schedule. Late assignments will be marked
down 10%, no exceptions.
Plagiarism & Originality of Research
The fabrication of any portion of an assignment will result in an F for that assignment and may result in
an F for the course. While we increasingly live in an Internet culture that invites us to blur distinctions
regarding original and communal works, your performance as a scholar is based on your ability to
articulate your own thoughts and construct your own sentences. You must craft all your own language, and
put every sentence together entirely independently.
Plagiarism is presentation of any portion of another’s work/words as your own. It includes any
paraphrasing or summarizing the works of others without properly cited acknowledgments according to
APA guidelines, including submitting another student’s work as your own. Any material quoted from
any source without quotation marks and proper citation is considered plagiarism. In other words,
anything at all you copy and paste, or any use of anyone else’s language verbatim without quotation marks
is plagiarism. Any description, verbatim or not, of ideas that are not your own personal ideas must
be properly cited to avoid plagiarizing.
About the Professor
Dr. Rosa Mikeal Martey is an assistant professor in the department of Journalism & Technical
Communication at Colorado State University. She holds a Ph.D. in communication from the Annenberg
School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and has been teaching at CSU for 6 years.
Her teaching focuses on digital technologies, visual communication, and digital theories and methods. Her
research uses mixed-methods and focuses on online information-seeking and social interaction through
digital technologies with a focus on gender, identity, and social norms. Current research includes a surveybased study of perceptions of social norms and politics on Facebook, and research on game design and
applying game principles in university instruction. She is also currently examining identity and group
dynamics in Second Life and World of Warcraft as part of a large federally funded research project using
surveys, observational research, interviews, data logging, and content analysis. Prior to her graduate work,
she did corporate and community research in advertising and non-profit organizations, as well as strategic
planning and website design. Recent publications can be found in Popular Communication, New Media &
Society, the International Journal of Information Communication and Technology Education, and
Information, Communication & Society.
Notes about the semester:
This semester the professor has a lot of travel during October. Therefore, that month you will have some
guest lecturers and some classes will not be held.
4
Class Schedule and Assignments
(subject to change – the final version will be posted on the class wiki)
Week 1: Introduction
Readings: Ch. 1 of Baran & Davis
Shoemaker, Tankard & Lasorsa, Ch. 9 ("Using & Evaluating Theory") [e-reserve]
Chaffee [e-reserve]
Assignments: Expectations (8/25 in class)
Theory flashcards:
Hypodermic Needle Theory
Inoculation
Magic bullet
Week 2: Theory overview & concepts
Readings: B&D ch. 2
Assignments:
Reflection 1: What is theory?
Theory flashcards:
Information Theories (SMCR model)
Two Step Flow
Week 3: Mass media & direct effects
Readings: Miller ch. 14, 15; B&D ch. 3, 4
Assignments:
Theory flashcards:
Social learning
Gatekeeping
Agenda Setting
Cultivation
Week 4: Mass media & active audiences
Readings: B&D ch 5, 6, 9
Assignments:
Theory flashcards:
Reception Theory
Uses and Gratifications Approach
Dependency Theory
Week 5: Message processing and cognition
Readings: Miller ch. 8, B&D Ch. 6
Assignments:
Theory flashcards:
Framing
Model of Text Comprehension
Priming
5
Social Cognitive Theory
Schema
Cognitive Dissonance
Week 6: Media and society
Readings: B&D ch. 10
Assignments:
Theory flashcards:
Third Person Effect
Knowledge Gap
Medium Theory
Issue attention cycles
Modernization Theory
Week 7: Health communication and persuasion
10/4 Guest lecture: Donna Rouner. Health communication theories
10/6 Guest lecture: Marilee Long. Health communication theories
Readings:
Assignments:
Theory flashcards:
Elaboration Likelihood Model
Health Belief Model
Theory of Planned Behavior/ Reasoned Action
Transactional Model of Stress and Coping
Expectancy Value Model
Week 8: Organizational and public communication
10/11 Guest lecture: Cindy Christen. PR theories.
10/13 Guest lecture: Kirk Hallahan. Organizational communication.
Readings: Miller ch. 12
Assignments: Literature paper outline (10/11)
Theory flashcards:
Public Relations Models
Excellence Theory
Contingency Theories
Enactment Theory
Groupthink/Crowd theories
System Theory
Week 9: Identity and representation
Guest lecture: Jaime Banks. Theories of identity and representation.
10/20 NO CLASS
Readings:
Assignments:
Theory flashcards:
6
Standpoint Theory
Muted Group Theory
Social Identity Theory
Social Representations Theory
Symbolic annihilation
Week 10: Social and group interaction
Readings: Miller ch 13
Assignments:
Theory flashcards:
Social Network Theory
Identity management theory/Role theory
Performativity
Media Richness Theory/Cues Reduced
Social Penetration Theory
Week 11: Discourse and interaction
Readings: Miller ch. 9, 10
Assignments:
Theory flashcards:
Language Expectancy Theory
Communication Accommodation Theory
Argumentation Theory
Speech Act
Coordinated Management of Meaning
Uncertainty Reduction Theory
Week 12: Culture and critical theory in communication
Readings: Miller Ch. 16; B&D ch. 8, 11
Assignments: Literature paper rough draft (11/8)
Theory flashcards:
Attribution Theory
Queer theory
Relational patterns of interaction theory
Symbolic Interactionism
Political Economy
Week 13: News and information
11/15 Information, usability, design
11/17 Guest lecture: Patrick Plaisence. Theories of ethics and news.
Readings:
Assignments:
Theory flashcards:
Spiral of Silence
Information-seeking
7
Privacy theories
Contextual Design
Sensemaking
Structuration Theory/AST
11/22 – 11/24 THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 14: Technology and media
Readings:
Assignments:
Theory flashcards:
Diffusion of Innovations Theory
Social Identity Model of Deindivuation Effects
Social Information Progressing
Social Presence Theory
Week 15: Wrap-up & review
Readings: None
Assignments: Final flashcard packet (12/8)
8