Overview
Students working toward a BA degree in Communications at Penn State Greater Allegheny must fulfill a number of general and specific academic requirements before they can graduate. In addition to completing a minimum of 120 credits, earning a C or above in designated courses, and pursuing an internship, Communications majors also need to complete an independent research project – informally known as a Capstone Project – by the end of their senior year. Capstone projects offer a unique opportunity for intellectual exploration and development and they also provide students with the chance to simultaneously enrich their knowledge of human communication, hone their analytic and writing skills, and demonstrate their capacity for engaging in advanced research that is relevant to their desired professions or career paths.
Research Methods Course + Research Project Course
In order to help students get the most of their experience completing a Capstone Project, the Communications program at Greater Allegheny has effectively integrated the required research projects course (COMM 494) with the required course in communication research methods (CAS 204). For all practical purposes, this means that part of the CAS 204 course (offered in the fall) will be devoted to helping students begin the research project that they will pursue in COMM 494 (offered in the spring): Students enrolled in CAS 204 will spend a significant amount of time – anywhere between 1/2 to 2/3 of the semester – studying communication theory and research methods, and during the last part of the course they will put this knowledge to work by selecting a topic that they will then refine, research, and begin to write about (typically using the process outlined in The Craft of Research). By the end of CAS 204, each student will:
- Identify an appropriate research topic.
- Compose an approved research plan (see below for additional details on the approval process) which identifies:
- an appropriate research question or set of questions
- the relevant literature on the topic
- a clear statement of procedures (i.e. how the student plans to proceed with the project).
When students enter COMM 494 they will have already devoted adequate time to developing their topic, researching the subject matter, and thinking through the appropriate use of theory and methodology in their individual projects. By the end of COMM 494, each student will:
- Create an original document which is the logical outcome of their fully executed research plan (typically a 15-20+ page research paper).
- Offer a 10-minute oral presentation that details her/his research question, approach, and findings.
Evaluation
The project topic, research plan, final paper, and project presentation will be evaluated and must be approved by both the presiding COMM 494 professor and by one “outside reader” designated in consultation with the presiding COMM 494 professor. To warrant faculty approval, the topic, final document and presentation must demonstrate proficiency in: (1) research and critical thinking skills (2) effective writing and (3) effective speaking/oral presentation.
Criteria for Approval of Topics and Research Plans in CAS 204
In order to gain approval, research project topics must be reasonably related to the academic discipline of Communications and serve as a logical extension of the student’s undergraduate training. We also encourage students to select topics that might serve as a bridge to their post-graduate careers. Topics must also hold an obvious possibility of feasibility and represent original intellectual inquiry.
In general, the research plan must begin by identifying a question or set of questions that the student seeks to “answer” or explore for further insight. The research plan is formulated after preliminary research on the topic has been conducted, and must include a substantial bibliography of published scholarly research that will serve as a foundation and launching point for the project. In addition to identifying the relevant scholarly literature, the research plan must also identify whatever original material the student intends to work with and how s/he intends to work with that material.
Grading Criteria – Final Project Paper
The final project paper will be evaluated first and foremost upon the extent to which it evidences and reflects a full and complete execution of the approved research plan and the additional effort required to transform that plan into a substantial final product. We expect that many final project papers will also reflect discoveries or perspectives that were not anticipated at the planning stage – that where the student “ends up” may not always be exactly where s/he thought they were going at the outset. The paper and presentation can justify and explain such shifts as the positive outcome of scholarly inquiry and research. The connection between the plan and the final outcome must, however, be abundantly apparent.
Final project papers must also, of course, be coherently structured and presented, properly sourced and documented, and stylistically impeccable. Papers sufficiently lacking in any of these standards of advanced composition will not be approved.
Grading Criteria – Final Presentation
At the end of the semester (after the paper has been submitted), a 10-minute research project presentation will be delivered to the Communications faculty and anybody else who wishes to attend. Presentations should provide a formally organized representation of the project questions, research process, and conclusions. There will also be a 10-minute Q&A session. Formal quality, organization, effective use of supporting examples, presentation style, and a sufficient display of authority and confidence in the Q&A session will all factor into the final project grade. After the Q&A session, faculty will meet privately with the student to discuss the outcomes of the research project.
Possible Questions (and Answers)
Q: When should I take CAS 204 and COMM 494?
A: Students should schedule CAS 204 before they take COMM 494, and ideally in the fall and spring semesters (respectively) of their senior year.
Q: What if I already took COMM 494 but I still have to take CAS 204 in order graduate?
A: That’s ok. The Communication Research Methods course (CAS 204) has only been taught since Fall 2013 so it’s likely that there will be students who simply cannot take the courses in the order that we’re recommending. If you fall into this category, simply make your CAS 204 teacher aware of your situation and he or she will give you the option to use the latter half of CAS 204 as a way to either 1) revise your existing research project, or 2) develop a formal proposal for a research study, a grant, a project to pursue in graduate school, or a project carried out in conjunction with a community group in the Pittsburgh region.
Q: I don’t see anything in the course bulletin or my schedule about a ‘Senior Capstone Project’. Why isn’t it listed?
A: Because this is the informal name that we are using to both emphasize the relationship between CAS 204 and COMM 494 and to get people thinking about these courses as Parts I and II of the same larger project. Put simply, you might hear Communications professors or students making reference to a ‘Senior Capstone Project’, but you won’t find anything about it in the official PSU Bulletin.