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Let me start by suggesting that the course number is not an indicator of difficulty of the class but of the starting point for the class. This class starts at the beginning (What is communication research?) and offers an overview or introduction to the various methods. More advanced classes would sacrifice breadth for depth. All college classes should be challenging since that is how change happens.

Here are three of the reasons why the faculty thought research methods should be required by all COM majors so early in your sequence of classes. First, we had a lot of students declaring communication as their major without really understanding what that was! Many came here because of what they didn’t like about other majors, not because of what they did like about communication studies. This class helps clarify what we study and how we study it and gives prospective majors a much clearer idea of what they’re getting into.

Second, we found that a lot of our students were not able to carry out the kind of research we need them to do in the other COM classes. Many of the projects assume that students can conduct effective and efficient secondary research in the library. In addition, we want our students to be able to interview effectively, create surveys, analyze speeches and other "texts" (such as TV shows, advertisements and song lyrics) and carry out other aspects of research.

Third, we live in a world that requires us to be able to do and critically examine research. Many jobs require us to research. Even more obvious is the fact that finding a job requires research! Also, many communication professionals also must separate good research from bad. "Science says . . . " doesn’t always mean it’s true. Journalists and PR practitioners must be especially adept at screening bad research.

In summary, we hope that requiring research methods at the beginning of your sequence of classes will help you make a more informed decision about your major, experience greater success in your coursework as a major, and provide lifelong skills for you to use as a UNCW graduate.

I wish there were a secret formula to offer. The concepts and issues raised in this class are challenging ones and I know the class is difficult for many students. Here are a few hints from me. I have also started a student hints page and you can check there and add to it at the end of the semester.

As I said, there is no secret formula but I hope these four suggestions give you some practical advice on how to do well in this class and other COM classes. If you have some practical suggestions that you think would help other students email them to me and I may put them on the web site!

Basically my job as your instructor is to decide what I think is important for you to learn and be able to do after you have taken my class and to design tests and assignments that improve and assess your learning and doing. I hope the exams assess your command of the vocabulary of the course and your ability to define and apply concepts. I hope the projects assess your ability to plan and carry out a basic research project.

The short answer is "vocabulary." Learning new vocabulary is one of the most important aspects of your college education. The vocabulary of COM 200 allows you to talk accurately and efficiently about the issues surrounding the research of human communication and the study of human behavior in general.

You can best study for the exams by being able to link the vocabulary with your own examples. Obviously knowing the definition of "standard deviation" will help you through a typical true/false question but being able to put into the context of an example will better assist your understanding of the concept and help with multiple choice questions.

Recently a student scored a 94 on the COM 200 mid term before any curve. She is clearly a very bright student and has developed her mind and study habits well before college. I asked her to write me an email that summarized how she prepared for the exam. Below is her response. I have not censored her response and will let her "speak for herself." My few additional comments are in red.

A guide to success on the Com 200 Midterm

Read ALL of the chapters in Reinard (I think Olsen was feeling particularly cruel on the day he chose this textbook because it’s terrible, but no matter how boring it is, it really helps to read all of the material) (I have since changed textbooks to one that was not available until recently, but reading all the chapters in the text is still key!)

Olsen also holds a class before the exam where he answers questions that you have about the test. Come prepared with questions about the review sheet, vocabulary, or anything else that might pop up on the exam.

Do not start studying the night before – There is a lot of material covered on the exam, so studying for one night just won’t do it. Start re-reading at least one week in advance; review vocabulary from the book and your notes, and answer every question on the review sheet Olsen hands out. Then, two or three nights before the test you’ll be prepared to start studying from all of that material that you have put together.

Do the T/F questions online from the text book website (similar questions might make their way onto the test). The feedback from the quizzes is a helpful study tool.

When organizing your study sheet, make sure YOU have a system that YOU understand. I organized categorically (by topic) so I could find everything easily, but any way you choose to do it, just make sure you will be able to find all of the information when it comes to test time. (I know others who organized their material alphabetically. The key is her first sentence!)

Don’t copy and paste the T/F questions onto your study sheet, there’s plenty of material from the book and notes that I found more helpful, so I recommend focusing on that.

Go over the vocabulary from the book. Being familiar with it will make many of the questions and answer choices much easier to understand.

Do e-mail Dr. Olsen with questions that you have about course material. He might make a hard test, but he really does want you to do well, and is more than willing help if you ask him. (I harassed him, but he never complained.) (I will be glad to answer questions that emerge from your study, I will not answer questions that seem to be about me doing your studying for you.)

DON’T rely solely on your study sheet. If you make one the night before and rely only on that, you’re screwed. You will spend all of your time looking up answers on your sheet and you may not finish at all. The more familiar you are with the material, the less you will have to use your summary sheet as a crutch. Know both the material and your sheet so that you have a mastery of the information and you can easily find answers to the questions that you don’t know.

Get plenty of rest and don’t stress too much!

Good Luck!

This page offers a few questions that are like those that might be on an exam. Don’t try and cut corners and figure out the content—I’ll give you review guides that highlight what I feel is important. Look closely at the form of the questions and the brief discussion below.

What can be said about these examples? First, I will typically have a "none of the above" option to minimize random guessing. You may also see the form of "Which of these is NOT a type of validity?" and then a set of options including none of the above. If you think ALL of the response ARE examples of validity, then "none of the above" would be the correct choice. Notice that the multiple choice will focus on vocabulary and examples of that vocabulary in "real life." It will also focus on areas where our "common sense" may be at odds with what we as scholars know about communication and research (question #3 for example).