J 379 Journalism Research Projects
Description and Objectives
Designed to give journalism majors the opportunity to pursue special studies for which separate courses have not been organized. Students must obtain the support of a research faulty member and submit a proposal in order for this course to be approved. Since this will be a research course, your research objectives should be clearly written and specific in scope. Your proposal must also indicate the reporting format you intend to employ, how you will structure your research and in what form the research output is likely to appear. See below a several examples of an acceptable research proposal along with a list of research faculty. Students should anticipate spending the equivalent of nine laboratory hours a week for one semester working on this research project.
Grading System
Varies by instructor and project selected.
Prerequisites
J 310 and J 315 with a grade of at least C in each, a score of 45 or better on the Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation (GSP) test, a score of 29 or better on the Word Processing (WP) test, and admission to a Journalism Upper Division sequence. Support by a Journalism research faculty member is necessary. Departmental Consent is also required. Open to Journalism majors; others must obtain departmental approval.
Process:
Obtain a J379 Journalism Research Project form from either your academic advisor or from the School of Journalism Office.
Meet with an approved research faculty member to discuss your idea and obtain course credit support approval. Discuss proposal ideas and the final research product format.
Create a proposal.
Have your instructor review your proposal and sign instructor approval to the J379 Journalism Research Project form.
Submit proposal and signed J379 form to your academic advisor.
Your academic advisor will seek departmental approval for your proposal and will notify you via Secure Academic Note (SAN) of the decision.
If approved, you will need to register for J379 during your next open enrollment period.
Proposal Example:
I propose to research women in business journalism and investigate whether this is a trend in business journalism and whether more women are becoming interested in it and why. I intend to draw on my experiences at Magazine X from my summer internship and my experience at a business newspaper this semester.
I would like to explore how women are treated by sources and others in the field, using examples of successful business journalists in what is conventionally a man’s world. Are they taken as seriously as their male counterparts? Is there a glass ceiling? Are women prevented from moving to upper decision business journalism positions? Also, why does it appeal to women? Do they feel it gives them more credibility as journalist? Do they leverage business journalism jobs into executive corporate positions? What is the percentage of women in these jobs compared to men? I would like to look at small and large business publications, and both newspapers, magazines and online. (Excerpt taken from a previous student research proposal.)
I will research this topic through personal interviews and online research. I will produce a 20-page research paper outlining the findings of my interviews, research, and analysis of the results.
Multimedia Proposal Example:
This research proposal will focus on how local television news covers political elections. I will address questions such as: What stories make the air and why? What factors determine whether a story airs? What determines how much time is allotted to a story? In order to extend my research and to gather information, I will intern at a local television station.
According to a study done in the Midwest market by the University of Wisconsin, “election coverage accounts for 36 seconds of a typical 30-minute local TV newscast.” The results of this study sparked my interest. My research proposal incorporates the idea of this study but will focus on coverage of the presidential election by a local Austin TV station.
I will follow Station X’s coverage on the presidential election from October to post-election day. I will analyze the stories aired for content (Ex: Were the stories aired about the candidate’s campaign strategies? Or their position on policies? Polling?) and the length of the story.
I will interview management, producers, and reporters on the process of how they decide what presidential election story makes the air and why? What are the filters? (Excerpt taken from a previous student research proposal.)
My final product will be presented in the form of a 15-page research paper to be augmented by a video presentation featuring news clips and video footage of interviews with sources analyzing the coverage
Acceptable Multimedia products include: Video, Audio slideshow, Podcasting; however, all multimedia products must be accompanied by a written product explaining the research and analyzing the results.
Approved Research Faculty:
Alves, Rosental
Burd, Gene
Cash, Wanda Garner
Chyi, Iris
Coleman, Renita
Dahlby, Tracy
Darling, Dennis
De Uriarte, Mercedes
DeCesare, Donna
Garlock, David
Gil de Zuniga, Homero
Harp, Dustin
Jensen, Robert
Lasorsa, Nick
McCombs, Maxwell
Minutaglio, Bill
Olasky, Marvin
Poindexter, Paula
Reed, Eli
Reese, Stephen
Rivas-Rodriguez, Maggie
Sylvie, George
Todd, Rusty
Tremayne, Mark