Descriiption: This assignment requires you to (1) select a research topic and (2
Descriiption: This assignment requires you to (1) select a research topic and (2) design a quantitative study (experiment or survey) that enhances the current state of knowledge on the topic. You’ll need to generate a typed document that follows the instructions provided below. Instructions: Your assignment should have the following sections: 1. Topic of Study: As a first step, select a topic that is both interesting to you and important to society, industry, or both. Notably, your research topic can relate to society generally (e.g., “Why do parents choose not to vaccinate their children?”) or to advertising/public relations/media design specifically (e.g., “Do consumers like green advertising?” or “Does in-stadium advertising enhance the sports consumer experience?”). Note that you need to both select a general topic of interest and pursue a specific research question within that broader topical body. In other words, in this section you should state a specific research question. It is important that you are interested in your research topic and question! This section should be between 50 and 150 words. Note: Given the subject matter of the class, your topic should deal with how people think, feel, or act. For instance, pretend that you’re interested in learning about consumer attitudes toward the so-called “metaverse” (details here: https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-the-metaverse/). Your research question could take on any number of forms, but it should be specifically focus on a specific stakeholder group. An inappropriate question (for example) would be: What are the defining characteristics of the metaverse? An appropriate question (for example) would be: Are American Internet users concerned that the metaverse will have adverse privacy implications? 2. Importance of Topic and Background: After selecting a research topic, you should describe why, exactly, your topic is important to learn more about. You should also provide any/all important background details. As discussed above, your topic can pertain to a broader social issue or an issue that is specifically important to the practice of strategic communication. When describing your topic’s importance, you are required to cite five or more scholarly or syndicated research sources. Make sure that you properly and carefully cite all the sources that you use. This means that you should provide an in-text note that you are citing a piece of external research. In-text citations should include the source name and year the information was published (e.g., eMarketer, 2019). This section should be between 400 and 800 words. Note: You can use as many journalistic sources as you’d like. However, to get full points on the assignment, you’ll need to use/cite at least five scholarly and/or syndicated research sources. 3. Survey or Experiment? After describing your research topic, you should describe whether you will investigate your topic using a survey or an experiment. Your study should rely on/use self-report data. It is important that you provide a rationale for your choice of method here. You should also offer brief descriiption of the population you are interested in learning about, and any sampling techniques you intend to apply. This section should be between 150 and 250 words. 4. Descriiption of Variables: In this section, you should describe the variables that are especially/most important to your study. Be sure to label any independent and dependent variables. This section should be between 100 and 200 words. 5. Participant Experience: In this section, describe how participants will experience your study. In other words, steps will she/he be taken through if they agree to participate in your study? This can be as simple as “Step One: Participant will be randomly assigned to an experimental group; Step 2: Participant will read a short descriiption of the study; …”. This section should be between 150 and 300 words. 6. Questionnaire Items: In this section, provide a list of the questions that you will use in your study. This section should include the questions you will use to measure your variables of interest and any demographic information you intend to collect. Make sure to list all response categories associated with each question. For each question, provide a one-sentence rationale. You should write between 5 and 10 questions. This section should be between 150 and 400 words. 7. Sources Cited Page: You should have a page that provides information for the sources you used when writing your paper. This page does not have a word limit. Your citations should take on the following format: Author last name, author first initial. (year published). Title of research document. Name of source. Hyperlink (if appropriate). An example of this citation style is provided below: Funk, C. (2020). Key findings about Americans’ confidence in science and their views on scientists’ role in society. Pew Research. https://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2020/02/12/key-findings-about-americans-confidence-inscience-and-their-views-on-scientists-role-in-society/