ARE YOU CURIOUS?  worksheet

Determining your Area-of-Curiosity [ A-O-C ]   

This is an extension of the discussion we began on the first few days of class (

DUE_asap - via email [ Word.docx] -- (but no later than Friday 1/28/22)

There's no shame in not knowing the answer.

What's important is asking the right question in order to find the answer.

David Maiullo, Physics Support Specialist at Rutgers University [paraphrased]

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-As you will/have read in your textbook & we have discussed in class, the principle underlying ALL research is the desire to satisfy a curiosity.  For example, researchers want to know: Why is that?   How is that?   Who is that?   etc, etc.

-In brief, "research" is the act of applying "ways-of-knowing" to answer the questions of curiosity. It all starts with determining exactly what it is that YOU want to know.

 -Here are some questions to help you focus your curiosity and brainstorm for a research area to pursue for your senior project.

-Copy & Paste the material below into a new document that you will complete & then  email to me asap,  but no later than the deadline above. [You should adjust the fonts and layouts to maintain legibility. Edit out unnecessary annotations]

♦ What are your top 4 "favorite" topics covered in your past Communication classes?

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♦ What SPECIFIC type of research methods have you used in your past Communication classes? (indicate all that apply)

[if necessary, refer to current or past research-based texts for descriptions/clarifications]      

      ▪ Historical/Critical briefly describe what you did

      ▪ Experimental briefly describe what you did

      ▪ Survey  briefly describe what you did

      ▪ Naturalistic/Ethnographic briefly describe what you did

       ▪ Content/Textual briefly describe what you did

♦Of the items you listed for the preceding question, which one(s) did you enjoy the most? Do you know why?

♦ What previously studied Communication phenomenon /concept(s) made the most sense to you? (e.g. Systems Theory, Metacommunication, Uncertainty Reduction Theory, Implicit Personality Theory, Dialectical Theory, Third-Person Effect, Media Richness Theory etc.)

♦What previously studied Communication phenomenon /concept(s) puzzled you?

♦What previously studied Communication phenomenon /concept(s) did you absolutely disagree with?

♦Read the definition of Communication in Chapter 1.  What aspect (subarea) is most relevant to your current life? to your planned future life? [if necessary, refer to one of your  past Communication texts]      

 ♦ So,  what are YOU curious about?

page/chapter references =  Communication Research Methods, current ed. - Merrigan & Huston /or/ Essential Guide to doing your Research Project - O'Leary

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