India

INDIA

Sarabdeep Kochhar

INDIA is one of the oldest civilizations with a kaleidoscopic variety and rich cultural heritage. It has achieved multifaceted socio-economic progress during the last 52 years of its Independence. As the seventh largest country in the world, India stands apart from the rest of Asia, marked off as it is by mountains and the sea, which give the country a distinct geographical entity. Bounded by the Great Himalayas in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west. India is a diverse country, a fact that is visibly prominent in its people, culture and climate. From the eternal snows of the Himalayas to the cultivated peninsula of far South, from the deserts of the West to the humid deltas of the East, from the dry heat and cold of the Central Plateau to the cool forest foothills, Indian lifestyles clearly glorify the geography.

The food, clothing and habits of an Indian differ in accordance to the place of origin. The Indian culture varies like its vast geography. People speak in different languages, dress differently, follow different religions, eat different food but are of the same temperament. So whether it is a joyous occasion or a moment of grief, people participate whole-heartedly, feeling the happiness or pain. A festival or a celebration is never constrained to a family or a home. The whole community or neighborhood is involved in bringing liveliness to an occasion. Likewise, an Indian wedding is a celebration of union, not only of the bride and groom, but also of two families, maybe cultures or religion too! Meditation and Yoga are synonymous with India and Indian spirituality. Meditation is one of the most important components of Yoga, which is a mind-body therapy involving a series of exercises. Another widely followed phenomenon in India is the Doctrine of Karma that preaches that every person should behave justly as every act or deed comes back in full circle in one of the births of an individual.

Will Durant, American historian said: "India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all"

http://www.incredibleindia.org/

LIFE AFTER MY THESIS

LIFE AFTER MY THESIS

Sarabdeep Kochhar

The thought of completing my masters fills me up with excitement and eagerness to go back to my country. My first two semesters here have been really good with many new things for me to learn. The courses like introduction to mass communication and research methodology in the first semester were good to help me understand the basics of a graduate program and what research is. The second semester was one step further where the theory class and thesis seminar gave me an opportunity to think beyond basic concepts. Be it the choosing of the thesis topic or the committee, thesis seminar did help me clear many of my questions. With professors coming in to share their experiences and interests was especially interesting.

I am leaving for India for summers with so many things to share with my family and friends. The next two semesters will be totally directed towards my thesis work. I plan to do my thesis on the changing paradigms of public relations, by studying more specifically the situational theory of public and dialogic theory. I am interested in knowing how the concepts of situational theory can be added with that of dialogic theory. I will conduct interviews. The thesis proposal which I submitted did help me to streamline what I plan to do with clearly defined time frames to work in.

I plan to finish my thesis work by around January and defend my thesis in March. I cannot wait for my graduation ceremony. I plan to find a good job in India and go back and work for my country. India is a developing nation and I as an Indian wish to contribute to that growth. I want to learn as a much as I can. I wish to work for a good organization in corporate communication department. Life after my thesis will be full of both opportunities and challenges.

Life after my Master's by Beth

Life after my Master's by Beth
There has to be life after completing a thesis or a project, but I know that I have to still do it all myself. I learned this after getting my Bachelor’s; I was told that there would be life after college by my friends and instructor’s at Rochester College. However, due to the condition of the Michigan economy, I had to make a choice. I had to decide if I wanted to continue with my education, or go back to working dead-end, hourly jobs where my abilities would ever be noticed.
I have managed to find a place in earning my Master’s degree that I always wanted, but never could find. If there isn’t life after this, then what have I found now? I have already begun to find life while earning the degree, so why couldn’t exist afterwards. Starting Monday, I take on the positions of managing editor for The Sower and will begin taking photos and occasionally writing for The Daily.
I also was able to get permission from the art college and will begin taking photography classes in the fall. I have always wanted to be a photographer and to work for a newspaper, so thanks to the way that our program is set up, I can do that. I have the ability to get a Master's in Journalism and Mass Communication at a highly ranked and competitive university with a concentration in photojournalism. Not many people can really say that they were able to “design” their own degrees.
Life after my Master’s may not mean the same to me as it does to others. I think of the irony that 6 years ago, I had lost my home, my husband was unemployed and statistics are against me that I should even be here today. I grew up in a blue collar town with a strong belief that I could do anything, but when you are looking the worst days of your life right in the eyes, you find yourself drowning in the idea that you will never get out of this.
I got out and I intend to stay out. Detroit is a tough town to grown up in, and you don’t even have to be from the city to realize that. People work hard and they play hard, but they also fall hard. The winters are cold and depressing and the summers are not always what we want them to be. If there isn’t life after getting my Master’s, then it means that not only did I fail, but I wasn’t able to shake that old “I told you so” mentality that all my naysayers had.
Life has to exist after my Master’s, not just because I have accomplished something great, but because I can’t go back to a place that leaves me wanting more all the time. I like to want more, but not to do the everyday grind that so many people back home do. I am working on becoming a photojournalist and I would not have ever been able to combine all the things I love into one degree or one programs in any other instance. So, yes, life after your degree does exist, but only if you make it.

Get to the Masses!

Life after a thesis or project reveals itself important as any researcher’s aim is to influence or make a difference in the body of knowledge. By the time one chooses a research topic, one his interested in picking something deeply relevant. In fact, it is first of all an attempt to answer a question, clarify a problem or contribute to an ongoing debate. Thus, if any topic follows these guidelines, there will be a considerable chance that the researcher will influence audiences.
In my case, it would be important to note that the main objective of my research is to reevaluate the role of media in consolidating democracy after many African countries have experienced noticeable changes in the way politics is conducted. Democracy has almost become the main rule of the land in the whole continent. Yet, it has become crucial to probe how the media, once owned by politicians in the past, has become a vector of democracy, providing the masses with the tools they need for a more inclusive society.
Everyone knows that the press must be a means to stimulate the marketplace of ideas by allowing the population to be aware of what the elite carries out for the advancement of the masses. So this research will definitely stand as one of the barometers for the implementation of democratic rule in the continent. Are journalists playing an important role in helping the masses participate in the affairs of the city by standing as a voice for those who cannot be heard? Are the media making the elite abide by the basic rules that define democracy?
My research seeks not only to influence journalists but it also attempts to create a tool for both government s and international organization concerned with the advancement of masses through a democratic society. The press in Africa has actually reached a point to which it needs to be reevaluated. In fact, it is only after the 1990s that a free press started to emerge in the continent. Yet, substantial efforts need to be done to eradicate instability through democracy. How is the press doing after its liberalization?
I’m actually looking forward to presenting this work to conferences around the world including in Africa of course. This will be an opportunity to make the work reach people and influence audiences.
This thesis/project class has actually been a great opportunity for me to set the basis for a consistent research that would allow me to make the work influent. It actually was a great opportunity for me to know more about the way to contribute to the body of knowledge.

Free to Be

By Jordan Kinley

I do not have a particular academic subject I wish to share, but would rather offer some recommendations of places to study here in Norman.

My hands down favorite place to study is at Cafe Plaid on the edge of Campus Corner. If you bring your own mug coffee is only $1.45 and you can sit quietly during the lunch rush hour. The workers are quirky, local and down to earth. The sandwiches can't be beat and the Plaid Bar (pastry) is delectable. There is one drawback, the Internet is shut off between the hours of roughly 11:00 to 1:45, but that provides the perfect amount of time to study sans www.addictinggames.com.

If the privately owned cafe isn't your thing and you want to stay close to campus, head on down to Starbucks where you can mysteriously order in pseudo sizing: Short, Tall, Grande, or Venti anything. The location across from campus has plenty of outlets making it convenient to keep a laptop or cell phone charged. Other perks include free wireless Internet to iPhone users and overpriced bottles of water. Well, that's not a perk, but instead of buying a bottle of water ask one of the Barista's for a cup because all Starbucks have an intense water filtration system behind the counter.

If you enjoy a completely quiet area or if you want to be served Starbucks quality coffee without the full experience, try the Great Reading Room in Bizzell or the Bookmark Cafe. Both provide a decent spot to finish assignments and collect thoughts. If you've never visited the GRM, you might want to considering it's potentially the place your thesis will go to die.

One site away from campus worth visiting is the Starbucks in Brookhaven Village. This particular location has less of a college presence and receives more patrons from the surrounding neighborhoods. Unlike most Starbucks, this particular one often offers free samples of their cookies, cakes and muffins during afternoon hours. The Baristas know most of the customers because the manager has made the store much more personal than others I have visited. There are plenty of tables and chairs, even an extension outlet for computers used by individuals conducting business.

The coffee/pastry bar in the Barnes & Noble offers a pleasant place to learn. The benefit of traveling to this location is that when work becomes a bore, you can usually find something of interest in the remainder of the store. I used to frequent B&N a few semesters ago and more times than not I would unexpectedly leave with a book about something completely unrelated to my assignment at the time.

Two locations that I have never patronized but have heard decent things about are Hastings and Panera, both of which are off Main St. I have been told that often it is hard to find a table at both of these stores because they are so popular among college students. Regardless, they are popular for a reason and must be doing something right to fill up around finals time.

There you have it, a sprinkling of coffee houses and places to study throughout Norman.

Life After Death

By Jordan Kinley

That title might be a little harsh, but I couldn't avoid a Nortorious B.I.G. reference.

The life that will be bestowed upon me after the completion of a thesis or project will be one filled with job offers and publishing opportunities. It never hurts to dream big right? While I might not be littered with job offers, it is my hope that I will be able to use the project on race management to show my capabilities in the world of event management. I'm not sure where my career is headed, but I would like to some day play a larger role in the running community. Perhaps aspiring to head the USATF or the IOC because both of these entities rely heavily on the structure and organization of global events. More specifically, the types of events that are created depend upon sponsor involvement and the attraction of broad audiences.

My project deals directly with sponsorship from the perspectives of race directors and sponsors who have already experienced how their relationship creates opportunities for others. At a local level, I hope to offer race directors and community sponsors an effective way to more creatively produce road races. Currently, the state of Oklahoma road races lags behind other communities where running and walking are more accepted community activities. I hope to consult and influence event directors of all sizes, (rom the KAT's Making Tracks 5k on up to the OKC Memorial Marathon) that more can be done to promote their races. On broader level, I hope to take my experience in the field and share my ideas with individuals involved with organizing the Boston, Chicago and New York marathons.

This fall I am helping direct the Brookhaven Run which is the largest road race in Cleveland County. It currently is the most competitive 5k race in the state and this year we hope to break the state record of 14:07 (male) and 16:03 (female). I have been placed in charge of assembling an elite field of athletes willing to push their limits. My ability to attract a large field will depend largely on the amount of prize money I can raise. Being able to offer $1000 to the victor greatly increases my chances of finding the athlete that can break the state record. However, the prize purse is dependent upon raising enough money from the local businesses willing to associate themselves with the race.

Life after the completion of the project will hopefully involve working with the organizations in need of an experienced and knowledgeable individual willing to help organize a large scale event. A bigger audience, will attract better sponsors, with more money, requiring more responsibility. A challenge I'm looking forward to completing.

Free Topic - Concluding Outlook by Christina

When I first thought about my future outlook after taking this course the first idea that jumped into my head was, “Sweet, only one more semester to go!” Then reality set in. Goodness, I actually have to start conducting this research, analyze it, and then tie it back to theory, all in six months. The time frame is not that daunting, I can get it done, but it is scary. This project, as I noted in my last post, is my future. Its results could very much determine where I am at and what I am doing by January. So, more than anything, though I am confident in my work and my public relations skills, questions start to seep into the corners of my thoughts. What if something goes wrong? What if the research does not turn out the way I am thinking? What if I do not make the impact that is truly significant? Can I really make a social media code book to measure dialogue that professionals will use? After the onset of panic, I sit back, relax and realize nothing worth having comes easy. I agree with former President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt, who said, "nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty... I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well."

He is right, what would be the point of leaving this program without the blood, sweat and tears of actually completing a thesis or project. You will be respected by employers and peers alike, especially if you conduct a vigorous and worthwhile study. What is the point of taking the easy way out? Anybody can have their name associated with a masters degree, but not everyone can get published and have proof of there writing and research abilities while showcasing their ability to think abstractly, yet tie that information back into something concrete. Though scared, I am proud to know I am not taking the easy way out. When I defend ( hopefully Dec. 1) I will know I have given this effort and every bit of who I am. There is a big difference between defending a few three-hour exams and defending an entire research project that took a year to finish. I applaud and respect everyone who completes a thesis or project, know that you are different; there is a higher sense of achievement.

As a final note, I want to touch on the IRB. Should I use this forum to complain about the IRB and just get it off my chest? Well, I could but I will not. More importantly I want to educate those who have yet to go through the IRB process for the Norman Campus . It is difficult, it is aggravating, but it can be done. Seriously, I am interviewing public relations and social media experts about social media and public relations. How much risk could be involved there? But, that does not matter; the IRB application has to be sent out. So, if you are beginning to think about a thesis or project that involves any type of human contact, get on top of your IRB now. Here are there major tips:


1. Do the training NOW! Do not wait till you need the IRB approval to get your training done. All IRB applicants must complete: CITI (Collaborative IRB Training Initiative) Basic Web-Based Course. It takes forever, so just knock it out, before you are even dealing with your IRB application.

2. Make sure to submit all parts of the IRB Application. The Web site is horrible and slightly confusing, so ensure you include your application, research protocol, any additional material to include interview protocols, interview questions and informed consent documents, as well as expedited review, if applicable.


3. Be patient and understand this office exists for a reason. Though, at times it may feel like they just do not want you to conduct research in your field of study and it is a little bit ridiculous. It is there to protect the rights of people, because past researchers have taken advantage.

Final Post-Player's Choice by Josh Rogers

Final Post-Player's Choice by Josh Rogers

For my final post, I thought I would point out and discuss some of the resources available to the graduate student. Hopefully, you will find some of these resources useful in your own journey through graduate school.
Take a visit to the OU IT store. There are a number of "free"( free, as in, you've already paid for it with your tuition fees) downloads available. If you want to upgrade to Office 2003 Professional this is a free download. Symantic Anti-Virus and Ad-Aware are also available to download. For grad assistants, I would suggest downloading a copy of EndNote, or ProCite. These are very useful reference managers which will help store and properly format all the research that you have downloaded from the library. The only pain is that you need to do a little data entry to load your references but after that you will be able to cite and reference effortlessly in most Word .docs.
If you like to listen to music while you are studying check out ruckus.com. OU, like many other universities, has an agreement with Ruckus for free music downloads. Ruckus also has videos and games which might distract you from working on your thesis but it is worth checking out. Pandora.com is also a great customizable Internet music site. Build music channels with your music preferences-listening to Pandora is almost like inventing your own favorite radio station that only plays the kind of songs you want to hear.
Feelin' blue? Gradresources.org is a website that has a section for "E-mentors" that are available through email correspondence. According to the website:
Nick Repak, National Director of Grad Resources, has started a weekly email letter to those who have requested E-Mentor assistance. His initial topics have included Time Management, Prof/Grad Relationships, Financial Pressures, and other issues grad students face. He will also respond to topics/issues you feel are pertinent to a majority of grad students, and would greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions. If there are specific issues that require personal responses he will attempt to answers these personally or put you in contact with someone who can.

If you have a more urgent need for help, Gradresources.org also offers a crisis hotline-1-877-GRAD-HLP. Unfortunately, the section that was titled Grad Student Survival Kits: Free Resources for Graduate Students is now closed.
Trying to eat well on a tight budget? I would recommend this site for a number of recipes that are possible for a starving college student. Recipes like "Hot Dog Casserole" and "Ramen Foo Young" are quick, easy and affordable for a graduate student on a budget.
For those graduate students that are hard up for cash-- donating plasma might be a possibility. The local center in Norman is right down the road from campus. I paid for my high school prom by donating plasma and I finished The Once and Future King by T.H. White-required reading for my senior A.P. English class-during my plasma sessions.
I know that some of these tips might be more practical than others. I just thought that I would have a little fun with my last post. Hopefully, though, at least one of these tips will come in handy-Have a good summer and good luck with the Hot Dog Casserole.

Topic of Choice: The Defense

Topic of Choice: The Defense
Leslie Cermak

This class has been very helpful in learning more about developing a thesis or project in several ways. I think we all now know how important it is to have a committee that gets along. All in all, this one-hour class was composed of a lot of work and some helpful information.

Although I’d love to grow excited when I think about the end of December (when I can officially graduate), there is one looming obstacle that stands in my way: a successful defense. For me, the defense is that undefined event that I just really don’t know how to prepare for other than know my topic well and be prepared to answer anything and everything about it. Our class presentations in thesis seminar were a good primer, and we’ve learned some about the process here and there, but I still think I don’t know what to expect.

For me, this is unsettling. Considering that I’ve been a teacher for five years, the part about public speaking shouldn’t be terrifying. I also know my committee members well. However, when I taught, it was subject matter I knew very well and to people who wanted to learn more about English grammar. At my defense, I’ll be communicating about a topic I’ve learned a lot about but to people who will know it very well. This is a different type of rhetoric than I’m used to and likely to make me nervous. And when I get nervous, my ability to speak effectively disintegrates.

I realize that a good chair will not set you up for failure and that it is up to the student to determine how successful a defense can be, but even the name of the event does not sound pleasant.

So, how does a graduate student prepare for defense? Well, we’ve been told to know much about our topic and our study. Obviously answering “I don’t know” often is probably not a good marker for a successful defense. An essay written by Reckski (2005) likely lays out a more detailed how-to than these vague answers. But what else can we do to prepare? One thing I’ve learned is to consider attending a fellow graduate student’s defense before it’s your turn. Although I have always had either my job or classes that conflict with defense meetings, I intend to speak with professors about any that I might be able allowed to attend. In this case, I think experience or observation really may be the best way to prepare. Kuhlenschmidt (1992) writes in her article “Teaching Students to handle the Oral Defense,” (Available through Lora in the journal Teaching of Psychology) that a voluntary workshop held on her part helped students get over some of their anxiety.

Although we may not have a workshop at our disposal, we do have some very receptive faculty members who seem more than willing to speak with us and peers we can turn to for support. There are also numerous online articles including those by the American Psychological Association, universities, writing centers and blogs that offer guidance and information about what to expect. This may be the next best thing to having a good chair that will help us along the way.

My Choice

My Choice – Amber Theinert

I hate my choice options. The open-endedness of such a blog makes it difficult to decide what to do. I could write about my research, but sometimes I bore of that topic (since I am so immersed in it on a relatively frequent basis). So, I think I will contribute to this blog by writing a mini survival guide to getting a Masters degree while working full-time and being a full-time mom. As much research as I’ve done in sports public relations, I definitely know much more about this topic then anything else.

1. Find a job that will work with you and understand your school commitments.

This is actually quite difficult, as I soon found out. First, I moved backed to Oklahoma as there were no schools within close proximity to where I lived in Texas that offered my degree. Then the job I moved for that promised complete understanding no longer understood after a year. Luckily, I finally fell into a job that seems to get it (although there are still issues at times).

2. Have a strong support system in place.

Having family that gets it and an awesome spouse that is willing to spend a lot of lonely nights with two children under the age of three seems like it would be impossible to find. However, a simple conversation explaining all the crazy time commitments can go a long way to save a marriage. Also, knowing that if your spouse has to work late that you have other family willing to take care of the kiddos while you are in school is of the utmost importance.

3. Although you have no time, be ready to make time.

This is the hardest thing for me to do. I still find myself doing a lot of things last minute (like this blog), but time is really difficult to make and often times I need the deadline to kick things into high gear. Luckily, I’ve always worked my best under pressure. I’ve learned quite a bit about time management by getting my Masters degree that I never learned while getting my Bachelors degree.

4. Getting a Bachelors degree is very different than a Masters degree.

This is good knowledge for every student taking this step. The whole undergraduate process is geared toward practical knowledge, training you to get a job upon graduation. However, graduate school requires more thinking, asks that you learn more about the why rather than the how of it all. So, all studying skills that were effective for a BA are almost completely ineffective for an MA.

Life After the M.A.

Life After the M.A. by Josh Rogers

Since I still have about a year left to go in this program it doesn't seem like there ever will be a life after graduation.
But, this year has gone by pretty quickly. What will be nice is that after this semester I will feel that I'm more in control of my course of study since I'll have most of my required courses behind me- Statistics, Theory, Research Methods, and Qualitative Research-I'll miss you.
One of the advantages of working on a thesis is reading the literature that is related to the specific topic one is studying. I'm not certain that writing a thesis about advergames will directly contribute to finding a job in a year. I am certain that since I'll have a pretty thorough understanding of advertising, social Internet use, and a pretty good idea of why people want to spend their free time puttering around playing a sponsored game like this one. This game will take awhile but you get to play pinball and jump a car.
After I graduate I've given some thought about working for the Chickasaw Nation. I attended a retention event hosted by the Chickasaws on campus last night. In addition to getting a small bag full of exam week swag (post-it notes, popcorn, hot cocoa, a scantron sheet) they also had a recruiter on hand as well. She explained that the Chickasaws are now becoming more sophisticated in tracking Chickasaw students who are on scholarship and checking to see if there are any possible job positions for newly graduated Chickasaws. The Rogers family has decided to stick around OK for a while so this might be a possibility. I used to belong to Rotary and would also hang around and volunteer at film festivals every so often so getting some free time back in my life would be great.
I am still thinking about trying to help out my sister-in-law's skateboard shop. I think that there website does not represent their brick and mortar operation or open up their business to new customers outside of the San Diego area. This website is pretty sparse and is not very interactive. There was an attempt a few months ago to start a mailing list but that sort of fell through. No Facebook, no Myspace, no updated features or social aspects to the website. The news is old and there is no sense of stickiness to the site that would make kids interested in skateboarding want to visit or spend time with the site. I am taking the interactive media course that is offered this summer so maybe I'll find out if such an undertaking would even be possible for me to start.
I am not sure that I would want to continue on to a PhD. I work with a few Doctoral candidates and those guys seem pretty stressed out all the time. Maybe if I take another ten years off of school I'll decide to go back to school again.

Life After My Project

Life After My Project – Amber Theinert

Is there life after working on a project and graduating with a Masters degree from OU? But of course! If not, then there would be absolutely no reason to be here.

While we as a class will take very different paths after our graduation, some off to get the coveted Doctoral and some (including myself) hope that this final project will land us the job of our dreams, or at least on that path to said job.

I find myself in very different circumstances then most graduate students. I’m a working professional, going to school part-time while holding down a full-time job as the Event Manager at the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism in downtown Oklahoma City. I’ve got two beautiful children (one born during the summer between my 1st and 2nd year of grad school) that always want my nose out of the books and paying more attention to them. I’ve come back to school so I can not only better my own life, but insure that my family is always taken care of.

So what is my life after school? I imagine it won’t be much different then now, other than a lot less stress. I will continue working full-time, although I hope to change my career field and work in sports administration (more specifically, sports public relations). I find this field so intriguing, and an area that I feel I can really make an impact in as a woman. I’d like to work in the collegiate athletic atmosphere, but with the Sonics franchise moving to Oklahoma City I feel like a really wonderful opportunity is presenting itself to me. I just have to keep my ears open for the job postings.

My ultimate goal from the beginning was two-fold; (1) get a Masters degree that will get me a great job I love; and (2) get said degree before my own children start school. After 2 years in the program and looking forward to the last year, I truly believe now that the goal is achievable.

Will I contribute to the overall body of knowledge? I guess. Will my project make radical changes in the world of sports public relations? Probably not. Will I ensure that I have a solid project that will be impressive to any employer? Absolutely. And as long as that great job can pay me enough to afford these crazy gas prices, I will be very happy!

Final Post, My Choice

Taylor Newcomb

When thinking about this class and what my topic is to be, I can only think of the need for all of us to understand the purpose of all of this, because I am not sure and I wonder if other people are sure as well. By all of this, I mean the need for the project, the need for the classes, the need for the degree. 

I figure we need the project because we all want a nice paying job. A job in which we neither do this or that. Those jobs don't seem fun. This degree would then allow use to get that nice paying job because of the capitalists we all are. Yea, capitalism! The project allows us to show our worth and our need to those who can give us those good jobs. I don't know about you, but I'd rather get a job based on my project and skills rather than because some government policy told them to give me a job. The project just gives us that little bit extra in which to move forward with our lives and our careers, no matter how much of a pain in the arse it is.

As for the need for classes, we need to learn how to do stuff before we do it. In going to my preferred field, it would be possible to get some PR job based on my journalism experience, but I would prefer to know what I am doing before I start doing it. I am sure all of y'all feel the same way. The classes give us the knowledge from which to build on (that link is my particular knowledge I am taking, but to each their own). I am not a fan of just starting something new without knowing what I am doing, which is why I came back to college so many times to begin with (3rd degree is the charm). 

Finally, we need this higher degree because that is the way the world is going. We can't get good jobs anymore on a B.A. or B.S. degree anymore. I've tried. I ended up at a shoddy newspaper with a horrible boss who didn't know how to manage people. Every job I look at that would be a good career has that little disclaimer which states that a Master's degree is either preferred or very much liked. It's not much fun, but c'est la vie. It seems to be only inevitable that Ph.D's become the required or preferred degree. When that happens, I will not being going back to college. Somebody needs to flip those burgers. 

There is my topic of choice, my final post. I am not sure if I actually added to anyone's knowledge but it may be something that we needed to know. It's not fun having to stay at school, but I want a good job and I am sure y'all do to, so here we are making assignment posts on a blog so that we can get that great grade that will help us just a little more in getting that job. 

Useful Research ~ by Jaimie T.

As you all know, my thesis examines the gatekeeping practices of ethnic minorities in television newsrooms. My paper hopes to influence television newsroom practices via newsroom managers and producers. I think this paper will be very important especially considering all that each of the minority journalism groups (NABJ, NAHJ, AAJA, NAJA)and do to promote equal treatment and presentation in the journalism field.
Minority groups have been treated unfairly for so long in many different aspects of media... from the big screen, to the TV screen, stereotypes have prevailed in the images of minorities on the news.
If any of you get a chance, read Color of Ratings by Av Westin. The article can be found through the Communication and Mass Media Complete database within the library's website. This article chronicles the disparities minorities face at the hands of newsroom managers. It tells of reporters with good, solid stories with minority characters, asked to go back into the field and find a white family to focus their stories on. It's really sad, but true in this field.
Furthermore, women should have a more active role and voice in news stories. Women tend to look like authoritative sources by their positions in newscasts, but are actually silenced through news stories.
My paper and research hopes to influence people who make a difference in how minorities are portrayed in media and to inspire those who can't to speak up. Please read these two letters from two minority journalist organizations: NABJ to Newsroom Leaders: You Must Do Better and Make diversity a curriculum core. This article can also be found through the Communication and Mass Media Complete database.

Life after a Thesis/Project

Life after Completing a Thesis/Project
Leslie Cermak

When I first read this month’s post subject, I immediately thought the answer to whether there was life after the completion of a thesis was “of course!” While my answer may not have changed much upon further reflection, I think I’ll be more conflicted when my time as a graduate student comes to an end.

I have spent several semesters fretting over finding the right topic, the right research, the right committee, etc. I have also taken classes that I never thought I would take when I first became a graduate student (Quantitative Methods comes to mind). As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m the first person in my mother’s and father’s families to consider a master’s degree, so this entire process was new to me. I never realized how much of graduate school was centered on the thesis.

Although this has been good, it’s also been a little frustrating in that much of what I have learned will not apply to a job of copy editing. Some classes have been solely to prepare for my thesis. I sometimes wonder if after spending so much time on a project of such importance if I will ask “Now what?” when it is all over. In these times, I have to remember the main reasons I returned to school: 1: to get a job outside of teaching English, and 2: to pursue a doctoral degree at OU one day.

That being said, if I do decide to return for my doctorate, the topic I have chosen (about studying undergraduate’s perceptions of journalism) will be relevant. If I can revise my thesis appropriately, I would like to submit either some of my findings or the study itself to journals such as Journalism & Mass Communication Educator or Journal of Mass Media Ethics. I am also considering submitting works to conferences for AEJMC or SPJ.

Furthermore, after I intern as a copy editor this summer at The Oklahoman, I hope to find a job in the print media. As many of these companies often hire college graduates, I think the research from my study can help explain attitudes of those transitioning from students to employees. I’d like to not necessarily influence (as the blog topic says) but contribute to these two realms -- the professional and scholarly. In short, it will be difficult considering my life after the thesis if I must leave behind the novice researcher that I’ve become. Preparing papers for submissions to conferences and journals may be a good way for me to make this transition.

Finally, (though I’m not adding this for a clichéd, sentimental ending), the audience I most want to influence is my family. I have spent so many hours working on my education these past two years that I have seen less and less of my mother, sister, and husband. We are very close, and I want them to know that time I spent away from them was worthwhile. I want to be able to show them what I have accomplished in the last two years and maybe encourage them to push their own limits and pursue things they wouldn’t ordinarily try.

Reading books can be fun

Reading books can be fun--by deb wallevand

This blog title reminds me of something from my Saturday morning cartoon days with an owl saying "Hey kids books are fun!" That statement and well this whole blog will just confirm how much of a nerd I am.

I would not say that reading is my most favorite thing to do in school, much less in my free time. I have always liked school though, but I prefer television and other visual forms of entertainment. I tend to laugh when people talk about reading for fun (sorry mom!). It just seemed like an oxymoron. However, these last two weeks I found a couple of centerpieces for my research. And yes, reading these two books was fun.

Media, Sports & Society, edited by Lawrence Wenner, provides a foundation for research on the communication of sports. Contributors of this book examined the theoretical, cultural and historical issues, as well as the production of media sports programming, its content and its audience. Individual chapters focus on the Super Bowl, sports violence and sex typing. I really enjoyed reading about how the symbiotic relationship between sports and the mass media in American society. One author wrote, "Media attention fans the flames of interest in sport and increased interest in sport warrants further media attention." This is the chicken or the egg argument that I'm sure I will face in my professional career.


Women, Media and Sport: Challenging Gender Values, edited by Pamela Creedon, adds to the breadth of my research both from a cultural and media perspective. I found this volume of work
incredibly interesting because I'm interested in the history of women's sports and particularly in gender issues as related to varying media will find this volume informative. My favorite chapter from this book provided a complete historical account of women in American sports journalism. I loved reading about women sportswriters during WWII and about the struggles and sexism these pioneers faced in locker rooms. I learned about the impressive careers of Mary Bostwick, Nellie Bly, Margaret Goss, Betty Cuniberti, and Melissa Ludtke. I loved reading about it, but it totally pissed me off too.

While reading these two books I thought a lot about how I could improve my own research about television coverage and women's sports. I think my biggest discovery was that I need to include a few different theories. More specifically I'm going to start combining, media effects, gatekeeping, and feminism. In past research papers I've talked about gatekeeping (framing theory) or some feminist theory, but I totally ignored media effects. In hindsight, I'm a bit of an idiot to completely leave out media effects. Often times I think I probably implied that the sports audience was passive.

This semester I learned not to shy away from books because they were books. In fact, by actually reading a couple books I found two essential centerpieces for my master's work. Furthermore, I think I'll actually purchase these books and read them more thoroughly this summer. Yeah, I'm a nerd and I guess I like to read.

Help with interviews

Any topic related to class is a wide-open blog topic. I think my biggest concern at this point is how to do the interviews I would like to do for my dissertation. I know I want to do interviews in an effort to allow those effected by the phenomenon to make sense of the data for me. In essence, I don’t want to speak for them, I want them to tell me what they think the data means. As a reporter, I want quotes to back up my information. However, I’m having a hard time figuring out exactly how to do the interviews.

For those of you who don’t remember, my dissertation topic is if journalists are affected emotionally by covering day-to-day traumatic events. I began studying trauma through a Victims in the Media course at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. I took the course as part of my emphasis in journalism during my education master’s work. The course was sponsored by the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, which is the primary resource for information on the topic. Through my studies I discovered that one of my editors at The Oklahoman, Joe Hight, is extremely involved in the Dart Center and actually helped UCO obtain the grant to teach the class. He has become a wonderful resource for me in my quest for knowledge on the topic.

It was in the same class that I was introduced to the textbook Covering Violence by William Cote and Roger Simpson (2000). The book provides a foundation for thinking about covering violence and how it affects those who are covered and the reporters covering it. Reading the textbook helped me identify three main researchers in the field: William Cote’, Roger Simpson and Frank Ochberg. From continuing to read works by those scholars and cross-referencing their reference pages I have found a variety of scholarly works on the topic. I also have identified a variety of articles in Quill, the Society of Professional Journalists’ magazine, that have been useful in identifying scholars in the field.

My initial methodology is to use the Society of Professional Journalists’ membership list to randomly identify working reporters and editors to whom I can send an electronic survey. I will set up the survey through Survey Monkey. After the information is gathered, I would like to do 10 to 20 depth interviews in an attempt to “make sense” of the data. This is where the questions begin. As I see it, I have two options: (1) Do nationwide interviews via telephone, (2) Do regional interviews so I can travel and actually interview the people in person.

There are several benefits to interviewing respondents via telephone. First, I won’t have to limit the people I interview because of location concerns. I would rather be able to make the interviews truly random by interviewing journalists from all over the country. Second, I won’t have the expense of attempting to travel and interview people. If I decide to keep the interviews regional, I’ll drive to the locations where I perform interviews. This could get expensive, especially with gas prices as they are today. The expense too would limit the number of interviews I’m able to do. Instead of doing 10 or 20, because of expense and location I’d probably be doing more like five at the most.

There is one overwhelming reason to interview the respondents in person – better responses. I think I can build a rapport with the respondents and receive better information if I do the interviews face-to-face. The greatest problem is that I’m reluctant to do that because I don’t want the limit my pool.

I would love to hear your suggestions.

Hmm, Life after Proposal

Taylor Newcomb

I believe there is life after proposal, simply because this proposal will end in a little over a year. However, this is just the easy bit. The next part is quite hard. The part is finding a job. Until then, we just have to figure out what our project would be, or what it will be based upon. But, despite the search for the job or the need for the project, we will still be facing Freedom after the project. Even with that freedom, there are still the problems of responsibility and all that. It will be a pain, but the biggest pain of all (the project) will be a mediocrely happy memory. After that project, I will finally be able to start my real life and career, something I have waited a long time for. 

I am here to be able to get a great degree that lead's to a cherry job. I feel that my project will lead to that job. I may not be completely sure what my final product will be in the project field but I feel that whatever I end up doing will give me a new understanding of how everything works in public relations. That is what I want most for my life after project: Knowledge. With knowledge, I will be able to enter the field and understand how everything works and connects to each other and how to manipulate it to get the desired results. 

I don't want to be "Lucky Jim" and fall backwards into a position. I want to be someone that organizations come after. Yes, I can hear your laughs, but it's not like I want to own the Dallas Cowboys (if you watch the Simpsons, you'll get that). I just want respect and to feel needed in the job world. And to do that, I need to complete a great project. 

After the project, it will take some hard work to get through the first few years of trying establish myself, but with that project in the can it would allow give more credence. With an emphasis on Bernays and propaganda, it should allow me a greater step. Even though, Bernays' work is decades old it is still very relevant and can still be incredibly useful now. 

The audience I am looking to influence is the public relations field. That field is the one that will give me my job and my future. It would be important for my peers in the field to know what work I have done and how I did it. With this, I will be able to show that I belong so that I can continue on in the career and get a better job after every few years. I am not sure whether I want to work for a public relations firm, a corporate communications department, or a government agency, but I am sure that I need to reach out to those people as an audience in order to impress them and gain a standing in the field. 

For my last post for the thesis project seminar class, I am going to talk about one of my research interests that I have not written about or spoke about all semester. The reason behind this is simply that I am tired of talking about brand image and social cause-related marketing!
So for this blog I am going to focus on alternative advertising methods. In today’s busy world a person can see up to 5,000 advertisements in one day! That is crazy! With that much going on around us how can advertisers expect to reach their target audience without breaking into their “world” (or their audience segment: such as teen, tween, parents, baby boomers, etc…)? The answer is that they can’t or at least not without the help of guerilla marketing which uses “sneaky” (for lack of a better word), creative ways to get the information about the product or brand out there and into the life of the target audience. Guerilla marketing uses interesting and unique campaigns to create a word-of-mouth buzz about the product or brand.
Though I said I wasn’t going to discuss brand image, I lied, because I have to mention it here. When an advertiser or brand breaks into their target audience’s world, the brand become relevant to the consumer and therefore integrates itself into their everyday life. This causes the brands image to form and be validated in the eyes of the consumer. But, let’s go back to alternative advertising methods…
While alternative advertising methods and alternative media fascinate me, I am no techie and may not have complete understanding of all things electronic or internet related. I want to focus this blog post on some of the most interesting alternative advertising methods I have found. Some of these are so artful and eye-catching that even people outside of the target audience have to notice. Now that is effective advertising.
First, I want to talk about sidewalk advertising, which I find to be so interesting. While it may not be the most technologically advanced, it is so artful and intriguing that it catches the interests of many walks of life. It can also be very noticeable because it is not very common yet. Click on this article, it is pretty interesting and presents several alternative advertising methods. Also, this picture is an ad for beverage in Europe somewhere, I believe. I first saw this ad in Jim Avery’s advertising campaigns class.
Second, I want to talk about Facebook and MySpace advertising. This is quite possible the best internet advertising a brand or business marketing to tweens, teens, or young adults could do. I know that I (who never click on internet ads) have even click on a couple of ad on Facebook, because they were relevant to me at the time.
Last, I want to mention mobile advertising, not mobile phone advertising, but actual ads that move. Everyone has seen an ad on the side of a bus or a truck, but how about an entire truck that is an advertisement for something. Like this truck that is advertising for the movie Juno that recently release on DVD.
Well, there are tons more alternative methods but I just wanted to touch on a few that I really believe could work (for awhile until they become normal, then a new alternative will be needed).

Life After Project!

Is there life after the completion of a thesis or project? YES! A much less stressful life awaits! :)
With the completion of my project will also come the end of my school years, so yes for me there is life after completing my project!
As is the nature of any professional project, I hope to successfully disseminate my ideas and the core concepts from my project to a particular client. I am still uncertain of who exactly that client will be, but this will be determined when I get a little closer to time for me to begin my final project. If I go with the project proposal that I have come up with for this class, the client would be Grand River Dam Authority as well as a chosen nonprofit agency.
The audience I really hope to influence would be nonprofit agencies as well as large corporations that wish to be socially responsible and help to financially support a worthy cause. My project proposal proposes that a joint advertising campaign be created, that would involve both a for-profit corporation and a non-profit organization. Not only would the nonprofit benefit because of the financial support, but the corporation would benefit as well, because of the goodwill and positive brand image the partnership would accrue.
The interesting spin that this project has as opposed to other social cause-related marketing campaigns is that it involves the non-profit one hundred percent. Input, approval, and suggestions for the ads of both entities would be needed from the nonprofit as well as the corporation. Also, though this would be an advertising campaign, several public relations techniques and practices would be implemented therefore making it an integrated marketing campaign. In today’s world of advertising, many traditional methods are very near death. That is why it is so important for new and integrated forms of advertising and marketing to be created and put into practice.
Brand image building has emerged as an important way to promote and stabilize your brand. For example, try to think of an advertisement you have recently seen for Starbucks coffee . Except for billboards Starbucks doesn’t really advertise heavily, but they have an amazing brand image that brings in new customers and keeps previous customers returning day after day. Or, take Apple computers for example, while yes they may use traditional advertising to advertise their newest product, their brand image is so strong that they have a consistently growing loyal following. Their brand is so salient that people use it to define themselves. That is what my project sets out to do, maybe at a smaller scale that is not so cult like. J In essence, this project is simply increasing brand awareness while also increase favorable brand image for both the nonprofit agency and the large corporation. So, all of this being said, the best way to share my ideas with a broader audience is to pitch the idea to a client and begin implementing it one client (or client pair) at a time.

Life After a Project

Life After a Project--deb wallevand

Is there life after the completion of a project? Finally a somewhat easier question to blog about! My answer is YES. I apologize if that comes off as arrogant, because I am sure there are a lot of people who may be unsure of what the future holds. And that is totally okay.

I guess my feeling is that the project is only the first step for me. As of 10 o'clock Thursday night this 17th of April 2008 I would like to be a sports producer. With this responsibility it will be my goal to level the playing field (haha, no pun intended!) when it comes to the coverage of women's sports on television. I have a slight idea of what's in store for me. It's one thing to observe the problem on TV and read it in journals, but it's completely different when executive producers are telling you 'no' to your face. My project, a 30-minute sports program devoted to women's sports, will have the same attributes men's programs have: good writing, interesting stories, advanced graphics and camera shots.

Obviously though, no matter how good the production is the absence of men's sports and male athletes from the show will be seen as a weakness. I know I can't change all of society's gender-biased attitudes with this one project, but I do believe I can get a least a few people thinking about women's sports differently. I think if we actually see women's sports taken seriously on television then the audience will start to do the same. I know it is going to happen. We've had over a hundred years of men's sports in the U.S. It is established. Women's sports are the new kids on the block. It's going to take some time, but women's sports will be taken seriously if I have any say.

Someday, perhaps when I feel I've given the industry enough of my life, I'll go back to school yet again and pursue a PhD so I can teach those future sports journalists and broadcasters. I've found in my almost 8 months at OU that some undergrads do listen to what you say. It's nice to get them when they're young, before they get into that tired old newsroom routine.

When it comes down to it, I want to influence all audiences.

Jaimie – Expanding the Body of Knowledge

Thus far in my studies, it has been difficult for me to truly understand how to significantly add to the body of knowledge. I have many ideas, but finding one that is fresh and vastly different from studies that I’ve read has become a task for me.

For conducting research in general, I like to start by going to the OU library’s website and searching for books on my general topic. From there, I use the databases to help me find articles and studies on the topic. Here are two on the ones I go to first. This website is directly linked to the library. But the cool thing about it is that it searches multiple databases at one time. It sorts through J-Store and Article First. The second database is Communication and Mass Media Complete.

Expanding the body of knowledge is very important because we can’t sit around and dig in the same holes for something new to emerge. Technology is on our side, and when it progresses, scholarly research must progress also. In fact, expanding the body of knowledge is so important, that mass communication scholars host conferences every year to share the new things they’ve learned. AEJMC is one of the conferences whose purpose is to share research information. I recently submitted a paper to this conference along with two other colleagues.

Two of the pros to expanding the body of knowledge are that if you run out of areas to research, you can attempt to shift your research into a new paradigm. Doing this can give you a fresh perspective for conceiving and carrying out research ideas.

Secondly, technology provides a new area of research for almost all theories. Looking to technological advances for inspiration might be helpful. Here’s an example of how technology is helping the mass communication industry.

A con to expanding the body of knowledge is that you want to have a new idea. This can be hard to come by after reading so many articles with great ideas. You have innovative but also draw from other scholars’ mistakes and shortcomings. Patience is key! But in the end, you will find a new area to explore and share with the world.

THE BODY OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE INTERNET

The Body of Knowledge and the Internet

by JR

I’’ll admit it-since I have started graduate school I have not physically handled one journal to find my research. How many people in class have? I’ve gone to the library to look for books but I have yet to actually crack a spine on a journal like this one or this one. I won’t ask for a show of hands to see if I am the only one who hasn’t but I would bet I am not alone.

Connecting to the body of knowledge begins with connecting my computer to the Internet. Like many others in class I also use Google, Google Scholar, and LORA for my research. Part of my development as a researcher has been in refining my Article1st, and EBSCO keyword selection. I use Google and Google Scholar because the search functions generally yield better results than the libraries databases. What has this done to my ability as a researcher if I haven't dug through dusty tomes of knowledge in the back of the library?

I wanted to bring up another idea that is related to key word search for journal articles. I believe that it was in Conceptual Issues class that we talked about journals and conferences and the perceived notion that some journals and conferences have more prestige than others. What happens to this idea of prestige and credibility when a generation or two of researchers have grown used to research by key word rather than journal?

In Conceptual Issues class we also talked about journals vs. conferences. I have seen that the debate of which is a more desirable method to connect to the body of knowledge depends on the field of study. In JMC, getting published in a journal is the goal of many researchers and conferences hold sort of a 2^nd tier status in the body of knowledge. In my work with RISE, which is concerned with underrepresented minority students in engineering education, conferences are the goal for researchers and journal articles generally fall into the lower tier. The best explanation that I have been given for this preference is that education conferences are looking for ideas, practices, and theory that can be directly tested or implemented in an educational setting .

For my topic, advergaming, I have used journals that are found in a traditional print version as well as online only journals. The Journal of Interactive Advertising was founded in 2000 and is an online refereed journal that is open to submissions and is free to access. This is a different model than the online sites of many print-based journals that require a pay per download or subscription to access. Like many others in class, after Google has done its work, I switch over to LORA to find an appropriate database to find the article since I have already paid (through my school tuition) to access the journal and download the research for free. Is free the way of the future?

Having access to online journals and print journals available online I believe is beneficial to the development to the body of knowledge. Being able to tap into the work of the field anywhere, anytime makes it that much easier for people to enter the academic conversation in a way that was not previously possible.

P.S. play this Indiana Jones-inspired advergame from Legos-it is harder than it seems (check out the Lego-skulls in background!)

Life After Research

Yes, there is life after the completion of a thesis. In fact, I think life after a thesis/project and/or dissertation is more fulfilled because you know you have the intellectual ability to perform academic scholarship. Adding to the body of knowledge on a topic important to you and to the industry you love is an honor. Accomplishing this goal is an amazing feat; one that many people want to quit during the process. However, ultimately accomplishing this goal will make the researcher/student feel a sense of greater understanding and contribution.

I actually plan to use my topic and the information I generated in this course to continue my academic studies in the Gaylord College’s Ph.D. program. I was accepted into the program beginning in the fall, so I’m really excited to actually begin my 6000-level coursework this summer. In addition, I will continue to use the information I learned in the class as a journalism professor at Oklahoma City University and as adviser of the university's Student Publications staff.

Once I complete my Ph.D., I hope to use my dissertation and smaller “break out” types of studies from inside it to make presentations regarding the idea of journalists experiencing trauma as a result of the everyday violent events they cover. Specifically, I would love to present information through the Dart Center for Journalists and Trauma. I also hope to make information from my studies available through the Dart Center’s Web site so others can learn from the work I’ve done. I also would love to publish information about my work in professional journalism publications like the Society of Professional Journalists' Quill and Columbia Journalism Review.

Ironically I also discovered a secondary area of research I’m very interested in during the course of the class. I hope to begin studying (post Ph.D.) the idea of mediated communication and how things like e-mail and instant messaging are changing the traditional ways reporters gather the news. I think methods of news gathering, not just reporting, are changing as we become more multi platform. I look forward to delving into this area once I feel that I’ve done fair justice to the topic about which I’m most passionate.

Research for the sake of research?

Conducting research so that it connects to the body of knowledge in journalism and mass communications studies, to me, is about two key issues: 1) knowing what information is “out there” and 2) understanding the industry in a way that helps the researcher know what type of information is needed.

Knowing what type of research exists on your individual topic begins as soon as a researcher thinks of an area he/she would like to study. For me, I decided I wanted to study the idea that journalists could become secondary victims as a result of the things they cover. As soon as I identified that concept as something I was interested in, I immediately began to research. My initial researcher was really about typing the keywords “journalists’ and “victims” into a Google search. By doing that, I was able to find a variety of sites that focused on the concepts of victims and trauma as they surround journalists. Many of the sites, such as the Poynter Institute online, the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma and the Victims and the Media Program have helped me not only as primary resources, but also in identifying other resources to use in my research. After realizing that there was data available on my topic of interest, I then began doing a variety of keyword searches on Academic Search Elite. Through this academic search engine, I was able to identify the articles that made up the initial stages of my Review of Literature on the topic. I also was able to identify the most important pieces of research in the field, and use their bibliographies to find additional academic resources on the topic. In this way, knowing what information is “out there” helped me to shape my idea and to understand in what way it was worthy of exploration.

To me, “connecting to the body of knowledge” means not only researching a topic that is academically sound, but also providing those working practically in the industry with a foundation for a new way of thinking or approaching an issue. I knew that studying journalists as victims was a worthy cause in a newsroom because I worked in a newsroom and saw journalists who were trauma victims when I generated the idea. I think seeing firsthand what these people experienced helped me understand the true potential of the research. In other words, I could do research that could support a change in the industry. This change would allow for more training and counseling in newsrooms and creating a more mentally stable profession. Working in the newsroom helped me identify a need for information. The experience also keeps me focused because I assigned faces of people I care about to the issue. I’m not just doing research for a nameless, faceless person or group. I’m doing research to benefit people I know and consider friends. Observing the phenomenon also helped me identify social learning theory as a theoretical framework for my study interest.

I think it absolutely is important to connect your research to the body of knowledge in the field. If you don’t, what is the purpose of the research? Research for the sake of research doesn’t make much sense to me. In my mind, the best research is that which can by applied to daily operations in the industry and be used to make a difference in the way those working in the field function. The positive aspect of this, of course, is that your industry can be used to make a difference for people working in the industry. The negative of making your information “applicable” to the field is that those working in the industry are likely to find holes in your theoretical arguments or research methodology. They are closer to the reality of the work than you. However, identifying flaws in your research is not the greatest issue, it just means that there are more areas to develop further. I guess this could be seen as a flaw because it means that you have more work to do; almost never ending work. However, adding to the body of knowledge has to be seen as a positive to the researcher, otherwise, why would they choose to perform research?

Body of Knowledge -- Connecting history to the future -- by Christina

It is essential to understand and encompass the body of knowledge in any communication research study. It is a fundamental component. I think the most important function of a connecting the body of knowledge to mass communication research is it gives credibility and justification for the research. A proper literature review shows that the researcher understands the history and important parts of the existing literature. All researchers must understand what came before them in order to move any research forward. The results of a research study should add to the existing body of knowledge either by proving a hypothesis or answering research questions that are a continuation of the current body of knowledge or that rebut other published research.

For example, George Gerbner, one of the pioneers in the communication field, founded cultivation theory. However, his work did not come without critics. Conducting research to refute Gerbner’s findings, were Michael Hughes and Paul Hirsch. Each believed Gerbner's research was flawed and oversimplified. A literature review covering cultivation theory would obviously cover Gerbner’s work, extensions of his work, as well as the works by Hughes and Hirsch. This is actually a fun theory, because there are many published articles with the authors arguing back and forth, from year to year. The fall 1980 Public Opinion Quarterly and 1980, 1981 Communication Research are two journal's these published arguments are found in. Also, the Media Awareness Network re-covered this debate in 1997, long after Gerbner’s passing in 1989.

I think the biggest misconception about the body of knowledge is that it is only present in the literature review. That is by far not true. I feel for research to be conducted thoroughly the researcher must also understand the history and “body of knowledge” behind research methodologies. For example Bernard Berelson and Klaus Krippendorff are two experts in understanding and conducting a content analysis. To ensure reliability and validity in conducting a content analysis, a very through understanding of the history and “body of knowledge” over content analysis must be conducted. Leaning and understanding the research over content analysis will again lend credibility and justification to the research at hand. The point here is that mass communication theories are not the only important part of the body of knowledge. Also, as our own Dr. Charles Self pointed out, the body of knowledge also comes from experts and organizations in the actual communication field, specifically for my research published work from the Public Relations Society of America and International Association of Business Communicators are included throughout my research.

There are many pros to having a vast understanding of the body of knowledge, however I cannot think of very many cons except that it only causes more work. One of the major pros is that you can find holes in the current research and it lends credibility to the research. The con is that you might and probably will find some research that does not agree with your ideas and you will have to include that research in the coverage of the body of knowledge. Using research like this is the ethical and right decision, even though you may have to note it as a potential limitation or find a way to disprove it.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

The first thing that comes to my mind when I listen to these words is a huge pile of books and readings. The body of knowledge is vast and inexplicable. The journey of research starts with finding an appropriate topic which not only interests you but also contributes to the body of knowledge. I came from India with the eagerness to learn and explore. I did learn a lot in my first semester and I think that it is continuing and progressing well. My interactions with the faculty and the students introduced me to many new facets of mass communication. I plan to do my masters in strategic communication (public relations). I did read a lot about the latest things going on in PR, the theories of PR and much more.

As a part of my core classes, I did a literature review on Karl Weick’s “sense making” and “leadership”. All the readings and knowledge did give me some direction to where I should go. I plan to study and explore the Situational Theory given by Grunig. I also plan to combine it with the Dialogic Theory and see how the field of PR is undergoing a paradigm shift. The process of deciding a research topic follows a deductive approach, where one starts from an abstract idea and then comes down to a more concrete one. I plan to add new dimensions to both the theories and contribute to the body of knowledge. The basic assumption of Grunig’s Situational theory is that publics form around specific situations or issues produced by the consequences that organizations have on people outside the organization. This theory also explains when and how people communicate about the situations in which they are involved. Public relations practitioners utilize a dialogic approach when building organization-public relationships because a dialogic approach builds relationships that serve both organizational and public interests. This can be combined with the situational theory to better understand the publics. I think these theories when studied together in context with one another will contribute and refine the PR field.

Adding to the JMC body of knowledge

Adding to the JMC body of knowledge--Deb Wallevand

The "body of knowledge" is ubiquitous. The "body of knowledge" is broad. The first daunting step to take when conducting research in such a way that it connects to the "body of knowledge" in journalism and mass communication is identifying what is missing or lacking in the existing literature. Research is finding out what you do not already know. No one knows everything, but everybody knows something. By writing a literature review, the researcher can convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Reviewing the field allows the researcher to build on the platform of existing knowledge ad ideas. Additionally, this process is important because it demonstrates that the researcher is not re-inventing the wheel (doing research that has already been done).

A literature review is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries. A good literature review requires the following attributes: the ability to conduct exhaustive bibliographic searches, the ability to organize the collected data meaningfully, describe, critique and relate each source to the subject of the research, present the organized literature logically, and last, but not least, to correctly cite all sources mentioned.

It is necessary to consult a wide range of information sources in the process of connecting to the "body of knowledge." Some of these sources include, but are not limited to scholarly journals, books, newspapers, standards, statistics, maps, and government legislation. For example, I utilize Google Scholar quite a bit to find articles regarding women's sports and the media. Not only does this allow me to find articles, but it shows me how many times a certain article has been cited. This in turn tells me if that piece of academia is considered important by those scholars who contribute to "the body of knowledge."

There are cons to doing research because it carries with it an inherent danger to those who are close minded or comfortable in their preconceptions. There are people, including researchers, who reject anything that contradicts, or at least doesn't support, their views of the world. Research may show that what you already know is incorrect. This is a hard thing to accept.

On the other hand, the pros of this process of conducting research certainly outweigh the cons. As I mentioned earlier, a literature review shows where the new research fits into the existing body of knowledge. It justifies the research. The body of knowledge is ever-evolving and it is kind of exciting to think about the fact that your work will help shape the field and the direction that it is headed. Your research may help refine, refocus or even change the field.

Contributing to the Body of Knowledge

Contributing to the Body of Knowledge

When conducting research during undergraduate course work, there is no need to really think about the field as a whole, you pick a topic, conduct minor research and put together a paper of 5-7 pages. Starting out in graduate school, I was quite surprised on day one to hear that my first paper would be between 20-25 pages. The research was so different, and I realized quickly that my undergraduate studies had done little to help me think on a theoretical level.

Soon after starting graduate school, I began hearing this term “body of knowledge” being thrown around. I realize now that the body of knowledge is the world around us, what the past and present researchers have studied and that this body has natural holes within it where new researchers (or graduate students) can find their niche within it.

Journalism and mass communications is in a unique situation compared to other fields. The field is still young (in comparison to other fields) and there is much spill over from other bodies of knowledge that relates to out field. For example, for my professional project I must look into areas such as human resources, job recruitment and gender roles in order to develop a sufficient literature review to work from.

The body of knowledge is important because of the starting place it provides the future researchers. It also points towards new areas of study, giving even more potential areas for those unsure of what they wish to study. The body of knowledge is by no means complete, and never will be as journalism and mass communication is an ever evolving field.

I plan to conduct my professional project on the subject of recruiting more women into the field of sports information directing within higher education institutes. I feel this will connect me to a very large gap in the current body of knowledge, seeing as there is little existing research in the field of sports information directing. I find it interesting that so many female public relations students express interest in working in the sports information directing industry, but the current research shows that very few women are within the field.

Finding these sorts of holes is key when conducting research which you wish to use as a contribution to the body of knowledge for any subject. Our field is lucky because the body of knowledge is continuously growing into new areas, continuously adding new gaps that require study and rapidly changing with the technology. It is unfortunate that this idea of contributing to the greater good of the journalism and mass communication field is not introduced to undergraduate students more often. I believe that all higher education students should be introduced to this idea much sooner, and should begin understanding that what they choose to research can be a contribution to the greater body of knowledge for the entire field.