As a communication professional, you may have to conduct research yourself, commission research from others or evaluate the methods and results of others' research. These needs mean that you will need to understand not only how research is done but also what distinguishes good research from bad. A practical way to think about research is to assume that based on research findings you will be recommending that your organization launch a million dollar communication campaign, or a new magazine or social media initiative. What would you want to know about the research on which you are basing your recommendation?

This course is designed to introduce you to the basics of communication research and to develop your ability to conduct and evaluate research. We will look at the methods commonly used in human communication research and the assumptions that underpin research design. There will be an opportunity to design and implement research projects, to analyse data and to report results in the professional format expected of scholarly researchers.