Methodology: Mixed Methods – DIGI 760

Course Description

Advanced study of mixed methods research methods. The course will utilize qualitative and quantitative methods to develop insights from data in the communication field.

Rationale

The objective of this course is to teach students what a mixed methods approach to research is, as well as how to properly conduct a mixed methods study in communication research. Students will be taught about the foundations of mixed methods research, the different designs of studies, and how to successfully complete mixed methods research. At the end of the course, students will have completed a mixed methods study.

Course Assignment

Course Requirement Checklist

Discussion

The student will introduce him/herself to others in the course by posting a thread containing the following information:

• Where the student lives (state or country only);
• Which specific cognate in the PhD the student is pursuing;
• Why the student is pursuing the PhD (e.g. to further his/her knowledge, change careers);
• Family, hobbies/interests, and anything else the student wants to share about him/herself;
• What the student is most excited about entering a PhD program;
• Your research interests, and
• The student’s biggest fears/apprehensions beginning the PhD program

Discussions allow students to interact with one another while sharing their own knowledge on a given topic. In this course, students will be responsible for four (4) initial discussion posts due on Thursday of the required module: week, and then one reply due on the Sunday of the same module: week. Initial posts are to be no less than 800 words and the reply should be at least 400 words. Each initial discussion must have at least 3 scholarly sources. Each reply must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation(s) in APA format. Replies or initial posts should contain a biblical perspective/source. Current APA format is not required for this posting. Proper APA citations are required. These discussions are designed to spark interaction with peers and get any questions answered prior to proceeding to the next course.

There are two quantitative assignments in this course which will help students better understand the individual quantitative methods used in mixed methods research. The first assignment consists of choosing one of the named methods and one of the attached data sets to complete the appropriate statistical analysis for a proposed research question.

The second part of this assignment consists of students selecting the quantitative method they will be using for their final research paper in this course. Students will identify the method chosen, the data collection methodology used for the study, determine what type of data is being collected, and what statistical test(s) will be conducted. Both assignments should be completed in current APA format.

Similar to the quantitative assignments, the qualitative assignments are broken into two parts. Part one requires students to choose one of the named qualitative methods and answering/coming to a conclusion to the proposed hypothesis/research question provided. Students need to identify which approach would best work for the proposed questions and follow the individual assignment instructions associated with their chosen method.

The second part of this assignment requires students to identify the qualitative method and data collection methodology used for the final research paper in this course. Students are to determine what type of data will be collected and how they will come to their conclusions. Both assignments should be completed in current APA format.

Research Article Identification Assignment

Students are responsible for finding four (4) mixed methods articles in the field of communication that best fits their interests/concentration. These cannot include the ones that are posted in the course. For each article, students will need to: identify which of the mixed methods designs the study uses, identify the qualitative and quantitative measures and instruments used, identify the research questions/hypotheses, and identify the results. This assignment should be turned in as a 4–6 page paper in current APA format.

Research Paper

Students are required to write a 4–7 page proposal on their final research paper for the course. The paper should include: what research questions/hypotheses the student will be addressing; the mixed methods design to be used; the qualitative and quantitative method and measures used; the theoretical foundation the study is using. The student should also integrate their worldview into this paper.

This paper should be written in current APA format.

Research Paper

Students will complete an 18–20 inclusive page mixed methods research paper on a communications topic of their choosing. This paper should be in current APA format and include all of the necessary appendices required for the study. The paper must be on the same topic as the research proposal. For this class, topics in the cultural, critical, and rhetorical communication perspectives are not allowed.

The paper must include a mixed methods approach and include the following sections, in order: title page, abstract, introduction, literature review (with a hypotheses/research questions subsection); methodology, results, discussion, references, appendices.

Discussion: Research Paper

Students are to submit a 6–8 minute presentation in which they appear on camera outlining their research paper proposal. The presentation should be accompanied by an attached PowerPoint presentation and include the same areas of discussion as the research proposal. Students must also submit at least two (2) responses to student presentations of at least 400 words.