Wake Forest University

PROJECT ASSIGNMENTCOMM 343

Between Feb 1and Start of Spring Break, you or your research group is required to make a proposal and schedule a meeting with Prof, that (when appropriate) follows the guidelines below.

1. Feel free to submit outline or questions via e-mail at any time for feedback prior to conference. Will facilitate the face-to-face discussion louden@wfu.edu
2. Come prepared with a clear declarative statement of what is to be tested and some indication of the methodology for examining the materials
3. Indicate the materials (and availability) you will examine (There are so many primary materials at the Political Speech sites.
4. Do some preliminary bibliography work. Obviously it is helpful to do some reading on your topic of interest before deciding what the project entails. Don't conference unless has done some background reading.
5. If your project takes the form of examining a body of primary materials you may want to work in groups (although individual projects are encourage)

This is research project, not a normal term paper. Thus you would want a "review of literature," method, results, & discussion sections in some fashion. Journal articles you read for the project can serve as models.

Hint: To find an appropriate project you may want to peruse appropriate journals/Bibs/speech links. Avoid settling on a topic or looking only at topics were have covered in class at that point. Allow your natural curiosity about events or items you have observed in presidential communication lead you to an appropriate research question. Remember to narrow, narrow, narrow, the focus of your research question. Also reference the bibliographies and/or speech links at the web page. If you have no idea, just pursuing the bibs should help generate ideas. Also there are amazing materials available on web sites. I really do not want to talk to anyone about their project if they have not consulted the bibliographies.