So there’s no rubric it just different step that guide through the whole essay Clearly state your technology. Clearly state why this is an important research topic. Clearly state your research question/hypothesis. Provide three scholarly articles as previous research. Provide one logically relevant media theory. Match your research question/hypothesis with your method. Provide brief information on your research method. Clearly state the expected results, future plan, and limitations. Include a reference list and in-text citation based on the APA 7th style. Use proper language. Do not use slang. Do not use acronyms or text chat language. Use the uploaded format. Pick One Technology: SELECT one specific technology made by a particular company(ies) rather than a broad question about all technologies. However, if your field site is particular enough, a broad range of technologies can also be studied. For example, a researcher selects the D2L for the study object. Connect with a Phenomenon: Connect with a phenomenon that can be related to the technology. The goal of this step is to make a “logical” connection between your technology and the social phenomenon. REMEMBER, this is a research proposal, not a marketing/project proposal. Avoid Activism! We focus on connecting technology and society, rather than predicting a future or providing a solution. For example, a researcher assumes that the usage of D2L has changed over the pandemic. Select a Variable(s) In the phenomenon, SELECT a variable(s) you want to focus on. Be as specific as possible! If you are interested in MENTAL HEALTH, what exactly is it? Depression? Anxiety? Body dysphoria? Appearance satisfaction? If you are interested in SCHOOL PERFORMANCE, what exactly is it? GPA? Social network? Social capital? The relationship with professors? If you are interested in EQUITY and HUMAN RIGHT, what exactly is it? Gender equity? Race equity? Immigrants right? If you are interested in PERCEPTION and ATTITUDES, what exactly is it? Satisfaction? Happiness? Purchase intention? Empathy? Stigma? You can also focus on a specific group of people with similar identities, such as age, culture, gender, educational levels, income levels, etc. For example, a researcher wants to focus on the “usage” of D2L and freshmen in MSU. State a Research Question OR a Hypothesis: MAKE one or two sentences that describe the relationship between your chosen technology and your chosen variable. You should propose one research question OR one research hypothesis. Research Question: It focuses on the relationship’s qualitative aspect (e.g., hidden meanings, cultural practices, emotions, etc). It should be answerable but not be a YES/NO answer. Therefore, it should start with “HOW.” Research Hypothesis: It focuses on the relationship’s quantitative aspect (e.g., causal relationships, relationship strength, negative/positive correlation, etc). It suggests directions of impact from one to other variables. Therefore, it should be a STATEMENT. Once again, AVOID ACTIVISM! Research questions/hypotheses like below WILL NOT get a credit: “How do we offset the stolen labor from factory robots?” “How do we make dating apps result in stronger relationships?” “How can we make more accountability measures for military drones?” “Electronic cars will be an alternative to the traditional car.” For example, a researcher can suggest a research question like this: HOW has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the usage of D2L among MSU freshmen? For another example, a researcher can suggest a research hypothesis like this: The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the time spent on D2L among MSU freshmen. Select a research method: SELECT one research method that can effectively evaluate your described research question or hypothesis. You should choose one research method that is the most plausible one for finding an answer to your research question or hypothesis. You should MATCH your chosen research method and your chosen research question or hypothesis. If you have a RESEARCH QUESTION, you should choose one of the QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS. If you have a RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS, you should choose one of the QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS. For example, a researcher decides to use a research question and adopt the “interview method” to find an answer to it. For another example, a researcher decides to use a research hypothesis and adopt the “survey method” to find an answer to it. Introduction What is your chosen technology? What social phenomenon do you connect with the technology? What inspired this project? How did you come to ask this question at all? Why is this topic worth researching? Why should this research project be considered important? What is your research question/research hypothesis? Previous Research & Theory You should include at least THREE SCHOLARLY ARTICLES (Note: News articles are NOT scholarly articles) You should include at least ONE MEDIA THEORY from the class content. If you can find another theory that can be suitable for your research, you can use it instead. However, if you will use another theory not in the class content, you should discuss this with your TA. Has any previous research studied the same or similar topic? If so, what was the conclusion of them? If so, how your research proposal can be distinguishable? Do you use similar but different technology? Do you study different groups of people? Do you use different methods? If there is no previous research, which is extremely rare, has any previous research studied the same social phenomenon but using a different technology? What media theories can help you to explain your chosen relationship between technology and phenomenon? Methods Research Design What research method do you choose? Will it be an online study or an in-person study? What kind of steps will a participant go through to complete the research? Does a participant get rewards for participation? How much time will it take for the participant to complete the research? If you have multiple conditions to compare, how will you divide each condition? If you have multiple conditions to compare, how will you assign a participant to a certain condition? Is it random or based on specific criteria? Reminding your SONA participation will be helpful to complete this section: What kind of activities did you do? How many surveys did you do? Did a researcher ask you to watch/read/do something? For example, to understand how MSU freshmen have used D2L during the pandemic, I will perform a qualitative semi-structured interview study. First, I will ask participants to read and complete the consent form and collect their background information. Then, I will conduct an interview, and it will take about 30 minutes. After the interview, a participant will get a $10 Amazon gift card. Sample What is your target population? How many participants do you need? (Be realistic. You cannot interview 1,000 people!) What is your rationale for the number of participants? Where do you recruit the participants? When do you stop recruiting? For example, my target population is MSU freshmen. To avoid any possible sampling error, I will use a random sampling method based on the sampling frame as an entire freshmen students’ list. From the list, I will email them and recruit 10 people for the interview because I expect to find coherent patterns and themes between participants. However, after collecting and analyzing the data from the first 20 participants, I may recruit 10 more participants, if I will not see the pattern. Measurements What kind of questions will you ask your participants? Do you develop the questions or use questions that other researchers already developed? For example, I will start the interview with general questions asking about their school life as a freshman to build a rapport. Then, I will change the topic to their experiences with lectures. For example, I will ask those questions: “How’s taking college classes? Do you feel any differences from your high school classes?” “What is your favorite and least favorite class this semester? Can you tell me why?” Finally, I will ask a participant questions about their usage of D2L. Expected Results What are the intended outcomes of the study? What do you hope to accomplish with this study? What can be done with this research? Who does it affect: what companies, institutions, people, communities, policies, authorities, environmental factors, ethical and moral implications, design implications, etc. Future Plan How do you let other people know about your study results? Will you be publishing it in academic journals? Speak about it on podcasts? Hold community-engaged workshops? Speak on Capitol Hill about it? Do you want to use this study to inform a follow-up study? Limitations What are the possible limitations of your study? Will your study result be generalizable to the entire population? Will your study result explain why the phenomenon happens? Will your study be different if you use other methods/populations? What variables do you consider but do not include in the study? Do you think those variables will affect the results? Reference Use the APA 7th edition for your in-text citation and reference list. You should include at least THREE SCHOLARLY ARTICLES.
