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Guide to Communication Research Methodologies: Quantitative, Qualitative and Rhetorical Research

Overview of Communication

Communication research methods, quantitative research, qualitative research, rhetorical research, mixed methodology.

Students interested in earning a graduate degree in communication should have at least some interest in understanding communication theories and/or conducting communication research. As students advance from undergraduate to graduate programs, an interesting change takes place — the student is no longer just a repository for knowledge. Rather, the student is expected to learn while also creating knowledge. This new knowledge is largely generated through the development and completion of research in communication studies. Before exploring the different methodologies used to conduct communication research, it is important to have a foundational understanding of the field of communication.

Defining communication is much harder than it sounds. Indeed, scholars have argued about the topic for years, typically differing on the following topics:

• Breadth : How many behaviors and actions should or should not be considered communication.
• Intentionality : Whether the definition includes an intention to communicate.
• Success : Whether someone was able to effectively communicate a message, or merely attempted to without it being received or understood.

However, most definitions discuss five main components, which include: sender, receiver, context/environment, medium, and message. Broadly speaking, communication research examines these components, asking questions about each of them and seeking to answer those questions.

As students seek to answer their own questions, they follow an approach similar to most other researchers. This approach proceeds in five steps: conceptualize, plan and design, implement a methodology, analyze and interpret, reconceptualize.

• Conceptualize : In the conceptualization process, students develop their area of interest and determine if their specific questions and hypotheses are worth investigating. If the research has already been completed, or there is no practical reason to research the topic, students may need to find a different research topic.
• Plan and Design : During planning and design students will select their methods of evaluation and decide how they plan to define their variables in a measurable way.
• Implement a Methodology : When implementing a methodology, students collect the data and information they require. They may, for example, have decided to conduct a survey study. This is the step when they would use their survey to collect data. If students chose to conduct a rhetorical criticism, this is when they would analyze their text.
• Analyze and Interpret : As students analyze and interpret their data or evidence, they transform the raw findings into meaningful insights. If they chose to conduct interviews, this would be the point in the process where they would evaluate the results of the interviews to find meaning as it relates to the communication phenomena of interest.
• Reconceptualize : During reconceptualization, students ask how their findings speak to a larger body of research — studies related to theirs that have already been completed and research they should execute in the future to continue answering new questions.

This final step is crucial, and speaks to an important tenet of communication research: All research contributes to a better overall understanding of communication and moves the field forward by enabling the development of new theories.

In the field of communication, there are three main research methodologies: quantitative, qualitative, and rhetorical. As communication students progress in their careers, they will likely find themselves using one of these far more often than the others.

Quantitative research seeks to establish knowledge through the use of numbers and measurement. Within the overarching area of quantitative research, there are a variety of different methodologies. The most commonly used methodologies are experiments, surveys, content analysis, and meta-analysis. To better understand these research methods, you can explore the following examples:

Experiments : Experiments are an empirical form of research that enable the researcher to study communication in a controlled environment. For example, a researcher might know that there are typical responses people use when they are interrupted during a conversation. However, it might be unknown as to how frequency of interruption provokes those different responses (e.g., do communicators use different responses when interrupted once every 10 minutes versus once per minute?). An experiment would allow a researcher to create these two environments to test a hypothesis or answer a specific research question. As you can imagine, it would be very time consuming — and probably impossible — to view this and measure it in the real world. For that reason, an experiment would be perfect for this research inquiry.

Surveys : Surveys are often used to collect information from large groups of people using scales that have been tested for validity and reliability. A researcher might be curious about how a supervisor sharing personal information with his or her subordinate affects way the subordinate perceives his or her supervisor. The researcher could create a survey where respondents answer questions about a) the information their supervisors self-disclose and b) their perceptions of their supervisors. The data collected about these two variables could offer interesting insights about this communication. As you would guess, an experiment would not work in this case because the researcher needs to assess a real relationship and they need insight into the mind of the respondent.

Content Analysis : Content analysis is used to count the number of occurrences of a phenomenon within a source of media (e.g., books, magazines, commercials, movies, etc.). For example, a researcher might be interested in finding out if people of certain races are underrepresented on television. They might explore this area of research by counting the number of times people of different races appear in prime time television and comparing that to the actual proportions in society.

Meta-Analysis : In this technique, a researcher takes a collection of quantitative studies and analyzes the data as a whole to get a better understanding of a communication phenomenon. For example, a researcher might be curious about how video games affect aggression. This researcher might find that many studies have been done on the topic, sometimes with conflicting results. In their meta-analysis, they could analyze the existing statistics as a whole to get a better understanding of the relationship between the two variables.

Qualitative research is interested in exploring subjects’ perceptions and understandings as they relate to communication. Imagine two researchers who want to understand student perceptions of the basic communication course at a university. The first researcher, a quantitative researcher, might measure absences to understand student perception. The second researcher, a qualitative researcher, might interview students to find out what they like and dislike about a course. The former is based on hard numbers, while the latter is based on human experience and perception.

Qualitative researchers employ a variety of different methodologies. Some of the most popular are interviews, focus groups, and participant observation. To better understand these research methods, you can explore the following examples:

Interviews : This typically consists of a researcher having a discussion with a participant based on questions developed by the researcher. For example, a researcher might be interested in how parents exert power over the lives of their children while the children are away at college. The researcher could spend time having conversations with college students about this topic, transcribe the conversations and then seek to find themes across the different discussions.

Focus Groups : A researcher using this method gathers a group of people with intimate knowledge of a communication phenomenon. For example, if a researcher wanted to understand the experience of couples who are childless by choice, he or she might choose to run a series of focus groups. This format is helpful because it allows participants to build on one another’s experiences, remembering information they may otherwise have forgotten. Focus groups also tend to produce useful information at a higher rate than interviews. That said, some issues are too sensitive for focus groups and lend themselves better to interviews.

Participant Observation : As the name indicates, this method involves the researcher watching participants in their natural environment. In some cases, the participants may not know they are being studied, as the researcher fully immerses his or herself as a member of the environment. To illustrate participant observation, imagine a researcher curious about how humor is used in healthcare. This researcher might immerse his or herself in a long-term care facility to observe how humor is used by healthcare workers interacting with patients.

Rhetorical research (or rhetorical criticism) is a form of textual analysis wherein the researcher systematically analyzes, interprets, and critiques the persuasive power of messages within a text. This takes on many forms, but all of them involve similar steps: selecting a text, choosing a rhetorical method, analyzing the text, and writing the criticism.

To illustrate, a researcher could be interested in how mass media portrays “good degrees” to prospective college students. To understand this communication, a rhetorical researcher could take 30 articles on the topic from the last year and write a rhetorical essay about the criteria used and the core message argued by the media.

Likewise, a researcher could be interested in how women in management roles are portrayed in television. They could select a group of popular shows and analyze that as the text. This might result in a rhetorical essay about the behaviors displayed by these women and what the text says about women in management roles.

As a final example, one might be interested in how persuasion is used by the president during the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. A researcher could select several recent presidents and write a rhetorical essay about their speeches and how they employed persuasion during their delivery.

Taking a mixed methods approach results in a research study that uses two or more techniques discussed above. Often, researchers will pair two methods together in the same study examining the same phenomenon. Other times, researchers will use qualitative methods to develop quantitative research, such as a researcher who uses a focus group to discuss the validity of a survey before it is finalized.

The benefit of mixed methods is that it offers a richer picture of a communication phenomenon by gathering data and information in multiple ways. If we explore some of the earlier examples, we can see how mixed methods might result in a better understanding of the communication being studied.

Example 1 : In surveys, we discussed a researcher interested in understanding how a supervisor sharing personal information with his or her subordinate affects the way the subordinate perceives his or her supervisor. While a survey could give us some insight into this communication, we could also add interviews with subordinates. Exploring their experiences intimately could give us a better understanding of how they navigate self-disclosure in a relationship based on power differences.

Example 2 : In content analysis, we discussed measuring representation of different races during prime time television. While we can count the appearances of members of different races and compare that to the composition of the general population, that doesn’t tell us anything about their portrayal. Adding rhetorical criticism, we could talk about how underrepresented groups are portrayed in either a positive or negative light, supporting or defying commonly held stereotypes.

Example 3 : In interviews, we saw a researcher who explored how power could be exerted by parents over their college-age children who are away at school. After determining the tactics used by parents, this interview study could have a phase two. In this phase, the researcher could develop scales to measure each tactic and then use those scales to understand how the tactics affect other communication constructs. One could argue, for example, that student anxiety would increase as a parent exerts greater power over that student. A researcher could conduct a hierarchical regression to see how each power tactic effects the levels of stress experienced by a student.

As you can see, each methodology has its own merits, and they often work well together. As students advance in their study of communication, it is worthwhile to learn various research methods. This allows them to study their interests in greater depth and breadth. Ultimately, they will be able to assemble stronger research studies and answer their questions about communication more effectively.

Note : For more information about research in the field of communication, check out our Guide to Communication Research and Scholarship .

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• Communication Research Methods II: A Sourcebook An updated version of the "bible" of how to do research in communication and media studies.
• Handbook of Media and Communication Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies A great overview of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to content analysis and media studies research.
• Qualitative Media Analysis The authors of this work show readers how to obtain, categorize, and analyze different media documents. They look at traditional primary documents such as newspapers and magazines but also at more recent forms–television newscasts and cyberspace.
• Mass Communications Research Methods Originally published in 1988. Step-by-step, this book leads students from problem identification, through the mazes of surveys, experimentation, historical/qualitative studies, statistical analysis, and computer data processing to the final submission and publication in scientific or popular publications.
• Communication Research Methods in Postmodern Culture: A Revisionist Approach The second edition of Communication Research Methods in Postmodern Culture continues to explore research from a postmodern perspective. Typical qualitative and quantitative research methods are adjusted to fit the needs of contemporary culture.
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These journals directly relate to qualitative & quantitative research methods used in the social sciences. Cook Library has access to them through the databases linked on the "Finding Communication Studies Research" page on this guide, but you are able to search specific journals using the links below.

• Social Science Research Social Science Research publishes papers devoted to quantitative social science research and methodology. The journal features articles that illustrate the use of quantitative methods to empirically test social science theory.
• Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research (JEQR) is a quarterly, peer-reviewed periodical, publishing scholarly articles that address topics relating directly to empirical qualitative research and conceptual articles addressing topics related to qualitative.
• International Journal of Qualitative Methods The International Journal of Qualitative Methods is the peer-reviewed interdisciplinary open access journal of the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology (IIQM) at the University of Alberta, Canada. The journal, established in 2002, is an eclectic international forum for insights, innovations and advances in methods and study designs using qualitative or mixed methods research.
• Communication Methods & Measures The aims of Communication Methods and Measures are to bring developments in methodology, both qualitative and quantitative, to the attention of communication scholars, to provide an outlet for discussion and dissemination of methodological tools and approaches to researchers across the field, to comment on practices with suggestions for improvement in both research design and analysis, and to introduce new methods of measurement useful to communication scientists or improvements on existing methods.

Quick Reference

• Sage Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods This web-based encyclopedia is searchable by keyword or subject.

• How to...Use ethnographical methods & participant observation This guide from Emerald Publishing describes types of ethnographic research methods and how to apply them.

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Quantitative Methods for Communication Students

A methods resource, research design.

Research design consists of the different options and choices to be made when conducting empirical research. A study comprises a sequence of choices, which all influence the validity and plausibility of the research. Among things to consider are research questions and objectives, operationalization of variables, reliability and validity, and data-gathering methods. Some of these areas will be covered in the further sections. Here, we will briefly make a bold separation between two common research designs in social and communication research-experimental and non-experimental designs – and briefly discuss validity and reliability.

Experimental design is based on a well-prepared and framed experiment in which some particular causal relationship is tested under controlled conditions. In experiments people are usually randomly divided into separate groups thus controlling the possible bias caused by the variables that are not studied. Then the interesting variable is manipulated and the possible effect is observed and measured. Good experimental studies test real causal mechanisms.

Non-experimental research design refers to observational studies, such as a survey or a content analysis. In observational studies a researcher collects observations using a research instrument, such as a questionnaire in surveys, and then performs statistical tests on the data. Good sampling techniques can make observational studies reliable and generalizable to the population within certain limits. No causal mechanisms can, however, be tested as reliably as in controlled trials.

There are two important criteria that should always be considered with respect to a given research design. The first of them is validity – is the study really measuring what it claims to be measuring? For example, if the study design is a survey that intends to measure people’s attitude towards social media, we can evaluate how well the theoretical constructs are operationalized into survey questions and how well the items used describe attitudes towards social media. Validity will in the end determine how well the study can predict the behaviors or attitudes it measures.

Reliability is the other criteria, which could be called “repeatability”. It describes how accurate the measurement is, i.e. if the same study were conducted again, would similar results be drawn? It is useful to start thinking about reliability by asking how consistent the measurable constructs would be from one sample to another. There are many ways to test reliability, such as test-retest (how much two different samples correlate together for the tested questions) or reliability estimates, such as Cronbach’s alpha .

Research Design 101

Everything You Need To Get Started (With Examples)

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Reviewers: Eunice Rautenbach (DTech) & Kerryn Warren (PhD) | April 2023

Navigating the world of research can be daunting, especially if you’re a first-time researcher. One concept you’re bound to run into fairly early in your research journey is that of “ research design ”. Here, we’ll guide you through the basics using practical examples , so that you can approach your research with confidence.

Overview: Research Design 101

What is research design.

• Research design types for quantitative studies
• Video explainer : quantitative research design
• Research design types for qualitative studies
• Video explainer : qualitative research design
• How to choose a research design
• Key takeaways

Research design refers to the overall plan, structure or strategy that guides a research project , from its conception to the final data analysis. A good research design serves as the blueprint for how you, as the researcher, will collect and analyse data while ensuring consistency, reliability and validity throughout your study.

Understanding different types of research designs is essential as helps ensure that your approach is suitable  given your research aims, objectives and questions , as well as the resources you have available to you. Without a clear big-picture view of how you’ll design your research, you run the risk of potentially making misaligned choices in terms of your methodology – especially your sampling , data collection and data analysis decisions.

The problem with defining research design…

One of the reasons students struggle with a clear definition of research design is because the term is used very loosely across the internet, and even within academia.

Some sources claim that the three research design types are qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods , which isn’t quite accurate (these just refer to the type of data that you’ll collect and analyse). Other sources state that research design refers to the sum of all your design choices, suggesting it’s more like a research methodology . Others run off on other less common tangents. No wonder there’s confusion!

In this article, we’ll clear up the confusion. We’ll explain the most common research design types for both qualitative and quantitative research projects, whether that is for a full dissertation or thesis, or a smaller research paper or article.

Research Design: Quantitative Studies

Quantitative research involves collecting and analysing data in a numerical form. Broadly speaking, there are four types of quantitative research designs: descriptive , correlational , experimental , and quasi-experimental . 

Descriptive Research Design

As the name suggests, descriptive research design focuses on describing existing conditions, behaviours, or characteristics by systematically gathering information without manipulating any variables. In other words, there is no intervention on the researcher’s part – only data collection.

For example, if you’re studying smartphone addiction among adolescents in your community, you could deploy a survey to a sample of teens asking them to rate their agreement with certain statements that relate to smartphone addiction. The collected data would then provide insight regarding how widespread the issue may be – in other words, it would describe the situation.

The key defining attribute of this type of research design is that it purely describes the situation . In other words, descriptive research design does not explore potential relationships between different variables or the causes that may underlie those relationships. Therefore, descriptive research is useful for generating insight into a research problem by describing its characteristics . By doing so, it can provide valuable insights and is often used as a precursor to other research design types.

Correlational Research Design

Correlational design is a popular choice for researchers aiming to identify and measure the relationship between two or more variables without manipulating them . In other words, this type of research design is useful when you want to know whether a change in one thing tends to be accompanied by a change in another thing.

For example, if you wanted to explore the relationship between exercise frequency and overall health, you could use a correlational design to help you achieve this. In this case, you might gather data on participants’ exercise habits, as well as records of their health indicators like blood pressure, heart rate, or body mass index. Thereafter, you’d use a statistical test to assess whether there’s a relationship between the two variables (exercise frequency and health).

As you can see, correlational research design is useful when you want to explore potential relationships between variables that cannot be manipulated or controlled for ethical, practical, or logistical reasons. It is particularly helpful in terms of developing predictions , and given that it doesn’t involve the manipulation of variables, it can be implemented at a large scale more easily than experimental designs (which will look at next).

That said, it’s important to keep in mind that correlational research design has limitations – most notably that it cannot be used to establish causality . In other words, correlation does not equal causation . To establish causality, you’ll need to move into the realm of experimental design, coming up next…

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Experimental Research Design

Experimental research design is used to determine if there is a causal relationship between two or more variables . With this type of research design, you, as the researcher, manipulate one variable (the independent variable) while controlling others (dependent variables). Doing so allows you to observe the effect of the former on the latter and draw conclusions about potential causality.

For example, if you wanted to measure if/how different types of fertiliser affect plant growth, you could set up several groups of plants, with each group receiving a different type of fertiliser, as well as one with no fertiliser at all. You could then measure how much each plant group grew (on average) over time and compare the results from the different groups to see which fertiliser was most effective.

Overall, experimental research design provides researchers with a powerful way to identify and measure causal relationships (and the direction of causality) between variables. However, developing a rigorous experimental design can be challenging as it’s not always easy to control all the variables in a study. This often results in smaller sample sizes , which can reduce the statistical power and generalisability of the results.

Moreover, experimental research design requires random assignment . This means that the researcher needs to assign participants to different groups or conditions in a way that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group (note that this is not the same as random sampling ). Doing so helps reduce the potential for bias and confounding variables . This need for random assignment can lead to ethics-related issues . For example, withholding a potentially beneficial medical treatment from a control group may be considered unethical in certain situations.

Quasi-Experimental Research Design

Quasi-experimental research design is used when the research aims involve identifying causal relations , but one cannot (or doesn’t want to) randomly assign participants to different groups (for practical or ethical reasons). Instead, with a quasi-experimental research design, the researcher relies on existing groups or pre-existing conditions to form groups for comparison.

For example, if you were studying the effects of a new teaching method on student achievement in a particular school district, you may be unable to randomly assign students to either group and instead have to choose classes or schools that already use different teaching methods. This way, you still achieve separate groups, without having to assign participants to specific groups yourself.

Naturally, quasi-experimental research designs have limitations when compared to experimental designs. Given that participant assignment is not random, it’s more difficult to confidently establish causality between variables, and, as a researcher, you have less control over other variables that may impact findings.

All that said, quasi-experimental designs can still be valuable in research contexts where random assignment is not possible and can often be undertaken on a much larger scale than experimental research, thus increasing the statistical power of the results. What’s important is that you, as the researcher, understand the limitations of the design and conduct your quasi-experiment as rigorously as possible, paying careful attention to any potential confounding variables .

Research Design: Qualitative Studies

There are many different research design types when it comes to qualitative studies, but here we’ll narrow our focus to explore the “Big 4”. Specifically, we’ll look at phenomenological design, grounded theory design, ethnographic design, and case study design.

Phenomenological Research Design

Phenomenological design involves exploring the meaning of lived experiences and how they are perceived by individuals. This type of research design seeks to understand people’s perspectives , emotions, and behaviours in specific situations. Here, the aim for researchers is to uncover the essence of human experience without making any assumptions or imposing preconceived ideas on their subjects.

For example, you could adopt a phenomenological design to study why cancer survivors have such varied perceptions of their lives after overcoming their disease. This could be achieved by interviewing survivors and then analysing the data using a qualitative analysis method such as thematic analysis to identify commonalities and differences.

Phenomenological research design typically involves in-depth interviews or open-ended questionnaires to collect rich, detailed data about participants’ subjective experiences. This richness is one of the key strengths of phenomenological research design but, naturally, it also has limitations. These include potential biases in data collection and interpretation and the lack of generalisability of findings to broader populations.

Grounded Theory Research Design

Grounded theory (also referred to as “GT”) aims to develop theories by continuously and iteratively analysing and comparing data collected from a relatively large number of participants in a study. It takes an inductive (bottom-up) approach, with a focus on letting the data “speak for itself”, without being influenced by preexisting theories or the researcher’s preconceptions.

As an example, let’s assume your research aims involved understanding how people cope with chronic pain from a specific medical condition, with a view to developing a theory around this. In this case, grounded theory design would allow you to explore this concept thoroughly without preconceptions about what coping mechanisms might exist. You may find that some patients prefer cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) while others prefer to rely on herbal remedies. Based on multiple, iterative rounds of analysis, you could then develop a theory in this regard, derived directly from the data (as opposed to other preexisting theories and models).

Grounded theory typically involves collecting data through interviews or observations and then analysing it to identify patterns and themes that emerge from the data. These emerging ideas are then validated by collecting more data until a saturation point is reached (i.e., no new information can be squeezed from the data). From that base, a theory can then be developed .

As you can see, grounded theory is ideally suited to studies where the research aims involve theory generation , especially in under-researched areas. Keep in mind though that this type of research design can be quite time-intensive , given the need for multiple rounds of data collection and analysis.

Ethnographic Research Design

Ethnographic design involves observing and studying a culture-sharing group of people in their natural setting to gain insight into their behaviours, beliefs, and values. The focus here is on observing participants in their natural environment (as opposed to a controlled environment). This typically involves the researcher spending an extended period of time with the participants in their environment, carefully observing and taking field notes .

All of this is not to say that ethnographic research design relies purely on observation. On the contrary, this design typically also involves in-depth interviews to explore participants’ views, beliefs, etc. However, unobtrusive observation is a core component of the ethnographic approach.

As an example, an ethnographer may study how different communities celebrate traditional festivals or how individuals from different generations interact with technology differently. This may involve a lengthy period of observation, combined with in-depth interviews to further explore specific areas of interest that emerge as a result of the observations that the researcher has made.

As you can probably imagine, ethnographic research design has the ability to provide rich, contextually embedded insights into the socio-cultural dynamics of human behaviour within a natural, uncontrived setting. Naturally, however, it does come with its own set of challenges, including researcher bias (since the researcher can become quite immersed in the group), participant confidentiality and, predictably, ethical complexities . All of these need to be carefully managed if you choose to adopt this type of research design.

Case Study Design

With case study research design, you, as the researcher, investigate a single individual (or a single group of individuals) to gain an in-depth understanding of their experiences, behaviours or outcomes. Unlike other research designs that are aimed at larger sample sizes, case studies offer a deep dive into the specific circumstances surrounding a person, group of people, event or phenomenon, generally within a bounded setting or context .

As an example, a case study design could be used to explore the factors influencing the success of a specific small business. This would involve diving deeply into the organisation to explore and understand what makes it tick – from marketing to HR to finance. In terms of data collection, this could include interviews with staff and management, review of policy documents and financial statements, surveying customers, etc.

While the above example is focused squarely on one organisation, it’s worth noting that case study research designs can have different variation s, including single-case, multiple-case and longitudinal designs. As you can see in the example, a single-case design involves intensely examining a single entity to understand its unique characteristics and complexities. Conversely, in a multiple-case design , multiple cases are compared and contrasted to identify patterns and commonalities. Lastly, in a longitudinal case design , a single case or multiple cases are studied over an extended period of time to understand how factors develop over time.

As you can see, a case study research design is particularly useful where a deep and contextualised understanding of a specific phenomenon or issue is desired. However, this strength is also its weakness. In other words, you can’t generalise the findings from a case study to the broader population. So, keep this in mind if you’re considering going the case study route.

How To Choose A Research Design

Having worked through all of these potential research designs, you’d be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed and wondering, “ But how do I decide which research design to use? ”. While we could write an entire post covering that alone, here are a few factors to consider that will help you choose a suitable research design for your study.

Data type: The first determining factor is naturally the type of data you plan to be collecting – i.e., qualitative or quantitative. This may sound obvious, but we have to be clear about this – don’t try to use a quantitative research design on qualitative data (or vice versa)!

Research aim(s) and question(s): As with all methodological decisions, your research aim and research questions will heavily influence your research design. For example, if your research aims involve developing a theory from qualitative data, grounded theory would be a strong option. Similarly, if your research aims involve identifying and measuring relationships between variables, one of the experimental designs would likely be a better option.

Time: It’s essential that you consider any time constraints you have, as this will impact the type of research design you can choose. For example, if you’ve only got a month to complete your project, a lengthy design such as ethnography wouldn’t be a good fit.

Resources: Take into account the resources realistically available to you, as these need to factor into your research design choice. For example, if you require highly specialised lab equipment to execute an experimental design, you need to be sure that you’ll have access to that before you make a decision.

Keep in mind that when it comes to research, it’s important to manage your risks and play as conservatively as possible. If your entire project relies on you achieving a huge sample, having access to niche equipment or holding interviews with very difficult-to-reach participants, you’re creating risks that could kill your project. So, be sure to think through your choices carefully and make sure that you have backup plans for any existential risks. Remember that a relatively simple methodology executed well generally will typically earn better marks than a highly-complex methodology executed poorly.

Recap: Key Takeaways

We’ve covered a lot of ground here. Let’s recap by looking at the key takeaways:

• Research design refers to the overall plan, structure or strategy that guides a research project, from its conception to the final analysis of data.
• Research designs for quantitative studies include descriptive , correlational , experimental and quasi-experimenta l designs.
• Research designs for qualitative studies include phenomenological , grounded theory , ethnographic and case study designs.
• When choosing a research design, you need to consider a variety of factors, including the type of data you’ll be working with, your research aims and questions, your time and the resources available to you.

If you need a helping hand with your research design (or any other aspect of your research), check out our private coaching services .

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Is there any blog article explaining more on Case study research design? Is there a Case study write-up template? Thank you.

Thanks this was quite valuable to clarify such an important concept.

Thanks for this simplified explanations. it is quite very helpful.

This was really helpful. thanks

Thank you for your explanation. I think case study research design and the use of secondary data in researches needs to be talked about more in your videos and articles because there a lot of case studies research design tailored projects out there.

Please is there any template for a case study research design whose data type is a secondary data on your repository?

This post is very clear, comprehensive and has been very helpful to me. It has cleared the confusion I had in regard to research design and methodology.

This post is helpful, easy to understand, and deconstructs what a research design is. Thanks

how to cite this page

Thank you very much for the post. It is wonderful and has cleared many worries in my mind regarding research designs. I really appreciate .

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Communication Research Design – COMS 680

CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 02/05/2024

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Course Description

The study and practice of the research design, interpretation, and evaluation of audiences, strategies, and issues.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the  Academic Course Catalog .

This core MA level research seminar will involve careful consideration of the approaches to research commonly employed in the field of communication studies. Traditionally, these approaches have included: (1) historical-critical (or rhetorical-critical) research, (2) qualitative research, and (3) quantitative research. The essential assumptions of this course are that the field of communication is an amalgam of the humanities, arts, and social sciences and that potentially all communication research approaches are valuable in the quest for understanding how communication works, has worked, fails, and has failed. The course is intended to open the door for the student to the major approaches employed in this multi-faceted field so that the student can better decide which direction(s) to take for future research and writing ventures.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations , the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview. 

Discussion (3)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. Each thread must be at least 200 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 50 words.

Critical Reflections Paper Assignments (3)

The student will write a 1–2-page summary and critical analysis of each chapter in the assigned readings. The purpose of this assignment is to apply content from the textbook in order to enhance his/her understanding of the research process and the writing of the thesis proposal. Each paper must be in current APA format.

Thesis or Project: Part 1 – Literature Review Assignment

The student will write a 15–20-page Literature Review in current APA format that focuses on a topic of his/her choosing in preparation for the Thesis or Project Proposal. The paper must include at least 25–30 references in addition to the course textbook and the Bible.

Thesis or Project: Part 2 – Methodology Assignment

The student will write a 6–8-page Methodology in current APA format for his/her Thesis or Project Proposal. The Methodology must include at least 15 references in addition to the course textbook and the Bible.

Thesis or Project: Part 3 – Works Cited Bibliography Assignment

The student will write a 5–6-page Works Cited/Bibliography in current APA format for his/her Thesis or Project Proposal. The Works Cited/Bibliography must include at least 45–50 references in addition to the course textbook and the Bible.

Thesis or Project: Part 4 – Introduction Assignment

The student will write a 2–3-page Introduction in current APA format for his/her Thesis or Project Proposal. The Introduction must include at least 5 references in addition to the course textbook and the Bible.

Thesis or Project: Part 5 – Proposal Assignment

The student will prepare a 25–30 page Thesis Proposal or a Project Proposal in current APA format that focuses on an instructor-approved topic. The assignment is intended to be an appropriate culminating experience for the course and must display the student’s abilities to think and write critically as a communication scholar. The paper must include at least 30 scholarly references in addition to the course textbook and the Bible.

Thesis or Project: Part 6 – Presentation Assignment

The student will present his/her Thesis Proposal or Project Proposal via YouTube. The presentation must be 8–10 minutes and must be presented as it would at a professional communication conference or a professional workshop/training seminar. The presentation will be graded on delivery, professionalism, organization, content, creativity, visual aids, and preparation.

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Communication Studies and Graphic and Information Design, BA

Integrate the study of communication skills and processes with the design of messages, interactions and experiences.

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This combined major integrates visual and verbal aspects of the ways in which communication takes place. Students learn the fundamentals of communication theory and practice, and develop a distinct area of emphasis, such as argumentation and advocacy, organizational and health communication, international and intercultural communication, or digital communication and social media. They take a holistic and integrative approach that focuses on the quality of the human experience in concrete situations.  Developing a broad understanding of the principles and systems of perception, students apply visual form and the interrelationships of text and image to construct narratives and create meaning. Enhancing the understanding of human communication in a variety of contexts, empowers students to become informed and engaged citizens.

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Communication is a diverse discipline and every department is unique. At Northeastern, the Communication Studies curriculum was designed to achieve three distinct learning objectives:

• Basic communication skills, including the ability to research a question, prepare and deliver a compelling speech, and think critically and write effectively.
• An understanding of the communication discipline including an appreciation of the history of communication studies, familiarity with important theoretical principles, and the ability to apply this knowledge to contemporary problems.
• A distinct area of emphasis that distinguishes their major. Some of the more popular areas include argumentation and advocacy, organizational or health communication, digital communication, and media production.

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• Apply iterative design processes to create, revise, evaluate, and develop effective prototypes and innovative solutions.
• Engage human-centered design research methods and systems thinking to identify and understand values, goals, motivations of intended audiences as a mode of inquiry, question framing and guide to action.
• Develop a high level of craft and technical skills in a relevant range of media and tools and effectively weigh applicability for intended audiences and outcomes.
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• Employ and embody ethical practices, team and cross-disciplinary collaboration, and effective communication and 6. presentation skills.
• Apply relevant communication theories and principles and appreciate the pervasive and long-term impact of design decisions on people and societies.

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• International Communication Association ICA is an academic association for scholars interested in the study, teaching, and application of all aspects of human and mediated communication.
• National Communication Association The National Communication Association advances Communication as the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media, and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific, and aesthetic inquiry.
• Western States Communication Association Western States Communication Association is an educational association of scholars, teachers, and students of communication.
• Eastern Communication Association The Eastern Communication Association (ECA) is a professional organization of scholars, teachers, and students of Communication Studies. The ECA was initially established in 1910 and continues as the oldest professional communication association in the United States
• Central States Communication Association The mission of Central States Communication Association (CSCA) is to unite and educate people with both an affinity to the central region of the United States and a scholarly interest in all areas of communication for promotion of their mutual goals and advancement of their field.
• Southern States Communication Association Our purpose is to promote the study, criticism, research, teaching, and application of the artistic, humanistic, and scientific principles of communication. SSCA, a not-for-profit organization, exists for educational, scientific, and literary purposes only.
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Research for All

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• Lessons from working across fields to develop a framework for informed choices
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• Exploring where science is made in an outdoor and digital museum in a Brazilian university
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Participatory co-design of science communication strategies for public engagement in the US and Ecuador around health behaviour change

• Meaningful public engagement in the context of open science: reflections from early and mid-career academics
• How can impact strategies be developed that better support universities to address twenty-first-century challenges?
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Science communication research and practice currently promote strategies oriented towards creating audience engagement around scientific content. Consequently, science communication needs to continually explore new methodologies that enable audiences’ participation in order to meet their interests and needs. The present study combines qualitative and participatory action research (PAR) methods guided by decolonial epistemologies to develop a co-designed project with public health, nutrition and sports science researchers to recruit young audiences from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, and from Cuenca, Ecuador. The main goal of this study was to create strategies to motivate young audiences’ engagement and interest in adopting healthy habits. This article focuses on the study’s research design in order to provide guidelines and procedural recommendations for facilitating a co-design approach for developing science communication initiatives targeting children and teenagers in Ecuador and the United States. As we demonstrate, the PAR approach for co-design leads to useful outcomes: (1) the incorporation of decolonial theory guidelines in participatory research; and (2) the development of science communication strategies that combine online and offline activities to put in dialogue scientists and their audiences, ultimately resulting in mutual learning, thus allowing scholars and practitioners to explore in practical terms how to co-design improved strategies.

Main article text

Introduction.

Over the last three decades, science communication scholars have shown that to promote a deeper engagement with audiences and the broader public, it is necessary to develop research that empowers and includes audiences’ voices and interests around different scientific disciplines ( Bucchi and Trench, 2008 ; Holliman et al., 2009 ).

More frequently, science communication research and practice have used linear-communication theoretical models, such as diffusion of innovations ( Rogers, 2010 ) and the transmission model ( Leach et al., 2008 ). Similarly, the deficit model ( Bucchi, 2008 ) has inspired research approaches that focus primarily, or even exclusively, on disseminating and transmitting, in a one-way fashion, scientific information from academia to the public. However, these models do not consider opening the discussion between academic researchers and members of the public. Thus, each of these research traditions has led to research and practice that explore unilateral communication of science, while ignoring the need to create deeper audience engagement.

Currently, science communication is defined as the use of appropriate communication skills, media and dialogue to produce audience awareness and practical responses around scientific information ( Bowater and Yeoman, 2013 ). Yet, science communication needs to build sustainable science–society relationships, and it can benefit from exploring community engagement. More frequently, community engagement has been applied in health contexts, through communication and education to target populations, and it can be used alone or as part of larger strategies ( O’Mara-Eves et al., 2013 ).

This article presents an alternative research design to establish an egalitarian research framework based on qualitative and participatory action research (PAR), decolonial epistemologies and media theories used in combination. Thus, such a framework can motivate collaboration among researchers and young audiences as co-researchers using egalitarian procedures to manage power relations. The overall goal of the study was to explore how to co-design engaging strategies around two already existing nutrition and physical activity programmes.

The evolution of science communication: from dissemination to public engagement

Science communication research movements have evolved from the deficit paradigm to dialogue models. In the 1990s, science communication was referred to as ‘scientific literacy’ ( Gregory and Miller, 1998 ) or as ‘public understanding of science’ ( Stilgoe et al., 2014 ), approaches using the deficit model as their theoretical foundation ( Bucchi, 2008 ). The deficit model assumed that: (1) all scientifically relevant knowledge belongs to academics; (2) exposing people to scientific content will alone motivate its appreciation; and (3) the point of departure for science communication is the assumption that audiences do not have the knowledge or competencies to understand science ( Bowater and Yeoman, 2013 ).

Consequently, science communication developed under the deficit model primarily were dissemination initiatives. Scientific findings were then passed along from researchers to communication practitioners at research institutes or universities, with the assumption that these communication co-workers would then relay the findings to the public – despite the fact that few practitioners had prior training in science communication ( Friedman et al., 1999 ). Compounding the problem, researchers were involved minimally, if at all, in the communication strategy design or the actual content to be relayed to the public. As a result, not surprisingly, science content was frequently misreported by the media ( Stilgoe and Wilsdon, 2009 ).

However, by the 1990s, the alternative theoretical paradigm of dialogic models emerged, emphasising dialogue between scientists and the public. Dialogic models proved to be so successful that the Royal Society proposed its members set aside deficit models and adopt dialogic approaches to successfully promote public engagement ( Holliman et al., 2009 ). Since the turn of the twenty-first century, science communication studies have regularly suggested that scholars explore methodological alternatives to overcome the barriers that the deficit model erected between scientists and society.

Additionally, practitioners of science communication for public engagement ( Bucchi and Trench, 2008 ; Bowater and Yeoman, 2013 ), the newest research movement, suggest that PAR as a methodological paradigm can support the development of more inclusive research and, in so doing, can overcome many contemporary science communication challenges. Over the last two decades, most enquiry has addressed introduction of dialogical practices among researchers and their target audiences ( Brossard et al., 2005 ), for example, through citizen science ( Cooper, 2016 ), by focusing on media reporting on science ( Dunwoody, 2014 ), or by exploring the effects on audiences of using social media to communicate science, as well as such effects on scientific content itself ( Brossard and Scheufele, 2013 ; Lee et al., 2018 ).

Participatory action research in science communication research

PAR has its origins in two interrelated traditions: Kurt Lewin’s (1946) action research and Paulo Freire’s 1970s approach to co-learning processes ( Freire, 2010 ). Lewin proposed a cyclical problem-solving process, through promoting people’s participation in planning, analysing and implementing different solutions ( Minkler, 2004 ), while Freire (2010) proposed a process whereby the researcher acts as a facilitator of dialogue and capacity building for empowering people through interaction, interchange and mutual learning. Following these traditions, PAR studies unite experts and citizens around topics of mutual interest, with the two groups working as co-researchers participating in an egalitarian framework to find solutions to a given problem ( Chevalier and Buckles, 2013 ; Hacker, 2013 ).

PAR methodologies, then, can bring new opportunities to science communication, allowing scholars and members of the public to jointly explore the perspectives of society around science. Science communication studies can, and must, also consider creating resources and learning spaces ( Davies et al., 2009 ) and promoting dialogue among scientists and audiences of different ages, cultures and education ( Van Dijck, 2003 ).

Decolonial research and community engagement

Developing a decolonial enquiry means designing and conducting research from a community/society standpoint ( Denzin and Lincoln, 2008 ; Smith, 1999 ). Researchers must be open to sharing voice and agency with the people involved in research, doing so by facilitating the collaborative development of objectives, research questions, data collection and analysis.

In contrast to Western epistemologies, in decolonial research, people are not merely seen as human subjects of study from which to extract data but, rather, as equal co-researchers ( Smith, 1999 ; Tuck, 2009 ). People participate in the research process by using their experiences, cultural history and local knowledge to discuss and address issues related to their needs and/or interests ( Walsh, 2017 ). Here, the role of researchers is to facilitate and co-design along with the people a process whereby they dismantle their struggles and promote capacity building through tools to support participants ( Smith, 2013 ).

In terms of epistemology, decolonial methodologies facilitate designing research procedures that reflect critically upon Western systems of knowledge and those systems’ tools, and that set as priorities the participation of society and researchers ( Denzin and Lincoln, 2008 ). The tensions between researchers and vulnerable populations are the result of decades of unequal relations dictated by knowledge extraction and appropriation ( Jojola, 2008 ; Tuck, 2009 ). Therefore, significant challenges exist in terms of establishing relationships of mutual trust and openness to collaboration for researchers who aim to work with culturally diverse populations.

Decolonial scholars in the Global North ( Porter, 2010 ; Smith, 2013 ) have applied the principle of humanising the enquiry process in culturally diverse populations affected by oppressive power structures that relegate them to vulnerable positions. Also, science communication researchers must always acknowledge the contextual reality of ‘scientific rigour’ and ‘objectivity’ as they affect people, and become aware of the harms inflicted through the very process of scientific research, in order to correct for these unintended effects. Consequently, researchers are challenged not only to create knowledge, but also to suggest practical solutions leading to tangible actions that people can take to overcome their problems.

Regarding community engagement, Chambers (1994) describes the conundrum faced by all academics attempting to employ PAR and development paradigms. Participation has three uses and meanings: cosmetic labelling, to look good; co-opting practice, for securing local action and resources; and empowering process, to enable people to do things themselves.

PAR methodologies have been shifting from a top-down paradigm towards a diversified, bottom-up approach. This implies a transfer of power from ‘uppers’, who have been dominant, to ‘lowers’ (people, institutions and disciplines) who have been subordinate. Participatory approaches to research and development tend to hide underlying changes in philosophy and practice. Empowerment of marginalised people requires reversals and changes in an egalitarian fashion. Thus, PAR approaches face significant challenges to their use as they require changes to bureaucratic procedures and cultures, including more participatory management ( Chambers, 1994 ).

Chambers’ (1994) work spotlights the shortcomings of traditional participatory research and development, and it sets the stage for an evolving PAR paradigm which seeks to eliminate the stark divisions between ‘uppers’ and ‘lowers’, to cast community members as co-researchers, and to bring PAR into the emergent realm of relational communication and relational dialectics 2.0; that is, placing PAR and health promotion squarely in the dialogic arena ( Chambers, 1994 ; Halliwell, 2016 ).

The literature of community engagement privileges the role of those impacted by particular issues in the solution of those same problems. Proceeding from theories of marginalisation and its consequences, Aday et al. (2015) designed and implemented collaborative community health interventions in Central America, engaging undergraduate university students and community members to identify emergent health issues and their solutions. Having employed participatory and community action methodologies, Aday et al. (2015 : 22–3) wrote:

we believe that the theory of marginalization and alienation helps us to better understand the context in which we find the observed problems of health and health care. This theoretical understanding prepares us to ask better, more focused questions about our own role in the communities in which we work.

The efforts of Aday and colleagues (2015) increased communication among community residents, facilitated the development of co-researchers’ construction of community-endorsed five-year plans, and established partnerships with regional and international groups. This approach informed our own work with young students from marginalised communities as co-researchers.

Our work also comports with the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion ( World Health Organization – Europe, 1986 : n.p.), which lists as prerequisites for health ‘peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable ecosystem, sustainable resources, social justice, and equity’. The two case studies described in this article sought to base their work in social justice and equity through the recruitment of co-researchers from the ecosystem being studied and by granting those co-researchers roles in all aspects of the studies, including the definitions of research questions and intervention methodologies.

Here we describe two case studies, including their functions and goals. We also discuss the methodological design for the study, and its research procedures, as guided by several decolonial theories, along with data collection tools and analysis.

Eat Smart to Play Hard

Eat Smart to Play Hard (ESPH) is a health promotion and research programme created and implemented by the University of New Mexico (UNM) Prevention Research Center, a research department affiliated with the UNM Health Sciences Center. ESPH is a four-year-old programme focused on reducing obesity and preventing chronic disease in children, families, schools and communities across the state of New Mexico. ESPH applies a social marketing approach, deployed through a series of interventions at elementary public and private schools and in households, which motivates children to adopt healthy nutrition and physical activities.

ACTIVITAL is a health promotion programme that is the product of interdisciplinary research groups at the Biosciences Department at the University of Cuenca in Ecuador and at the VLIR Programme Cooperation Alliance, Belgium. Children in Ecuador face a variety of issues that fall under the heading of unbalanced nutrition. Among these are disproportionate food intakes, driven by cultural perceptions, and unhealthy cooking habits of parents and households that dramatically influence the health conditions of children and teenagers. ACTIVITAL developed a socio-ecological approach towards health behaviour change in order to educate children, teenagers and their families about healthy nutrition, using school interventions that included group games, workshops, medical controls and the collaborative development of a healthy eating recipe book.

PAR and qualitative research adapted to science communication

For this study, PAR and qualitative research were combined. The qualitative research framework used multiple case-study designs ( Yin, 2012 , 2017 ) with embedded units of analysis. This approach is regarded as more robust than that taken in single case studies because its results can be compared and thus can provide more generalisable data in two or more different scenarios ( Herriott and Firestone, 1983 ). Consequently, the multiple case study enabled the researchers and co-researchers to identify differences, similarities and cultural considerations, and to develop science communication strategies, in two research programmes – one in the US and one in Ecuador – which have similar goals. The embedded units of analysis respond to each of the research questions. It is important to clarify that the design of the study was developed by the researchers. To follow the criteria of PAR studies developed using decolonial guidelines, the researchers and co-researchers initiated their collaboration after their recruitment to discuss research questions and procedures for the co-design participatory workshops and data analysis.

Self-reflexivity practices and designing a participatory science communication study

This study was designed as a collaboration among researchers and young audiences; for this reason, it was crucial to incorporate self-reflexivity practices for the researchers. As the PAR framework promotes egalitarian agency and participation of audiences, researchers were required to acknowledge their privilege and power, and how they would position themselves in the study in relation to the audiences for the health programmes. For this purpose, we combined guidelines suggesting decolonial considerations by Andrea Smith (2013) in order to develop a practice of self-reflexivity prior to finalising the overall research design and approach to audiences. Decolonial guidelines were crucial in managing possible power imbalances among the interests of the researchers and the needs and interests of co-researchers. Consequently, the researchers developed a self-reflexivity exercise before the first contact with the co-researchers of each case study.

The self-reflexivity exercise was conducted by one of the researchers of this study as a one-hour session with the researchers at ESPH in Albuquerque, and later separately with the researchers of ACTIVITAL in Cuenca. We combined the notions of co-learning processes ( Freire, 2010 ) and the critical approach of self-reflexivity ( Smith, 2016 ) for balancing power and agency. Before the session, the researchers were asked to bring a clear written statement acknowledging their privilege in terms of socio-economic characteristics, and describing their personal identifications in terms of gender, race, culture and ideology. During the session, the researchers were asked to disclose how they would use the emerging data to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes for the co-researchers and their programmes, focusing not only on scientific outcomes, but also on activities that would promote healthy habits with young audiences, and provide voice and agency to the co-researchers in the co-design process.

As a result, researchers agreed to the following procedure:

In the first of the four co-design workshops, dedicate time to set the rules with the co-researchers to enhance egalitarian agency and decision making.

Include the co-researchers in refining the research procedures, in order to promote their agency in the co-design process.

Respect the opinions, needs and interests of co-researchers by supporting their ideas and suggestions for replacing specific interventions with new ones oriented to improving the audience´s engagement around the scientific content.

Promote capacity building by teaching co-researchers about the use of participatory data collection tools, addressing co-researchers’ concerns, and countering any emerging misinformation about healthy habits with scientifically validated information.

Ethical considerations

It was crucial to work with former programme participants so that they could provide their suggestions and ideas based on their experiences. Drawing on decolonial practice, it is crucial to understand the reality of audiences, as well as the researchers’ beliefs, to counter power imbalances that might affect the participants, and to reflect on how to address these ( Tervalon and Murray-Garcia, 1998 ).

To practise cultural humility with the purpose of arriving at a deeper understanding of the audiences, we reviewed the formative research studies of each programme to identify the socio-economic characteristics, race, culture and education of each group, as well as their current knowledge about healthy habits in order to reflect on how to create inclusive and egalitarian research procedures ( Chevalier and Buckles, 2013 ).

The protocols for the study were approved by UNM’s Institutional Review Board. All sessions were audio-recorded and documented through a registry of the overall strategy proposal. To protect identities, participants were asked to create nicknames to participate in the study. Data indicated which programme each participant was associated with, but did not indicate personal identifiers.

Research procedures

Here we describe the methodological considerations that research procedures followed.

Co-researcher recruitment and trust building for creating a safe space for co-design

After developing an initial understanding of the audience contexts, we approached each programme in order to request access to the participants. In the case of ESPH, this involved writing to the principals of several Albuquerque high schools; ultimately, we were granted approval for research participation of the students of the Health Leadership High School, a charter school oriented to promoting health sciences careers. During our first visit, we explained the study and made clear to the students that our goal was to promote science communication around health programmes. At the conclusion of our visit, we provided informed consent/assent forms to the students who expressed interest and explained that, since they were underage at the time of the study, they would need the permission of their parents or legal guardians to participate as co-researchers. In the case of ACTIVITAL, the participants were already at least 18 years old. Consequently, we approached them through email; in our initial message, we presented information about the goals of the study, and we invited them to participate voluntarily.

We recruited 10 co-researchers for each health programme. From that point on, all decision making was participatory, to create trust. Together, co-researchers and researchers were guided by the authors of this study to work together to refine the research questions, select the dates and locations for the participatory co-design workshops, and create the policies that would guide the co-design process, as described in Figure 1 . The co-researchers were invited to also provide the researchers with their questions of interest about healthy habits and about the scientific content of the study (that is, concepts, data collection methods, and any other doubts that they had). Responsibilities for the facilitation of the workshops were shared among the researchers and co-researchers.

Rules for teamwork for Eat Smart to Play Hard (Source: Authors, 2022)

Compensation for co-researchers

This study compensated each co-researcher with US$40 in cash, as well as healthy snacks and materials for co-designing strategies.

Research questions

To develop the research questions, the researchers consulted with the co-researchers of both health programmes to agree on questions that addressed their interests. This practice was crucial to ensure a PAR design, reinforce collaboration and put in practice the decolonial guidelines created in the self-reflexivity sessions. The resulting research questions were:

RQ1: How can researchers/scientists of health behaviour studies develop better science communication strategies for public engagement from the perspective of teenage/young-adult audiences?

RQ2: How can teen audience engagement with science/health communication be improved?

RQ1 addresses how to create and develop science communication for public engagement. In this study, we had two focuses related to audience engagement: to evaluate the current communication engagement of the programmes, and to improve teen audiences’ engagement in science and health communication. We analysed collectively whether the suggested activities were effective in engaging young audiences, and how those activities could be improved or changed. RQ2 concerns how to create spaces and opportunities for collaboration among researchers and young people around healthy habits, and how researchers can develop strategies to motivate the audience’s engagement.

Data collection tools

As decolonial epistemologies suggest incorporating participatory methodologies to overcome power imbalances, finding suitable data collection tools was crucial. As Western data collection tools are seen as extracting information from research participants ( Tuck, 2009 ), instead we used participatory data collection tools that use iterative processes for co-constructing knowledge (see Table 1 ).

Detail of data collection tools and co-design sessions (Source: Authors, 2022)

Participatory dialogue was an essential tool, focusing on the value of co-researchers’ knowledge and ‘real-life’ problems ( Coburn, 2005 ) to develop activities, resources and messages that would support healthy habits. We used action-reflection cycles ( McNiff, 2014 ) to facilitate discussions and to organise collective participation, analysis and proposed actions, and thus we were able to more productively identify crucial factors that could influence the implementation of strategies to promote audience engagement (see Figure 2 ).

The action-reflection cycle process (Source: McNiff, 2014 )

Among other PAR data collection tools, we applied participatory diagramming (see Table 1 ), which uses available materials (for example, paper, boards, colour-coded cards) to create charts that connect responses of participants with prompt questions that have the purpose to guide the discussion of co-design workshops guided by a facilitator ( Kesby, 2000 ). PAR diagramming was used to organise the ideas to analyse the current programme’s strategies to connect them to suggestions for improving engagement or to propose new strategies.

We also used asset mapping ( Chapin and Threlkeld, 2001 ), a participatory tool that uses maps to locate specific places that provide resources, and which allows several people to work simultaneously by using online platforms such as Google Maps. To this end, we focused on identifying each city’s information resources, as well as places we could use to organise events and activities to promote physical activity.

Finally, we used Zines ( Chidgey, 2014 ), an arts-based tool that can combine drawings, collage and writing, and which uses simple materials such as paper and magazine cut-outs. Zines served to organise the overall strategies and their corresponding communication conduits and messages in order to motivate the creativity of the researchers and co-researchers.

Data analysis

Open coding was used to analyse the emerging data ( Marshall and Rossman, 2014 ). As this study used PAR tools to co-design strategies, we put in place a system of colour coding to clearly identify and delineate issues, causes, consequences and proposed alternatives. This procedure enabled us to work simultaneously to develop new strategies for each programme.

We identified several themes and subthemes that then allowed us to create communication-practice guidelines for scientists who work on studies that promote healthy habits. Building on the insights of media theories such as two-step flow ( Katz, 1957 ), medium theory ( Collins et al., 2016 ; Meyrowitz, 2009 ) and framing ( Entman, 1993 ; Listerman 2010 ) allowed us to develop recommendations to improve the strategies of each programme.

Regarding the demographics of the overall co-design teams, the three main researchers are a semi-diverse group. The first author is a Latinx female researcher with a PhD who is an assistant professor; the second author is a White male associate professor; and the third author is a White female associate professor. The ages of the researchers range from their 30s to their 70s.

Co-researchers of ESPH were the programme scientists and the children. Most individuals were Latin-Hispanic who were immigrants from Latin America (two programme scientists); there was also one White female scientist. The co-researchers were first-generation Latinos born in the US (three females and three males) ranging in age from 13 to 16; 4 of them were low-income DACA students. (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is a programme of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service that provides youth with a work permit and protects them from deportation as they arrive and stay in the United States; Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Washington University in St. Louis [2018] .)

The ACTIVITAL researchers were two Latinx female scientists who are professors and researchers. The co-researchers were all Latinx (three males and three females) ranging from 18 to 20 years old; they were first-year college students from middle- and low-income families who accessed higher education through government-funded merit scholarships.

Our study evidenced two important streams of findings in each programme: first, specific contextual considerations that influenced audience engagement and the development of co-designed strategies oriented towards improving such engagement; and, second, a set of useful guidelines for science communication for public engagement around health programmes.

In the case of ESPH (see Figure 3 ), we found that the current strategies and tactics were interesting and attractive to audiences. However, some of those tactics did not take into consideration certain limitations within some participants’ households; for example, many New Mexican families lack access to safe public parks or playgrounds. Another chronic limitation is that certain foods, such as fresh vegetables and some protein sources, are prohibitively expensive for low-income families.

Contextual considerations of Eat Smart to Play Hard (Source: Authors, 2022)

We found ACTIVITAL’s programme strategy to be well thought out at the time of its implementation. However, to implement the programme during a time in which social media and other newer communication conduits are increasingly prevalent, it was crucial to create an interactive strategy approach, focused on developing learning for children, teenagers, their families and their teachers. Specifically, a hybrid online–offline approach was suggested which would combine activities and resources that are useful and interesting to ACTIVITAL’s audiences (see Figure 4 ).

Creation of an interactive strategy for ACTIVITAL (Source: Authors, 2022)

Participatory co-design outcomes strategies for ESPH and ACTIVITAL

As a result of the participatory co-design workshop sessions, we developed several strategies to improve audience engagement. In both programmes, balancing power through egalitarian participation provided tangible positive results. Consequently, the study promoted a trust among researchers and co-researchers that facilitated the development of strategies that combined the ideas and creativity of co-researchers and the scientific expertise of researchers.

Spokespeople for health programmes

As noted above, the co-researchers suggested that scientists be the main spokespeople. In the case of ESPH, they created the ESPH Squad – two scientists (one female, one male) who would guide young audiences to learn about the science behind nutrition and physical activity, explaining how healthy foods and physical activity benefit the human body by encouraging growth and managing stress. The co-researchers also recommended including teenagers who resembled the older siblings of the children. Target-age children would also be included as the followers and main characters in the communication materials, shown interacting in the company of their pets.

Both co-design teams of both programmes felt that former programme participants would serve best. To motivate former participants’ engagement, an ‘ambassadors’ programme was proposed: target audience members could sign up by uploading to their personal Facebook profile a video in which they would explain why they wanted to be an ambassador of the programme; participants with the most ‘likes’ would be selected. The winners of the contests would work with the scientists on the new co-designed programme activities.

Engagement activities for audiences

A specific activity co-designed by the ESPH participants was to create a cooking contest promoted with the hashtag #ESPHcooking (see Figure 5 ). In this activity, participants would be invited to upload to social media a picture of themselves cooking a healthy meal with their families and featuring the hashtag on their photographs. The winners would be those who generated the most ‘likes’, and they would win a gift card from grocery stores or sports venues.

Co-designed strategy artwork for the #ESPHcooking contest (Source: Artwork developed by ESPH participants)

Additionally, considering the ESPH participatory co-design team’s confirmation that some low-income families cannot afford healthy food (vegetables, grains and proteins), the team agreed to involve food gardens and food pantries at local schools. To do so, they developed activities soliciting donations of seeds and canned foods, and recruited teachers and parents as volunteers. The team’s main goal was to provide free vegetables and other healthy foods often excluded from families’ grocery shopping due to limited budgets.

In the case of ACTIVITAL, the participatory co-design research team recommended developing a strategy that would combine online resources and outdoor activities. Through asset mapping, the co-design teams located public parks and recreation areas in which free monthly events could be offered. A crucial factor was to bring together children, teenagers, their families and researchers to participate in these fun physical activities, as well as in healthy habits discussion groups.

Communication conduits for audience engagement

The co-design teams suggested that social media profiles – Facebook and Instagram – be created to provide informational resources for parents/caregivers, teachers and children. However, in both programmes, the co-design teams agreed to recommend using Facebook as the primary communication conduit through which underage children would be invited to interact in activities through their parents’ or older siblings’ accounts. The teams also recommended that social media be used by physicians as information tools for parents/caregivers of children and teenagers about healthy habits. The recommended content was healthy recipes for snacks and meals, as well as workout routines. Social media would also engender interactions with scientists and health experts, which could take place in real time and could be monitored and measured for evaluation.

Teenagers on the co-design team also suggested creating an app for registering their physical activity and food intake, allowing participants to keep track of their habits and receive tailored recommendations for avoiding unhealthy behaviours. The app would give participants the option of creating avatars of themselves that would change and adapt according to the habits of the user. Further, the app would be linked with social media resources.

Decolonial and PAR methodological approach outcomes

Incorporating decolonial principles as guidelines for the study procedures enabled the researchers to manage the power relations and possible imbalances. More specifically, decolonial principles through the self-reflexivity guidelines of this study guided the process of working collaboratively with co-researchers and not overstepping their needs or interests.

Science communication for public engagement suggests two avenues for research. One would create spaces for interaction among scientists and the public as a first step towards establishing sustainable relationships that can lead to science–society partnerships ( Bowater and Yeoman, 2013 ). The other suggests a new methodological design for future studies that prioritises dialogue. To this suggestion, several scholars agree that PAR methods are well suited for facilitating an egalitarian framework among scientists and members of the public for mutual collaboration ( Stilgoe et al., 2014 ). The research design of the present study addresses these suggested avenues. Also, in each case study, the findings respond directly to each of the research questions and its units of analysis regarding how to create strategies that promote audience interest and engagement with scientific research about children’s and teenagers’ healthy habits.

At the same time, we found some significant differences and some similarities related to the cultures and contextual factors of the countries. These led us to various implications for the future planning and execution of science communication for healthy habits promotion with young audiences. These are discussed in the following sections.

Understanding the lifestyle dynamics and context of audiences

The two case studies evidenced quite a few differences in cultural and other issues, as well as a few similarities regarding food and nutrition, family dynamics and the use of public spaces. By understanding the data that emerged from the participatory co-design, such as household dynamics, participants’ relationships with their parents, and the available knowledge about and resources for healthy habits available to children and teenagers, the process of creating tailored strategies that addressed their interests and concerns was enriched. The tasks of co-designing messages, choosing incentives and finding useful communication conduits were shared among the researchers and <softenter>co-researchers.

It was also useful to reflect on the complementarity of the health behaviour change frameworks used for each study, such as social marketing ( Shamsi et al., 2014 ) in the case of ESPH and socio-cognitive theory ( Bandura, 2004 ) for ACTIVITAL. For example, the social marketing framework worked well for creating attractive activities and compensations for children, but it required more attention to providing resources for parents, given the needs of low-income households. In contrast, the socio-cognitive theory model was effective in creating learning activities, and it required us to enhance the motivation of children and teenagers through activities that were attractive to them.

Theoretical and methodological guidelines for science communication for public engagement

Media theories can be used as guidelines for science communication research and practice. In the present study, we used communication theories as a framework when analysing the co-designed outcomes of the participatory co-design workshops to organise the science communication strategies for each programme.

The two-step flow theory helped guide our decisions about who might be the most appropriate and successful spokespersons. Interestingly, co-researchers in both locations ultimately concluded that the scientists themselves should be the spokespeople, because they are credentialled researchers who can provide audiences with accurate information. This finding was in line with previous science communication studies, which found that leaders who are non-scientists, and either journalists or public figures, face a higher risk of misshaping the findings and possibly communicating inaccurate information to the public ( Dunwoody, 2014 ).

Medium theory provided the foundations to reflect on which communication conduits were most suitable to impart specific scientific content. So informed, we found it crucial to assess the complexity of the scientific information and how to select the most effective media to make that information clear, understandable and attractive to young audiences. To that end, we explored the specific features that enhance audience engagement on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube ( Collins et al., 2016 ), and we found that children and teenagers expressed interest in interacting directly with researchers through social media for learning about healthy habits. This finding corroborated prior studies showing that social media provide opportunities to open dialogue with society; for example, Twitter and Facebook have offered positive outcomes for researchers who seek to dialogue with non-experts about their research ( Pearce et al., 2015 ). At the same time, each social media platform offers different tools for combining video, graphics, animations and live streaming that can be helpful to researchers in attracting audiences and engaging them in discussions about scientific topics of their interest ( Liang et al., 2014 ; Nisbet and Kotcher, 2009 ).

Framing theory, too, provided a useful approach for designing messages with scientific content by understanding that audiences have different interpretative schemas – frames – that allow them to interpret and make sense of an issue ( Entman, 1993 ). In the case of science communication and scientific journalism, frames help audiences put topics or issues into shared contexts (daily life situations or habits) that are understandable for people ( White, 2013 ). The present study reveals, specifically, that to create content and a messaging strategy for science communication for public engagement, formative research and PAR can be used effectively to identify communication insights, to craft messages, and to determine the language (and tone) that is most suitable to the audiences.

Methodological recommendations

As noted above, the existing literature on science communication for public engagement suggests that dialogical frameworks are best suited for enhancing society’s interest and participation. To plan engagement strategies, it is necessary to investigate and create a comprehensive understanding of a target audience’s demographic and psychographic characteristics so as not to fall into the common traps possible when applying the tenets of deficit, diffusion or transmission models ( Davies et al., 2009 ). In other words, PAR allows scholars to productively tailor useful and engaging science communication strategies.

To this end, further formative research that is designed with an ethnographic-qualitative approach could also provide a greater understanding of audiences, and provide suggestions to be aware of, and sensitive to, participants’ household dynamics and difficulties.

Creation of an interactive strategy approach

The researchers acknowledged the contribution of PAR in their respective programmes to their own education about how those programmes can benefit young people. Key here was the value the co-researchers perceived in having the opportunity to directly interact with scientists and to co-create strategies that would allow them to reach even wider audiences. These acknowledgements support the findings of Dierking et al. (2003) and Wood (2011) that science communication based on dialogic models – and particularly on the transactional model of communication, in which message senders and receivers share common contexts and experiences over time – can be especially effective in getting audiences to adopt healthy habits. Co-designed strategies that operated through communication conduits that promote direct dialogue with their audiences were built on a key finding of scholars of the transactional model: that communication needs to be a frequent and sustained activity. By contrast, communication strategies that are based on only one contact with the audience will not be useful ( Bowater and Yeoman, 2013 ).

In the case of Ecuador, there is significant evidence that social media are increasingly effective tools for science communication. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses of Ecuador ( INEC, 2019 ), 98 per cent of people above the age of 12 have a Facebook account, making that platform an increasingly useful conduit for audience engagement. Nonetheless, low-income Ecuadorians have little access to the internet and to technological devices, meaning that digital communication cannot be seen as the sole solution. At the time of the completion of the present study (2019), only 28.8 per cent of the rural populations had access to a tablet or smartphone. Moreover, these households had only one computer, which was used primarily for educational purposes, and only 36.7 per cent had a Facebook account ( INEC, 2019 ). Consequently, future studies could focus on how to develop science communication for engaging marginalised communities.

It is still necessary to simultaneously consider alternative in-person strategies, combining mass media with social media to amplify messages and boost audience coverage ( Hsu et al., 2018 ), recognising that dialogue takes place not only digitally, but also in person.

Conclusions

Co-designing science communication strategies leads not only to creating resources that are useful for society, but also to new opportunities for strengthening the relationships between scientists and the general public.

Regarding RQ1, which focuses on how science communication can be improved from the perspective of young audiences, strategies to enhance engagement must combine online and offline tactics. While social media, as we have shown, can provide important platforms for achieving collaboration and public engagement, there is still a way to go. The present study shows that audiences want to dialogue with scientists and learn from them through in-person activities and by using digital conduits such as social media. Social media can also serve as strategic conduits for sharing interactive activities that can simultaneously motivate scientists and audiences to engage and enhance all parties’ understanding. Regarding RQ2, we can suggest that PAR methodologies provide opportunities to develop partnerships that can lead to future collaborative research that attends to the needs of local communities with initiatives for social change.

Indeed, PAR research opens opportunities to explore in depth the issues that people face, such as to adopt healthy behaviours, and it can also help to create feasible solutions. This is possible when researchers and their target audiences share an egalitarian space for research. Moreover, the co-design participatory approach facilitates processes in which scientists and members of the public can experience mutual learning around topics of common interest. In order to achieve participation, scientists need to open their studies to public dialogue, and to explore – with the collaboration of audiences – how to create initiatives that provide useful information and resources.

Finally, the willingness of researchers to participate and share their research with the public is a key component for engaging science communication. As this study shows, researchers’ involvement in dialoguing with their audiences and co-designing initiatives are the crucial factors motivating audience engagement.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the Biosciences Department of Universidad de Cuenca and the Social Marketing Team of the Eat Smart to Play Hard programme at UNM Prevention Research Center. Special thanks to the student co-researchers from ACTIVITAL and ESPH.

This project was fully funded by the PhD Fellow Award (2018–19) of the Latin American and Iberian Institute of the University of New Mexico.

Declarations and conflicts of interest

Research ethics statement.

The authors declare that research ethics approval for this article was provided by the UNM IRB ethics board, Approval # [1259243-1], and that it was waivered for publication by protecting the identities of the participants in this study.

Consent for publication statement

The authors declare that research participants’ informed consent to the publication of findings – including photos, videos and any personal or identifiable information – was secured prior to publication.

Conflicts of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest with this work. All efforts to sufficiently anonymise the authors during peer review of this article have been made. The authors declare no further conflicts with this article.

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Academic Catalog 2023-2024

• Communication Studies

Maria Elena Villar, PhD Chair 617.373.5517 [email protected]

Craig Robertson, PhD Associate Chair 617.373.5517 [email protected]

The Department of Communication Studies is committed to providing students with both the communication skills and the understanding of the communication process required to thrive in a complex and changing society. Majors are required to demonstrate a mastery of the fundamentals of effective communication, to learn the fundamentals of communication theory and practice, and to develop a distinct area of emphasis. Some of the more popular areas include argumentation and advocacy, organizational and health communication, international and intercultural communication, digital communication and social media, and media production. The curriculum is designed to enhance the understanding of human communication in a variety of contexts, to empower students to become informed and engaged citizens, and to provide the knowledge and skills required to live a rich personal and professional life.

• Media and Screen Studies

Maria Elena Villar, PhD Chair 617.373.5517 [email protected]

Craig Robertson, PhD Associate Chair 617.373.5517 [email protected]

Media and screen studies educates students in the analysis and production of media. Taught from a liberal arts perspective, a MSCR degree seeks to give students the ability to think critically about the continually changing media industry and the complex world in which it exists and to apply that knowledge to media production. MSCR is a challenging degree that is not limited to what is traditionally offered at a film school or in a visual and performing arts degree.It gives students the tools to become engaged citizens equipped to meet the challenges of living in a global culture defined by technological and social change.

The Bachelor of Arts in Media and Screen Studies offers courses in analysis and practice. Required courses offer students an opportunity to obtain the critical thinking skills necessary to better understand media content, media technology, and media production. Students then decide how many production and analysis courses they want to take. Choosing from a broad range of electives, students can take more than half their major in media and film production courses, can take a majority of courses that critically examine media content and technology, or can combine courses in other ways.

Students may also enroll in one of the preexistent MSCR combined majors: communication studies, English, journalism, political science, sociology, and theatre.

Academic Progression Standards

Departmental probation will result from a cumulative grade-point average below 2.000. No more than two grades below a C in MSCR courses can be used to fulfill degree requirements. Dismissal from the major may occur as a result of two consecutive semesters on departmental probation.

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

• Communication Studies and Graphic and Information Design
• Communication and Media Studies
• Communication Studies and Sociology
• Communication Studies and Theatre
• English and Communication Studies
• Human Services and Communication Studies
• Journalism and Communication Studies
• Linguistics and Communication Studies
• Political Science and Communication Studies
• Public Health and Communication Studies
• Africana Studies and Media and Screen Studies
• Media and Screen Studies and English
• Media and Screen Studies and History
• Media and Screen Studies and Journalism
• Media and Screen Studies and Media Arts
• Media and Screen Studies and Philosophy
• Media and Screen Studies and Political Science
• Media and Screen Studies and Sociology
• Media and Screen Studies and Theatre
• Media Arts and Communication Studies

Bachelor of Science (BS)

• Business Administration and Communication Studies
• Communication Studies and Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
• Computer Science and Communication Studies
• Health Science and Communication Studies
• Music and Communication Studies with Concentration in Music Industry
• Argumentation and Law
• Cinema Studies
• Digital Communication
• Film Production
• Film Studies
• Human Communication 
• Improvisation and Storytelling
• Media Production
• Oratory and Public Speaking
• Political Communication
• Social Activism
• Sports, Media, and Communication

Communication Studies courses

Media and screen studies courses.

COMM 1000. Communication Studies at Northeastern. (1 Hour)

Designed to provide a unique opportunity to engage faculty, professional staff, and peer mentors in small group discussions. Introduces students to the College of Arts, Media and Design. Offers students an opportunity to learn about the communication studies major and to explore the different areas of emphasis offered by the department. As part of the course, students are expected to prepare a detailed plan of study and are introduced to the co-op program and meet their academic co-op advisor.

COMM 1101. Introduction to Communication Studies. (4 Hours)

Surveys the field of communication studies. Covers major theories and methodological approaches in communication studies and situates communication within larger social, political, and economic institutions. Exposes students to ways of ethical reasoning across communication contexts, including organizational communication, social media, intercultural communication, mass media, and interpersonal communication.

Attribute(s): NUpath Ethical Reasoning, NUpath Societies/Institutions

COMM 1112. Public Speaking. (4 Hours)

Develops skills in public communication. Topics include choosing and researching a topic, organizing and delivering a speech, handling speech anxiety, listening critically, and adapting language to an audience. Offers the opportunity for students to present a series of speeches and receive advice and criticism from an audience.

Attribute(s): NUpath Creative Express/Innov

COMM 1113. Business and Professional Speaking. (4 Hours)

Designed to assist students in developing advanced public speaking and presentational skills for professional and leadership positions. Covers fundamentals such as audience, speech objectives and structure, and effective delivery. Emphasizes the production and successful interaction with electronic and traditional supportive media. Offers students an opportunity to develop their presentational skills in a variety of settings and realistic business tasks.

COMM 1120. Principles of Argumentation. (4 Hours)

Considers how the theories and techniques of argumentation can be used to understand and promote differing points of view, explore ideas and alternatives, and convince others of the need to change or act. Starts with the principles of formal logic and introduces students to truth tables and diagramming techniques. Continues to discuss informal logic and modern argumentation theory, including argumentative reconstruction, argument structures, argument schemes and critical questions, as well as informal fallacies. Concludes with a discussion of the effective use of reasoning in society from a logical, dialectical, and rhetorical point of view.

Attribute(s): NUpath Formal/Quant Reasoning

COMM 1125. Science, Communication, and Society. (4 Hours)

Introduces the major areas of research analyzing the role of communication and the media in shaping debates over science, technology, and the environment. Focuses on what U.S. National Academies calls the “science of science communication” to offer students an opportunity to acquire the knowledge necessary to assess the interplay between science, engineering, and society, including the implications for strategic communication, public engagement, personal decisions, and career choices. Examines the scientific, social, and communication dimensions of debates over climate change, evolution, human genetic engineering, childhood vaccination, food biotechnology, and other case studies. Covers how to find, discuss, evaluate, and use expert sources of information; to formulate research questions and expectations; to think effectively about professional situations and choices; and to write evidence-based, persuasive papers and essays.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

COMM 1131. Sex, Relationships, and Communication. (4 Hours)

Focuses on communication within the context of close relationships. Topics covered include the role of communication in interpersonal attraction, relationship development, relationship maintenance, and relationship dissolution. Examines how communication impacts relationship quality and commitment. Offers students an opportunity to apply what they learn in the course to their personal and professional lives.

COMM 1210. Persuasion and Rhetoric. (4 Hours)

Seeks to teach students to be more astute receivers and producers of persuasive messages by learning how to dissect them. Examines both classical and contemporary theories of persuasion, after which students consider “persuasion in action”—how persuasion is used in everyday language, nonverbal communication, sales techniques, politics, and propaganda. Ethical issues in persuasion are addressed throughout the course.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture

COMM 1225. Communication Theory. (4 Hours)

Explores communicative and cultural practice from a wide variety of theoretical perspectives. Considers a wide range of cultural practices, texts, and artifacts, including popular culture (television shows, movies, and video games); social media and online content; as well as organizational communication (press releases) and interpersonal interactions (conversations between romantic partners). Communication theory is based on two premises: Our cultural assumptions inform and shape our ability to communicate; and communication is the process through which culture is created, modified, and challenged.

COMM 1231. Principles of Organizational Communication. (4 Hours)

Surveys the communication process in complex organizations. Topics include the evolution of organizational communication, communication networks, information management, and communication climate. Analyzes case studies and teaches how to improve the quality of communication in an organization.

COMM 1255. Communication in a Digital Age. (4 Hours)

Covers digital communication’s history, technical basis (“protocol” and the “Web” ), communicative effects, commercial applications, culture, and societal interactions. Digital communication is central to contemporary life and is (consequently) often taken for granted, which this course seeks to remedy. Applies practical skills relative to theories about collaboration and cultural production and engagement with and analyses of online cultures. Offers students an opportunity to become effective online communicators—using practical exercises such as email filtering, online collaboration, and writing in a Web markup format—and to make use of critical thinking to understand and engage with issues such as online privacy, gender and racial bias, and marketplace credibility and fraud.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions

COMM 1331. Legal Argumentation, Advocacy, and Citizenship. (4 Hours)

Seeks to train students in effective civic engagement by studying legal argumentation, while preparing students for careers in which persuasive skills are critical to success. Offers students an opportunity to study historical documents to understand the processes of argumentation and to develop arguments by performing detailed research about contemporary issues.

Attribute(s): NUpath Ethical Reasoning, NUpath Interpreting Culture

COMM 1412. Social Movement Communication. (4 Hours)

Examines the communication strategies (including rhetorical messaging, public advocacy, grassroots organizing, fund-raising, and media outreach) of historical and contemporary social movement and activist organizations. Social movements considered may include immigration protests, AIDS activism, environmental advocacy, disability movements, racial justice, and feminism.

COMM 1450. Sound Production for Digital Media. (4 Hours)

Designed to prepare students to work with audio in modern media settings. Introduces the process of planning, preparing, producing, and evaluating audio production styles and techniques. Through a series of discussions, screenings, homework, and in-class exercises, offers students an opportunity to gain the skills needed to produce successful audio recordings. Exposes students to the elements and terminology of audio production as they record, mix, and produce their own original projects.

COMM 1511. Communication and Storytelling. (4 Hours)

Engages students in the discovery of varied and culturally diverse texts in the literary genres of poetry, prose, and drama. Students focus on analyzing an author’s meaning and communicating that meaning to an audience through interpretive performance.

COMM 1600. Communication Ethics. (4 Hours)

Focuses on ethical principles, issues, and dilemmas in communication. Covers professional codes as well as personal, interpersonal, small group, organizational, and societal factors affecting ethical mediated communication. Designed to stimulate the moral imagination, reveal ethical issues inherent in communication, and provide resources for making and defending choices on ethical grounds.

Attribute(s): NUpath Ethical Reasoning

COMM 1990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

COMM 2100. Elements of Debate. (4 Hours)

Introduces the principles and skills of effective argument. Topics include the process of advocacy, how to develop an argument through reasoning, the psychology of argument, and motivational techniques of argumentation. Combines theory and practice in argument through individual presentations and team debates.

COMM 2105. Social Networks. (4 Hours)

Applies network science theories and methods to understand the connectivity and complexity in the world around us on different scales, ranging from small groups to whole societies. Applies network theories, data collection methods, and visual-analytic analyses to map, measure, understand, and influence a wide range of online and offline social phenomena, including friendships and romantic relationships, professional networks, social media, social influence and marketing, diffusion and viral media, recommender systems, and collective action. Offers students an opportunity to learn to use computational tools to gather and analyze network data, derive data-supported insights, and develop effective network interventions.

Attribute(s): NUpath Analyzing/Using Data, NUpath Natural/Designed World

COMM 2110. Sports, Media, and Communication. (4 Hours)

Addresses the interdependent links between sports and communication. Sports communication is an emerging area within communication studies and journalism programs. Examines the symbiotic relationship between sports and media, as well as how communication affects team culture, player-coach dynamics, crises in sport, race and gender issues, international relationships, and fandom. Requires students to analyze cases and address both pragmatic and ethical factors related to these cases.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Ethical Reasoning

COMM 2131. Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to learn about some of the communicative challenges people face in starting, maintaining, and terminating close relationships. The “dark side” is a metaphor used to describe areas of interpersonal and relational communication that are underexplored or “lying in the shadows”; destructive or dysfunctional; and/or poorly understood or often misinterpreted. The dark side perspective acknowledges that while relationships are often a source of joy and satisfaction, they can also elicit feelings of uncertainty, frustration, and pain. Studies the ways in which communication can influence (and possibly resolve) turmoil in close relationships.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity

COMM 2135. Sex and Interpersonal Communication. (4 Hours)

Explores communication theories and concepts as they relate to the interpersonal study of sex, sexuality, and romance. Offers students an opportunity to understand and articulate individual values, assumptions, and paradigms regarding sexuality and how these fit into current research and theory (as demonstrated through in-class discussions, activities, and the opinion paper assignment). Considers how competing communication perspectives can be contrasted, compared, and/or synthesized for a stronger literacy related to sex, sexuality, and sexual identities in an effort to procure an understanding of how communication research and theory can be utilized in academic, personal, and professional settings. Also focuses on sexual health.

COMM 2200. Visual Communication. (4 Hours)

Analyzes the ways that visual materials impact our daily lives using readings, examples, and discussion. Visual material floods our daily lives, whether we are actively consuming it or it is thrust upon us. As consumers of these images, and especially as communication scholars, we need to think critically about these visual materials and how they shape our perceptions of ourselves and the world around us. Focuses on several methods for critically researching visuals and applies these methods to examine and discuss several kinds of visuals, including photography, film/television, advertisements, arts, and urban spaces. Designed to improve students' critical understanding of the visual, in its various forms, for communication.

COMM 2300. Risk Communication. (4 Hours)

Offers a broad overview of the psychological, social, and communication processes involved in risk perception to better understand how communication influences the way we think about and respond to risk. Cigarette pack warnings, weather advisories, nutrition labels, and town hall meetings are among the many examples of risk communication in daily life. We live in a modern "risk society"—preoccupied with assessing, debating, preventing, and managing potential hazards to our health and safety. Offers students an opportunity to learn how these processes inform the development of effective risk-communication strategies, including institutional risk assessment, stakeholder participation, and formal messaging. Designed to help students both construct and critique risk-communication techniques in the context of contemporary social issues (e.g., texting and driving, pollution, terrorism).

COMM 2301. Communication Research Methods. (4 Hours)

Offers an overview of the concepts, methods, tools, and ethics of communication research. Introduces students to the basic statistical concepts used by communication researchers. Designed to help students become knowledgeable consumers and limited producers of communication research. Offers students an opportunity to learn to read, interpret, and critically evaluate research reports. Exposes students to basic social science concepts and research designs and the fundamentals of conducting and analyzing research using surveys, experiments, and content analyses. Students conduct their own empirical research study as a final project, which entails research design, data collection, data analysis, and a written presentation.

Attribute(s): NUpath Analyzing/Using Data

COMM 2303. Global and Intercultural Communication. (4 Hours)

Focuses on theories of and approaches to the study of intercultural communication. Emphasizes the importance of being able to negotiate cultural differences and of understanding intercultural contact in societies and institutions. Stresses the benefits and complexities of cultural diversity in global, local, and organizational contexts.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

COMM 2304. Communication and Gender. (4 Hours)

Presents a theoretical and practical examination of the ways in which communication is gendered in a variety of contexts. Integrates into this analysis how different institutions and interpersonal situations affect our understanding of gender roles. COMM 2304 and WMNS 2304 are cross-listed.

COMM 2350. Producing for the Entertainment Industry. (4 Hours)

Investigates the role of the producer in the production of content for traditional and new media venues. Explores a variety of distribution systems, including online channels, mobile video, terrestrial/satellite radio, documentary film, and independent films, among other platforms. Examines the producer’s role in story conceptualization, budget planning, preproduction, and marketing. Through a series of discussions, screenings, homework writing assignments, and in-class writing workshops, offers students an opportunity to gain the skills to produce commercially viable content.

COMM 2451. Sports Broadcasting. (4 Hours)

Develops and refines skills in the art of sportscasting. Students are given an historical perspective and a state-of-the-art analysis. Emphasis is on practical development of skills and evaluation of talent and potential. Areas of study include play-by-play announcing, interviewing, reporting, writing, and anchoring.

COMM 2500. Analyzing Conversations in Everyday Life. (4 Hours)

Considers aspects of talk, such as turn taking, sequence organization, and repair for handling breakdowns, in speaking or understanding. Studies the full range of things people do, such as making requests, blaming others, apologizing, complaining, etc. Having conversations with others is among the things that humans do most. Since talk is a locus of sociality and a site for examining language in use, offers students an opportunity to learn how to make discoveries about the orderliness of social life. By the end of the course, successful students recognize what people are doing with their talk, how to identify communication breakdowns, and learn methods for increasing communication efficiency in everyday and organizational encounters.

COMM 2501. Communication Law. (4 Hours)

Introduces the fundamental principles of communication law and ethics. Explores the complex interplay between law (the First Amendment) and ethics (personal and professional responsibilities). Topics covered include blasphemy, commercial speech, copyright, defamation, fighting words, free press/fair trial, hate speech, heresy, incitement, obscenity, political speech, pornography, prior restraint, public forums, special settings (such as schools, prisons, and the military), symbolic speech, threats, and time-place-manner restrictions. Emphasizes ethical issues involving privacy, accuracy, property, and accessibility. The transcendent question in communication law and ethics is whether it is right to exercise the rights granted communication professionals under the First Amendment.

COMM 2510. Social Media Analytics. (4 Hours)

Introduces concepts and professional best practices in social media analytics. Offers hands-on instruction in analytic techniques for Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms, including experiments and observational analyses.

COMM 2534. Group Communication. (4 Hours)

Covers small group decision-making processes, problem solving, and the interpersonal dynamics of groups. Offers students an opportunity to study and increase their level of proficiency in group interaction and to develop skills in working with and in a variety of small groups. Topics include communication dynamics, systems thinking, dialogue, conflict management, leadership, power, and teams within different institutions, including government, higher education, and corporate America.

COMM 2535. Family Communication. (4 Hours)

Focuses on the fundamental role that communication plays in family life. Family relationships are some of the most important and influential relationships in which people are involved. Examines the changing and complex definition of family, and explores family interaction from a variety of theoretical perspectives. Emphasizes families of color, families with LGBTQ members, and solo parent families. Covers family systems and communication patterns; family rituals; power, conflict, and stress in families; relationship maintenance in families; and the role of family communication in health.

COMM 2550. Television Field Production. (4 Hours)

Offers advanced training in video production techniques, emphasizing remote location shooting. Includes location scouting, production budgets, writing techniques, equipment location, postproduction editing, and content analysis. Covers the fundamentals of single-camera field production and the nonlinear editing process. Offers students an opportunity to work in teams to produce and direct television using remote video equipment.

COMM 2551. Free Speech in Cyberspace. (4 Hours)

Examines the intersection of law, policy, and new (or relatively new) information and communication technologies. New technologies offer the possibility of new forms of creativity, political engagement, and social life; they also, however, offer very real opportunities to cause serious reputational harm, promote damaging malicious speech, create new controls on creativity, and violate privacy. Uses readings and in-class activities to consider how values and principles that have historically been deemed important apply to the world of new information and communication technologies. Examines how law and policy shape the development and use of new technologies and, at the same time, investigates how new technologies challenge, undermine, and reconfigure existing law and policy.

COMM 2555. Games for Change. (4 Hours)

Offers students sound introduction to the psychological and behavioral theories of entertainment media with the goal of implementing these theories to the future design and evaluation of games for change. Focuses more on the psychological, behavioral, and social aspects of video games than on pure technical aspects. Organized around a collection of selected readings and real-world games and discussions. The final project is based on reflective thinking, critical evaluation, and creative application. COMM 2555 and GAME 2555 are cross-listed.

COMM 2625. Communication, Technology, and Society. (4 Hours)

Surveys core concepts, histories, and controversies in the design, use, and critical study of communication technologies that both shape and are shaped by social relationships and social institutions (such as work, education, religion, and the family). Offers students an opportunity to learn about different definitions of communication, technology, and society; examine the values and assumptions of social actors who build communication technologies across various cultures and countries; and gain insights into how communication technologies are interpreted, resisted, and remade through ever-shifting institutional and interpersonal social dynamics. Through canonical works and contemporary case studies, students examine communication, technology, and society in the context of relationships, design, identity, mobility, value, labor, ethics, community, and belonging.

COMM 2650. The Business of Entertainment. (4 Hours)

Examines business issues associated with the entertainment industry. One dozen award-winning media industry guest speakers deliver lectures on the vital topics reshaping the entertainment landscape. Through lectures and case studies, introduces students to financing contracts, intellectual property issues, licensing, product placement, marketing and publicity, ratings, the impact of piracy, understanding and leveraging new technologies, and distribution. Offers students an opportunity to master these concepts by organizing into teams and developing an original entertainment industry business product or services. Requires each team to develop a formal business plan that includes a market analysis, a budget, and a marketing plan.

COMM 2655. Television Studio Production. (4 Hours)

Introduces the process of planning, preparing, producing, and evaluating studio productions. Exposes students to the elements and terminology of studio production using multiple cameras, live switching, audio mixing, and studio lighting. Through a series of discussions, screenings, homework, and in-class exercises, offers students an opportunity to obtain skills in the basics of directing creative and technical talent and the skills needed to produce successful television studio productions.

COMM 2700. Sports Promotion in the 21st Century. (4 Hours)

Develops frameworks and conceptual tools for understanding the world of sports marketing and promotion in an increasingly global and interconnected world. Drawing on examples from domestic and international sports promotional campaigns and academic literature, explores the promotion of sports at the professional, collegiate, and special event level. Focuses on the role marketing plays in attracting fans and sponsors and communicating effectively with the public. Emphasizes quantitative and qualitative approaches to research as part of a comprehensive approach to the development of an on-campus sports promotional campaign. Covers brand marketing and positioning, sports marketing research, event sponsorship and promotion, social media, public relations and community outreach, and controversial issues in sports.

COMM 2725. Popular Communication. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to engage with a specific genre, using historical and critical methods, to better understand this reciprocal relationship between a people and their moment. Successful completion of this course enables one to recall, compare, and give examples of key concepts and theories in popular communication; understand how the popular shapes and is shaped by its people; understand the historical context of a popular genre; critically analyze a genre with respect to social, economic, and political values and events; and demonstrate proficiency in communicating one's analyses. Genres of popular communication—be they self-help books, speculative fiction, or fashion blogs—reflect the aspirations and fears of a people at their moment in history. Simultaneously, popular communication shapes people’s sense of identity, purpose, and worth.

COMM 2750. Beyond Television. (4 Hours)

Designed to teach students how to conceive, pitch, write an outline, and complete a script for a cutting-edge half-hour comedy pilot or drama that might appear on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and other emerging, nonlinear networks. Emphasizes the differences and similarities between writing content for streaming vs. broadcasting. Culminates in a final project, in which small groups of students complete an episodic show that will be judged by a panel of professional television writers. Course objectives are achieved through reading professional scripts, critically viewing television content, and participating in group writing assignments and “table reads.” .

COMM 2800. Sport and Spectacle. (4 Hours)

Introduces students to the lens of performance studies, the world of sports, and the intersection of the two in the field of communication studies. Addresses performance as a cultural and communicative process that enables us to constitute our identities and our lives. Explores how our lives and identities are performed in space and time, while applying those same concepts to athletes and athletic competition. Offers students an opportunity to understand key concepts in performance studies such as ritual, play, performativity, performing, and performance processes.

COMM 2900. Sports, Politics, and Communication. (4 Hours)

Critiques historical and current examples of the intersection of sport and politics and applies relevant communication theory in written reviews of these events, how those events were covered by the media, and their societal impact domestically and globally. Topics include the influence of sport on political protest; gender, racial, and labor issues; and current marketing practices. Offers students an opportunity to develop frameworks and conceptual tools for understanding the intersection of sport and politics through the lens of communication studies.

COMM 2912. Special Topics in Communication Studies. (4 Hours)

Offers a special topics course in communication studies. Course content may vary from term to term. May be repeated once.

COMM 2990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

COMM 2991. Research in Communication Studies. (1-4 Hours)

Offers an opportunity to conduct introductory-level research or creative endeavors under faculty supervision.

COMM 3200. Mobile Communication. (4 Hours)

Introduces students to the landscape of mobile communication technologies. Takes a broad view of what “mobile,” “communication,” and “technology” mean in the past, present, and future, encompassing a range of digital and nondigital objects as well as technological and communicative practices. Covers core concepts and theories in mobile communication, focusing on the impact that mobile hardware and software have on society, culture, and politics.

Prerequisite(s): ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions, NUpath Writing Intensive

COMM 3201. Health Communication. (4 Hours)

Explores various topics as they relate to health communication including interpersonal aspects, cultural issues, and political complexities of health. Subject matter includes patient-provider communication, organizational systems, advertising in the health industry, and the role of media in the formation of expectations about health and the use of media to promote social change.

Attribute(s): NUpath Writing Intensive

COMM 3230. Interpersonal Communication. (4 Hours)

Offers an overview of the theory and practice of interpersonal communication with the goal of developing the knowledge and skills to create dialogue in conversation, work through conflict, adapt to change, and establish/maintain relationships. Topics include definitions of the communication process, identity, self-disclosure, verbal and nonverbal language, listening, management of interpersonal conflict, and relational and dialogic communication.

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C

COMM 3304. Communication and Inclusion. (4 Hours)

Explores the relationships between communication, social identity, and social inclusion. Focuses on how communication shapes perceptions and positions of social identity categories and how individuals and groups resist and transform identity and promote inclusion through communication. Examines communication and inclusion in the contexts of gender, race, sexual identity, social class, ability, and age. Course topics cover a range of theoretical and practical issues, including diversity in organizational settings and the social construction of identity. COMM 3304 and WMNS 3304 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Writing Intensive

COMM 3306. International Communication Abroad. (4 Hours)

Applies communication theory and practice to a wide range of documents, artifacts, museums, and landmarks. Available to students participating in a Dialogue of Civilizations sponsored by the Department of Communication Studies. Content is adapted by the faculty depending on the location of the class. For example, students may study the classical foundations of communication and contemporary political discourse in Athens or British history and documentary film production in London. Often includes meetings with foreign professors, government officials, community organizers, and local artists that have shaped their own country in unique and innovative ways. May be repeated without limit.

COMM 3307. Production Practicum Abroad. (4 Hours)

Combines the process of filmmaking with exploring Britain’s multicultural society, offering students an opportunity to obtain firsthand experience to develop a deeper, more complex understanding of the culture, particularly as it is evident in London. Covers all aspects of field production from the preproduction process of intensive research and development of story ideas to the technical aspects of filming, lighting, sound recording, digital editing, and graphics. Students work with remote video equipment that includes HD cameras, audio, and remote editing equipment. Taught in London.

COMM 3308. Rhetoric and Propaganda. (4 Hours)

Explores key sites and aspects of Nazi propaganda and the rhetorical techniques they employed. Metaphorically and literally, the class takes the trip from Vienna (Hitler’s formative years) via Munich (the site of much of Hitler’s early struggle for power), to Berlin (the former Nazi capital). Offers students an opportunity to study and analyze artifacts (speeches, posters, films, objects) from the late Habsburg and entire Nazi period and critically assess them through the lenses of Burkean rhetoric and postwar propaganda theory.

COMM 3309. Rhetoric of Fascism. (4 Hours)

Studies one of the key techniques of the fascist movements of the 20th century, rhetoric, in all of its facets: from propaganda leaflets, organized rallies, and prepared speeches, to objects of visual and multimodal rhetoric. Students visit some of the key sites of fascist rhetoric—and the rhetoric against fascism. These include Nuremberg (the site of the Nazi Party rallies and Leni Riefenstahl’s infamous “Triumph of the Will”), Berlin (Hitler’s Germania and Riefenstahl’s “Olympia"), and Wannsee (the site of the Wannsee conference). Confronts students with some of the catastrophic results of fascist rhetoric and politics (the Krakow Ghetto and Auschwitz concentration camp).

COMM 3310. Rhetoric and Justice. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to visit the key sites of human rights and ethical reasoning and to learn how minorities continue to fight for justice and recognition (Heidelberg), how human rights violations of states against individuals are fought in court and through diplomacy (Strasbourg), and how the Geneva Conventions are continuously challenged through actions in war and rhetoric at home (Geneva). Studies in detail the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. Seeks to take the UDHR articles as a starting point to help students to creatively develop their own critical stance to aspects of the human rights declaration that might be problematic or missing.

COMM 3311. Arguing Human Rights. (4 Hours)

Addresses central questions of human rights communication.The establishment and recognition of basic, universal human rights lead to a number of fascinating and important communicative problems. Students visit the two key locations connected to human rights communication: The Hague (home of the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) and Brussels (the unofficial European capital). Offers students an opportunity to study landmark cases and trials, critically test their reasoning, present talks on the fundamental principles of the rule of law, and deliver accusations and defenses in some of the landmark cases of the international criminal tribunals.

COMM 3320. Political Communication. (4 Hours)

Reviews the construction and influence of rhetoric in political campaigns, particularly contemporary presidential campaigns. Also studies the impact of mass communication on the outcome of elections. Offers students an opportunity to analyze artifacts from recent political campaigns such as stump speeches, campaign debates, campaign advertising, and formal campaign speeches such as nomination acceptance addresses, concession and victory speeches, and inaugural addresses.

COMM 3330. Argumentation Theory. (4 Hours)

Studies the conditions of successful and valid human reasoning as manifested in its products (arguments) and procedures (debates and critical discussions). The first half of the course explores the ethical and structural fundamentals of argumentation, including its main theorems regarding argument schemes and critical questions, argument structures and reconstruction, and fallacies and felicity conditions of valid reasoning. The second half engages contemporary trends in argumentation studies, including the formalization of arguments and its diagramming for artificial intelligence, the contextualization in different societal domains (politics, health, private and public discourse), and the translation of argument theory into pedagogical practice.

Attribute(s): NUpath Ethical Reasoning, NUpath Formal/Quant Reasoning, NUpath Writing Intensive

COMM 3409. Advocacy Writing. (4 Hours)

Offers an Advanced Writing in the Disciplines (AWD) course. Dedicated to teaching students to write scholarly arguments in the discipline of public advocacy and rhetoric and to translate that work for a general audience. Features both an academic approach to writing in the field of rhetoric and a practical approach to writing persuasively for general audiences.

Prerequisite(s): (ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C ); ( COMM 1210 with a minimum grade of D- or COMM 1225 with a minimum grade of D- or COMM 1231 with a minimum grade of D- or COMM 1255 with a minimum grade of D- or COMM 1310 with a minimum grade of D- or COMM 1331 with a minimum grade of D- or COMM 1412 with a minimum grade of D- )

COMM 3415. Communication Criticism. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to deepen their abilities to think critically about texts in a variety of forms such as orations, advertisements, music, and art. Studies methods that may range from close textual analysis to deconstruction to theories of performance. Students are required to write a lengthy research paper that carefully analyzes a rhetorical object.

COMM 3445. Public Relations Principles. (4 Hours)

Presents the principles, history, and methods of public relations; processes of influencing public opinion; responsibilities of the public relations practitioner; and analyses of public relations programs. Through case studies and class discussions, offers students an opportunity to confront real-life ethical dilemmas and learn to apply ethical frameworks to evaluate and resolve them. COMM 3445 and JRNL 3425 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Ethical Reasoning, NUpath Writing Intensive

COMM 3450. Voice-Over Artist. (4 Hours)

Introduces voice-over acting techniques for TV commercials, radio, multimedia, and various styles of presentation for both audio and video projects. Offers students an opportunity to uncover and develop their vocal range as narrator, announcer, character, and spokesperson with effectiveness and emotional authenticity. Covers both the “business” and the technical aspects of being a voice talent. Includes the use of microphones, headphones, and recording equipment while in our audio lab. Studies the essentials of vocal techniques, studio etiquette, and working with direction during a studio session.

COMM 3451. Advertising Practices. (4 Hours)

Examines the development, procedures, economic functions, and responsibilities of advertising. Explores planning, research, production, and other elements that go into successful advertising. Covers the preparation of advertising for print and broadcast media, including campaign planning, space and time buying, and scheduling.

COMM 3500. Environmental Issues, Communication, and the Media. (4 Hours)

Analyzes major debates over the environment, climate change, and related technologies such as nuclear energy, wind power, natural gas “fracking,” and food biotechnology. Studies the relevant scientific, political, and ethical dimensions of each case; the generalizable theories, frameworks, and methods that scholars use to analyze them; and the implications for effective public communication, policymaker engagement, and personal decision making. Offers students an opportunity to gain an integrated understanding of their different roles as professionals, advocates, and consumers and to improve their ability to find and use expert sources of information; assess competing media claims and narratives; write persuasive essays, analyses, and commentaries; and author evidence-based research papers.

COMM 3501. Free Speech: Law and Practice. (4 Hours)

Provides students with an opportunity to better understand freedom and limits to freedom, particularly in the realm of speech and expression. Materials covered range from the philosophy of freedom to historical legal cases about free speech and the press to political correctness and the repression of dissent.

COMM 3505. Rhetoric of Public Memory. (4 Hours)

Analyzes the specific ways in which the concepts of power and memory have been deployed and challenged through various rhetorical texts—including museums, memorials, monuments, commemorations, reenactments, film, television, theater, art, photography, music, and internet sites, among others. "Memory" has become a central concept for analyzing problems of historical representation and identities. As representations of the past have been/are used as instruments of power, it is important to study the ways in which various communicative practices and institutions are implicated in the construction, representation, negotiation, and revision of public memory.

COMM 3530. Communication and Sexualities. (4 Hours)

Analyzes the ways in which sexualities intersect with issues relating to interpersonal communication, mediated communication, popular culture, identity, and social movements. Discusses outing, media representations, queer identity development, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Covers theoretical perspectives from communication and other social science disciplines, gender and sexuality studies, and cultural studies. Students work with a variety of materials, contemporary and historical, theoretical and empirical, fiction and nonfiction. Offers students an opportunity to design, conduct, and write their own original empirical research paper relating to sexualities and communication using class content as a theoretical framework.

COMM 3532. Theories of Conflict and Negotiation. (4 Hours)

Explores both theories of conflict and potential strategies for more effectively managing conflict in a variety of contexts, that is, interpersonal relationships, organizational settings, and broader societal contexts. Offers students the opportunity to participate in the process of conflict assessment and to explore various negotiation strategies as well as discuss the role of forgiveness in conflict situations.

COMM 3615. #Black Twitter and Black Digital Culture. (4 Hours)

Uses social and digital media to examine questions about contemporary topics and the histories that contribute to them. Black Twitter stands as a point of entry for this course as we address questions about culture and communication, applying what we learn to better understand the dynamics of race, media, and power in the internet age. Offers students an opportunity to develop their own media products to put their learning into real-world context.

COMM 3625. Public Relations Practice. (4 Hours)

Demonstrates practices and techniques employed in the field including organization of events and functions. Studies campaign planning, research, and media relationships.

Prerequisite(s): JRNL 3425 with a minimum grade of D-

COMM 3655. Digital Editing for TV. (4 Hours)

Addresses the changes in editing practices through digitization and offers students advanced training in nonlinear editing utilizing Avid Media Composer. Introduces the terms and concepts of nonlinear editing as well as the technical/creative aspects of postproduction. Students are expected to have a working knowledge of digital video equipment and Macintosh computer skills.

COMM 3750. Special Effects and Postproduction for Television. (4 Hours)

Explores a variety of approaches to making special effects for film, video, and the World Wide Web. Offers students an opportunity to utilize cutting-edge technology and to apply state-of-the-art techniques to design and produce innovative special effects. Explores historical, technical, and theoretical aspects of special effects. Topics covered include compositing, matte painting, multiplane animation, explosions, smoke, three-dimensional lighting, particle emitters, chroma keying, motion graphics, video tracking, and more.

COMM 3912. Special Topics in Communication Studies. (4 Hours)

COMM 3990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

COMM 4102. Health Communication Campaigns. (4 Hours)

Offers an in-depth look at how persuasive health campaigns are designed and executed. Discusses how campaigns are designed to intentionally influence awareness, knowledge gain, and attitude/behavior change. Offers students an opportunity to obtain skills to design and evaluate campaigns through the completion of their own campaign projects and to learn about visual and verbal arguments and the unique ethical and other considerations of health campaigns.

Prerequisite(s): COMM 2301 with a minimum grade of D-

Attribute(s): NUpath Analyzing/Using Data, NUpath Capstone Experience

COMM 4530. Communication and Quality of Life. (4 Hours)

Seeks to further develop an understanding of the function of communication in life and how that relates to quality of life. Examines the communicative experiences of organizations and relationships using both theoretical approaches and practical experience. Students participate in activities designed to develop knowledge and skills necessary to successfully analyze and address ethical and interpersonal communication issues. Offers students an opportunity to be able to reflect on and assess one’s own competence in communication and how one’s communication affects one’s quality of life and to respectfully consider the ethical complexities of quality-of-life issues in both organizational and interpersonal settings.

Attribute(s): NUpath Capstone Experience, NUpath Ethical Reasoning

COMM 4533. Consultation Skills. (4 Hours)

Introduces the theoretical frameworks necessary to engage in a broad range of consulting activities (management consulting or organizational training and development). By studying nonprofit organizations in the Boston area, offers students an opportunity to learn how to gather and analyze data, to use mathematical methods to perform critical analysis, and to evaluate and critique choices made in the presentation of data. Requires students to make a formal report to the organization and to write a paper reflecting on the organization and its mission in the context of broader social, political, and economic issues. Emphasizes ethical considerations involving security, privacy, and fairness.

Prerequisite(s): ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1101 with a minimum grade of C

COMM 4535. Nonverbal Social Interaction. (4 Hours)

Offers analytic insight on methods people use to communicate different types of social action through body language. Much of our communication is nonverbal, as it is through our body language that we initiate new relationships (both personal and professional) and communicate anger, frustration, happiness, and grief. Offers students an opportunity to develop an understanding of the tools needed to examine the role nonverbal behaviors (body orientation, gaze direction, gesture, laughter, etc.) have in conveying meaning and constructing and negotiating interpersonal relationships. This course incorporates materials from communication, psychology, anthropology, and sociology.

COMM 4602. Contemporary Rhetorical Theory. (4 Hours)

Exposes students to contemporary perspectives on rhetorical theory and its use in society. 'Contemporary' refers to the models and theorists from the second halves of the 20th and the 21st centuries. 'Rhetoric' refers to strategic communication employed to reach the persuasive goal of an agent. 'Theory' is used in the holistic sense as the interested observation and careful scrutiny of an object. As a capstone course, the course also provides a transition for students from the role of receptive learners to independent researchers who can identify, answer, and defend research questions at the intersection of rhetorical theory and its neighbors (theories of argumentation, humor, style, politeness, courtship, and the like).

Attribute(s): NUpath Capstone Experience, NUpath Interpreting Culture

COMM 4605. Youth and Communication Technology. (4 Hours)

Examines how meanings of “youth” and “communication technology” shift in relation to one another and to broader changes in society, culture, politics, and the economy over time. Analyzes how communication technologies (and the content they deliver) positively and negatively affect the social, emotional, and cognitive development of young people and how these changes are influenced by the particular family, school, community, and institutional contexts in which children grow up. Examines how young people differ individually across the life span as well as collectively by class, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexuality, and disability. Requires a final paper at the end of the term in which students articulate and defend positions about youth and communication technology.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions, NUpath Writing Intensive

COMM 4608. Strategic Communication Capstone. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity to complete a semester-long, intensive research and writing capstone project related to the field of strategic communication. Research topics can span business, politics, advocacy, entertainment, public health, the environment, and other societal sectors. Building on previous course work, students have an opportunity to gain a deeper scholarly and professional understanding of strategic communication; cultivate professional and academic contacts; and demonstrate mastery of relevant theoretical concepts, professional principles, research methods, and writing approaches. Encourages students to share and translate their findings for relevant academic and professional communities.

Attribute(s): NUpath Capstone Experience

COMM 4625. Online Communities. (4 Hours)

Considers online community dynamics, including formation, governance, conflict, and exit. Offers students an opportunity to understand and engage with online community and how this relates to topics such as human behavior, identity, and communication online. Reviews contemporary issues and concerns. Engages the question and practice of what it means to develop and maintain a successful online community.

COMM 4631. Crisis Communication and Image Management. (4 Hours)

Examines theories, models, and strategies related to crisis communication and establishes ethical principles regarding what, how, and when essential elements must be employed for effective and ethical crisis communication. Offers students an opportunity to learn how to distinguish between an incident and crisis; to analyze communication practices and methods applied during a crisis; to apply social scientific theory to explain how and why a crisis occurred; and to draw upon theory to develop effective crisis communication plans. Assesses responses to crises using ethical principles such as transparency, two-way symmetrical communication, and timing. Designed to prepare communication professionals who appreciate the need for responsible advocacy when responding to crises.

COMM 4755. Production Capstone. (4 Hours)

Offers advanced training in video production techniques, allowing students an opportunity to develop a deeper theoretical understanding of cohesive marketing strategies. Through case study assessments and hands-on exercises, explores the process of marketing video techniques from designing, building, and executing marketing ideas to evaluating effectiveness and exploring online corporate identities. Offers students an opportunity to hone their skills in all aspects of the production process by incorporating the knowledge they have acquired from previous production courses—from the preproduction process of intensive research and development of story ideas and scriptwriting; producing; to the technical aspects of filming, lighting, green screen, sound recording, digital editing, and graphics.

COMM 4901. Seminar in Communications. (4 Hours)

Integrates students’ experiences in cooperative education with classroom concepts and theories. Topics include integrative learning, the field of communication, pathways and careers in communication, and the professional communicator. Offers students the opportunity to demonstrate competency in communication skills such as oral reporting, conducting research in communication, and writing.

COMM 4970. Junior/Senior Honors Project 1. (1-4 Hours)

Focuses on in-depth project in which a student conducts research or produces a product related to the student’s major field. Combined with Junior/Senior Project 2 or college-defined equivalent for 8 credit honors project. May be repeated without limit.

COMM 4990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

COMM 4992. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

Offers independent work under the direction of members of the department on a chosen topic. Course content depends on instructor. May be repeated without limit.

Prerequisite(s): COMM 1101 with a minimum grade of D-

COMM 4994. Internship in Communication. (4 Hours)

Offers students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the communications industry. Further internship details are available in the department office. May be repeated without limit.

Attribute(s): NUpath Integration Experience

MSCR 1000. Media and Screen Studies at Northeastern. (1 Hour)

Intended for freshmen media and screen studies majors and combined majors. Introduces students to the liberal arts in general. Offers students an opportunity to become familiar with media and screen studies as a major discipline; to develop the academic skills necessary to succeed (analytical ability and critical thinking); to become grounded in the culture and values of the university community (including advising); and to develop interpersonal skills—in short, to become familiar with all the skills needed to become a successful university student.

MSCR 1100. Film 101. (4 Hours)

Focuses on the ways in which cinematic language and representations have developed since the late-nineteenth century, how representations of human difference vary in distinct cultural contexts, and how particular filmmakers and historical/national movements have challenged certain representations and ideologies. This range of representations and discourses includes blackface performance and other racist tropes, ethnographic studies of indigenous people as “exotic” curiosities, films noir that demonize independent women, postwar Italian neorealism’s revolutionary focus on the plight of the poor, films by and about marginalized ethnicities in the U.S. and the global south, banned films that highlight the condition of women in post-revolution Iran, and contemporary Hollywood’s treatment of homosexuality and masculinity.

MSCR 1150. TV 101. (4 Hours)

Provides an overview of television studies for nonmajors. Covers different ways to think about how to watch TV and the effect of changing technology and industry practices on television.

MSCR 1220. Media, Culture, and Society. (4 Hours)

Introduces the study of media, including print, radio, film, television, and digital/computer products. Explores the ideological, industrial, political, and social contexts that impact everyday engagements with media. To accomplish this, students examine how media products are developed, how technological changes impact the production and consumption of media, how political processes are influenced by media, how people interpret and interact with media content, and how media influence cultural practices and daily life.

MSCR 1230. Introduction to Film Production. (4 Hours)

Offers an introduction to production that blends theory and practice of film/video production through an examination of exemplary works, aesthetic strategies, production techniques, and the dynamic relationship between media makers, subjects, viewers, and technology. Offers students an opportunity to gain fundamental moving-image fluency using widely accessible media production tools including camcorders, mobile phones, and digital single-lens-reflex cameras.

Attribute(s): NUpath Creative Express/Innov, NUpath Interpreting Culture

MSCR 1320. Media and Social Change. (4 Hours)

Explores media’s role in movements for social, economic, and cultural change. Specifically examines how people use media technologies to organize themselves and communicate their message to wider audiences in order to achieve social change. As a way to develop and improve ethical reasoning, students are asked to think about the accountability of media institutions and actions of groups and individuals who use media technologies and tactics in the name of social change.

MSCR 1420. Media History. (4 Hours)

Examines the historical relationships between media, culture, and society with a focus on the role of media technologies as tools of communication. Emphasizes the broad social and cultural conditions that shape media and the ways in which people experience culture and understand meaning. Introduces the concept of mediation to analyze how different forms of communication have emerged in different historical moments. Critically examines past interactions between media and culture, and also examines the emergence of historically specific conceptions of audience, identity, content, industry, information, perception, and so forth.

MSCR 1990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

MSCR 2160. Narrative Filmmaking. (4 Hours)

Introduces narrative filmmaking without synch sound. Offers students an opportunity to create several short projects without dialogue. The successful student leaves the course with a portfolio of work, a basic knowledge of video cameras, and one editing software program (either Avid or Final Cut Pro). Focuses on storytelling through visuals.

MSCR 2220. Understanding Media. (4 Hours)

Designed to give students a foundation in the theories and methods of analysis in cultural and media studies. Positioned between the introductory MSCR classes and the higher-level theory classes. Offers students an opportunity to learn the how and why of media and cultural studies, focusing on the foundational assumptions, theories, and methods of the discipline.

Prerequisite(s): MSCR 1220 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of D-

MSCR 2300. Television: Text and Context. (4 Hours)

Introduces students to critical television studies. Topics include visual language (use of image, music, graphics, editing, and sound); narrative structure; and genre. Specific critical approaches include semiotics, narrative and genre analysis, feminist analysis, and ideological analysis of representation.

MSCR 2302. Advertising and Promotional Culture. (4 Hours)

Investigates advertising and promotional culture by closely studying its history, industry, and means of communication. Examines print, television and internet advertisements, and campaigns.

MSCR 2325. Global Media. (4 Hours)

Covers global dynamics of media and media systems. Specifically seeks to introduce students to the nuances of globalization and cultural performance through media structures. Introduces a wide variety of topics that fall in the intersection between globalization and media and the ways in which they operate socially and culturally. The course focuses broadly on understanding—in both theoretical and practical ways—how and why global media function as they do and how they contribute to knowledge formation and social justice within various cultural contexts.

MSCR 2330. Film Genres. (4 Hours)

Examines a number of foundational texts on genre analysis. Addresses how and why films are classified according to particular iconographies, tropes, and narrative structures and the ways in which audiences coalesce around and appropriate particular genres for building communities. Studies some of the most iconic of genres—the Western (the mythologized and preindustrial past), film noir (the present time of industrial and postindustrial capitalism and urbanization), and science fiction (the imagined future)—from their origins; through their classical period; and, ultimately, to generic revision, self-reflexivity, hybridity, and parody.

MSCR 2335. Race and Social Justice in American Film. (4 Hours)

Offers an in-depth analysis of and reflection upon films and how they influence our perceptions of race in the United States. Examines how race and its representation shapes the development, production, distribution, and marketing of American documentaries and dramas. Uses screenings, readings, lectures, discussions, and writing to explore the power of films to reflect and reinforce long-standing ideologies of race and analyze how traditionally underrepresented groups have historically shaped counter-narratives.

MSCR 2336. American Film and Culture. (4 Hours)

Surveys the rise of American film from the late nineteenth century to the present. Examines key films, directors, major themes, and film forms and techniques. Includes lectures, screenings, and discussions. Students who do not meet course prerequisites may seek permission of instructor.

MSCR 2400. Hip-Hop in and as Media. (4 Hours)

Explores hip-hop’s capacity to communicate particular images, ideals, and values that represent various social factions at different historical moments. Hip-hop has evolved significantly since its inception over 40 years ago in the South Bronx. Most often understood as a musical genre, hip-hop’s cultural complexity encompasses musical expression, art forms including dance and graffiti/graphic design, new terminology, innovative entrepreneurialism, and myriad other elements that continue to influence popular culture more widely. Analyzes issues of authenticity and genre; modes of representation in rap lyricism; representation via hip-hop literature, press, films, and videos; technologies, media production, and contexts of reception; issues of differences and dissonance across generations; the communication of spatiality through hip-hop; and hip-hop as a transnational/global conduit of meaning and affiliation.

MSCR 2505. Digital Feminisms. (4 Hours)

Explores the unique ways that feminist activism and theory are impacted by the increasing digital nature of our world. From hashtags to Tumblr, feminists are using digital tools and platforms to aid in the pursuit of social justice. Offers students an opportunity to develop a timeline that traces feminists’ engagement with the Internet, new media, and technological innovations from the late seventies to the present. Examines the strengths and challenges that the digital world creates for feminist engagement. MSCR 2505 and WMNS 2505 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Creative Express/Innov, NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Writing Intensive

MSCR 2895. Film Analysis. (4 Hours)

Introduces the ways in which films are produced, marketed, and distributed, along with the basic elements of film grammar, from shot construction to editing to sound. Offers students an opportunity to learn how film analysis is conducted, including an introduction to the study of film genre, film history, and film theory. Covers basic concepts regarding the relationship between film and culture, including national and regional identity; the relationship between a film “text” and the audience; and the relationship between film and other forms of cultural production such as art, literature, music, and theatre. Aims to provide a nuanced understanding of a variety of cinematic works as products of specific cultures, times, and places.

MSCR 2990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

MSCR 2991. Research in Media and Screen Studies. (1-4 Hours)

MSCR 3300. Media Activism. (4 Hours)

Explores media activism and tactical media as practices emerging at the intersection of political activism, the heritage of the twentieth-century avant-gardes, and technological innovation. By examining social movements media, avant-garde techniques, and critical media theories, offers students an opportunity to acquire the theoretical foundations necessary for a critical understanding of contemporary media activism and tactical media. Couples such historical examination with the review of a variety of contemporary tactical media interventions. Students who do not meet course prerequisites may seek permission of instructor.

Prerequisite(s): MSCR 1220 with a minimum grade of D-

MSCR 3389. Screenwriting. (4 Hours)

Approaches the unique narrative form of the dramatic short film, with the goal of having students produce a short film screenplay (under twenty minutes in length) which could eventually be shot. Takes students through the storytelling process, from conception to visualization, dramatization, characterization, and dialogue, ending in a project which should reflect the student’s own personal voice and unique vision. Offers students an opportunity to work on many writing exercises involving free association, visualizations, and character explorations, and to evaluate and critique each other’s work in a workshop setting.

MSCR 3390. Screenwriting: Feature Films. (4 Hours)

Features an array of screenwriting tools and techniques used in the process of developing ideas into screenplays for feature films. Offers instruction in writing highly effective scenes; building compelling and dimensional characters; crafting authentic dialogue; and a variety of methods to add texture, depth, and meaning to a story. Students develop an outline for a feature film that they refine through ongoing in-class workshops based on informed and supportive collaboration. The cumulative nature of the course encourages students to learn, practice, and demonstrate a wide range of foundational skills they can continue to build upon to finish their feature film screenplay and apply to any future screenplay ideas.

MSCR 3392. Gender and Film. (4 Hours)

Examines the representation of gender in film. Uses concepts and research from film and media studies to investigate the influences and consequences of gender representations in film. WMNS 3392 and MSCR 3392 are cross-listed.

MSCR 3420. Digital Media Culture. (4 Hours)

Investigates social and cultural dynamics emerging parallel to the spread of digital technologies, from the 1960s to the present. Analyzes the impact of technologies (such as computers, mobile phones, and video games) on media products and practices (such as remix culture, social media, and surveillance). Offers students an opportunity to develop the skills that are necessary to critically examine and write about digital media content and the technologies necessary for their consumption.

MSCR 3422. Media Audiences. (4 Hours)

Explores how mass media audiences interpret and actively use media messages and products as listeners, readers, and consumers. Examines the different stages of ethnographic research, audience meanings and interpretations, pleasure and fanship, the role of media in everyday life, and the use of ethnographic research methods in communication studies. Students who do not meet course prerequisites may seek permission of instructor.

Prerequisite(s): ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of D- or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of D- or ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of D- or ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of D-

MSCR 3437. Media and Identity. (4 Hours)

Examines representations of identity (race, gender, sexuality, and class) in the media, investigates their influences, and considers their repercussions. The class especially focuses on understanding identity as a construction, rather than as inherently “natural.” Broadly, we discuss the relationship between identity and media representations; more specifically, we look at cultural texts, sites, and practices where the existing racial categories mix, merge, and/or rub up against each other in ways that problematize the naturalness of essentialized identities. Students who do not meet course prerequisites may seek permission of instructor.

MSCR 3446. Documentary Production. (4 Hours)

Focuses on single-camera video production in service of crafting documentary stories. Offers students an opportunity to learn nonfiction storytelling by examining documentary history and theory as well as participating in screenings, workshops, and hands-on projects designed to prepare them to take an idea and develop it into a final five-to-seven-minute final documentary short. Requires supplemental technical assignments for students with no previous production experience.

MSCR 3600. Film Theory. (4 Hours)

Explores the movement from modernist concern with the art object to postmodern concerns with subjectivity and spectatorship, race, and gender. Requires a paper using formalist analysis and later revision using cultural analysis, psychoanalysis, philosophy of perception, race studies. Also offers students an opportunity to learn research methods in cinema studies and perform a metacritical review of their own work and to present their findings from film journals, databases, Web sites, blogs. Presents the relation of perception to reality; levels of representational realness; reception theory; digitalization in its relation to movement and meaning. Seeks to enable students to recognize structures and problems for analysis in a film and to apply appropriate theoretical models to analyze these structures.

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Writing Intensive

MSCR 3700. Queer Media. (4 Hours)

Examines queer representation within media, ranging from film and television to social networks and video games. Offers students an opportunity to read, present, and write about theories of difference from a diverse range of perspectives within the interdisciplinary fields of queer theory and media studies.

MSCR 3920. Topics in Film Studies. (4 Hours)

Focuses on a specific issue and topic in film studies. Course content varies from semester to semester.

MSCR 3990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

MSCR 4208. TV History. (4 Hours)

Explores U.S. network television in the “precable” era, which ranges from 1949 to the 1980s. Studies television programming through its historical, cultural, and industrial contexts. The media studies component of the class considers topics such as aesthetics, narrative, genre, and representation.

MSCR 4623. Media and Screen Studies Capstone. (4 Hours)

Focuses on key concepts and ideas from media and screen studies to prepare students to complete a final project in a format of the student’s choice: research paper, short narrative film, documentary, podcast, photo essay, or short film screenplay.

Prerequisite(s): MSCR 1220 with a minimum grade of D- or COMM 1220 with a minimum grade of D-

MSCR 4970. Junior/Senior Honors Project 1. (1-4 Hours)

MSCR 4990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

MSCR 4992. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

MSCR 4994. Internship. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity for internship work. May be repeated without limit.

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• Published: 22 April 2024

The design and evaluation of gamified online role-play as a telehealth training strategy in dental education: an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study

• Chayanid Teerawongpairoj 1 ,
• Chanita Tantipoj 1 &
• Kawin Sipiyaruk 2  

Scientific Reports volume  14 , Article number:  9216 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Health care
• Health services
• Public health

To evaluate user perceptions and educational impact of gamified online role-play in teledentistry as well as to construct a conceptual framework highlighting how to design this interactive learning strategy, this research employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Participants were requested to complete self-perceived assessments toward confidence and awareness in teledentistry before and after participating in a gamified online role-play. They were also asked to complete a satisfaction questionnaire and participate in an in-depth interview to investigate their learning experience. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and framework analysis. There were 18 participants who completed self-perceived assessments and satisfaction questionnaire, in which 12 of them participated in a semi-structured interview. There were statistically significant increases in self-perceived confidence and awareness after participating in the gamified online role-play ( P  < 0.001). In addition, the participants were likely to be satisfied with this learning strategy, where usefulness was perceived as the most positive aspect with a score of 4.44 out of 5, followed by ease of use (4.40) and enjoyment (4.03). The conceptual framework constructed from the qualitative findings has revealed five key elements in designing a gamified online role-play, including learner profile, learning settings, pedagogical components, interactive functions, and educational impact. The gamified online role-play has demonstrated its potential in improving self-perceived confidence and awareness in teledentistry. The conceptual framework developed in this research could be considered to design and implement a gamified online role-play in dental education. This research provides valuable evidence on the educational impact of gamified online role-play in teledentistry and how it could be designed and implemented in dental education. This information would be supportive for dental instructors or educators who are considering to implement teledentistry training in their practice.

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Introduction

Telehealth has gained significant attention from various organization due to its potential to improve healthcare quality and accessibility 1 . It can be supportive in several aspects in healthcare, including medical and nursing services, to enhance continuous monitoring and follow-up 2 . Its adoption has increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to provide convenient healthcare services 3 . Even though the COVID-19 outbreak has passed, many patients still perceive telehealth as an effective tool in reducing a number of visits and enhancing access to health care services 4 , 5 . This supports the use of telehealth in the post-COVID-19 era.

Teledentistry, a form of telehealth specific to dentistry, has been employed to improve access to dental services 6 . This system offers benefits ranging from online history taking, oral diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and interdisciplinary communication among dental professionals, enabling comprehensive and holistic treatment planning for patients 7 . Teledentistry can also reduce travel time and costs associated with dental appointments 8 , 9 , 10 . There is evidence that teledentistry serves as a valuable tool to enhance access to dental care for patients 11 . Additionally, in the context of long-term management in patients, telehealth has contributed to patient-centered care, by enhancing their surrounding environments 12 . Therefore, teledentistry should be emphasized as one of digital dentistry to enhance treatment quality.

Albeit the benefits of teledentistry, available evidence demonstrates challenges and concerns in the implementation of telehealth. Lack of awareness and knowledge in the use of telehealth can hinder the adoption of telehealth 13 . Legal issues and privacy concerns also emerge as significant challenges in telehealth use 14 . Moreover, online communication skills and technology literacy, including competency in using technological tools and applications, have been frequently reported as challenges in teledentistry 15 , 16 . Concerns regarding limitations stemming from the lack of physical examination are also significant 17 . These challenges and complexities may impact the accuracy of diagnosis and the security and confidentiality of patient information. Therefore, telehealth training for dental professionals emerges as essential prerequisites to effectively navigate the use of teledentistry, fostering confidence and competence in remote oral healthcare delivery.

The feasibility and practicality of telehealth in dental education present ongoing challenges and concerns. Given the limitations of teledentistry compared to face-to-face appointments, areas of training should encompass the telehealth system, online communication, technical issues, confidentiality concerns, and legal compliance 18 . However, there is currently no educational strategy that effectively demonstrates the importance and application of teledentistry 19 . A role-play can be considered as a teaching strategy where learners play a role that closely resembles real-life scenarios. A well-organized storytelling allows learner to manage problematic situations, leading to the development of problem-solving skill 20 , 21 . When compared to traditional lecture-based learning, learners can also enhance their communication skills through conversations with simulated patients 22 , 23 . In addition, they could express their thoughts and emotions during a role-play through experiential learning 20 , 24 , 25 . Role-play through video teleconference would be considered as a distance learning tool for training dental professionals to effectively use teledentistry.

While there have been studies supporting online role-play as an effective learning tool due to its impact of flexibility, engagement, and anonymity 26 , 27 , no evidence has been yet reported whether or not this learning strategy could have potential for training teledentistry. Given the complicated issues in telehealth, role-play for training teledentistry should incorporate different learning aspects compared to face-to-face communication with patients. In addition, game components have proved to be supportive in dental education 28 , 29 . Consequently, this research aimed to evaluate user perceptions and educational impact of gamified online role-play to enhance learner competence and awareness in using teledentistry as well as to construct a conceptual framework highlighting how to design and implement this interactive learning strategy. This research would introduce and promote the design and implementation of gamified online role-play as a learning tool for training teledentistry. To achieve the aim, specific objectives were established as follows:

1. To design a gamified online role-play for teledentistry training.

2. To investigate learner perceptions regarding their confidence and awareness in the use of teledentistry after completing the gamified online role-play.

3. To explore user satisfactions toward the use of gamified online role-play.

4. To develop a conceptual framework for designing and implementing a gamified online role-play for teledentistry training.

Materials and methods

Research design.

This research employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, where a quantitative phase was firstly performed followed by a qualitative phase 30 , 31 . The quantitative phase was conducted based on pre-experimental research using one-group pretest–posttest design. Participants were requested to complete self-perceived assessments toward confidence and awareness in the use of teledentistry before and after participating in a gamified online role-play. They were also asked to complete a satisfaction questionnaire in using a gamified online role-play for training teledentistry. The qualitative phase was afterwards conducted to explore in-depth information through semi-structured interviews, in order to enhance an understanding of the quantitative phase, and to develop a conceptual framework for designing and implementing an online role-play for training teledentistry.

A gamified online role-play for training teledentistry

A gamified online role-play was designed and developed by the author team. To ensure its educational impact was significant, the expected learning outcomes were formulated based on insights gathered from a survey with experienced instructors from the Department of Advanced General Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University. These learning outcomes covered areas of online communication skill, technical issues, technology literacy of patients, limitations of physical examination, and privacy concerns of personal information. Learning scenario and instructional content were subsequently designed to support learners in achieving the expected learning outcomes, with their alignments validated by three experts in dental education. A professional actress underwent training to role-play a patient with a dental problem, requesting a virtual consultation or teledentistry. Before conducting data collection, the simulated patient was required to undergo a training and adjusting process with a pilot group under supervision of two experts in advanced general dentistry and dental education who had experience with teledentistry to ensure realism and completeness of learning content.

According to the role-play scenario, an actress was assigned to portray a 34-year-old female with chief complaints of pain around both ears, accompanied by difficulties in chewing food due to tooth loss. She was instructed to express her anxiety and nervousness about addressing these issues. Additionally, it was specified that she could not take a day off from work during this period. Despite this constraint, she required a dental consultation to receive advice for initial self-care, as her symptoms significantly impacted her daily life. Furthermore, she was designated to encounter difficulties with the technological use of the teledentistry platform.

The game components were implemented into the online role-play to enhance motivation and engagement. As challenge and randomness appear to be game elements 32 , 33 , five challenge cards were designed and embedded into the online role-play, where a participant was asked to randomly select one of them before interacting with the simulated patient. The challenging situations were potential technical concerns which could occur frequently during video conferencing, including network problems (e.g., internet disconnection and poor connection) and audiovisual quality issues. The participants were blinded to the selected card, while it was revealed to only the simulated patient. The challenging conditions were mimicked by the organizers and simulated patient, allowing learners to deal with difficulties. Therefore, both challenges and randomness were implemented into this learning intervention not only to create learning situations but also to enhance engagement.

A feedback system was carefully considered and implemented into the gamified online role-play. Immediate feedback appears to be a key feature of interactive learning environments 29 . Formative feedback was instantly delivered to learners through verbal and non-verbal communication, including words (content), tone of voice, facial expressions, and gestures of the simulated patient. This type of feedback allowed participants to reflect on whether or not their inputs were appropriate, enabling them to learn from their mistakes, or so-called the role of failure 34 . Summative feedback was also provided at the end of the role-play through a reflection from a simulated patient and suggestions from an instructor.

Learners were able to interact with the simulated patient using an online meeting room by Cisco WebEx. According to the research setting (Fig.  1 ), a learner was asked to participate in the role-play activity using a computer laptop in a soundproof room, while a simulated patient was arranged in a prepared location showing her residential environment. The researcher and instructor also joined the online meeting room and observed the interaction between the simulated patient and learners during the role-play activity whether or not all necessary information was accurately obtained. The role-play activity took around 30 minutes.

A diagram demonstrating the setting of gamified online role-play.

Research participants

Quantitative phase.

The participants in this research were postgraduate students from the Residency Training Program in Advanced General Dentistry at Mahidol University Faculty of Dentistry in academic year 2022, using a volunteer sampling. This program was selected because its objective was to develop graduates capable of integrating competencies from various dental disciplines to provide comprehensive dental care for both normal patients and those with special needs. Therefore, teledentistry should be a supportive component of their service. The recruitment procedure involved posting a recruiting text in the group chat of the residents. Those interested in participating in the research were informed to directly contact us to request more information, and they were subsequently allowed to decide whether they would like to participate. This approach ensured that participation was voluntary. Although there could be a non-response bias within this non-probability sampling technique 35 , it was considered as appropriate for this study, as participants were willing to have contribution in the learning activity, and therefore accurate and reliable research findings with no dropout could be achieved 36 .

The inclusion and exclusion criteria were established to determine the eligibility of prospective participants for this research. This study included postgraduate students from Years 1 to 3 in the Residency Training Program in Advanced General Dentistry at Mahidol University Faculty of Dentistry, enrolled during the academic year 2022. They were also required to at least complete the first semester to be eligible for this research to ensure familiarity with comprehensive dental care. However, they were excluded if they had previous involvement in the pilot testing of the gamified online role-play or if they were not fluent in the Thai language. The sample size was determined using a formula for two dependent samples (comparing means) 37 . To detect a difference in self-perceived confidence and awareness between pre- and post-assessments at a power of 90% and a level of statistical significance of 1%, five participants were required. With an assumed dropout rate of 20%, the number of residents per year (Year 1–3) was set to be 6. Therefore, 18 residents were required for this research.

Qualitative phase

The participants from the quantitative phase were selected for semi-structured interviews using a purposive sampling. This sampling method involved the selection of information-rich participants based on specific criteria deemed relevant to the research objective and to ensure a diverse representation of perspectives and experiences within the sample group 38 . In this research, the information considered for the purposive sampling included demographic data (e.g., sex and year of study), along with self-perceived assessment scores. By incorporating perceptions from a variety of participants, a broad spectrum of insights from different experiences in comprehensive dental practice and diverse improvement levels in self-perceived confidence and awareness could inform the design and implementation of the training program effectively. The sample size for this phase was determined based on data saturation, wherein interviews continued until no new information or emerging themes were retrieved. This method ensured thorough exploration of the research topic and maximized the richness of the qualitative data obtained.

Outcome assessments

To evaluate the gamified online role-play, a triangular design approach was employed, enabling the researchers to compare the research outcomes from different assessment methods. In this research, self-perceived assessments (confidence and awareness) in teledentistry, satisfactions toward gamified online role-play, and learner experience were assessed to assure the quality and feasibility of the gamified online role-play.

Self-perceived confidence and awareness toward teledentistry

All participants were requested to rate their perceptions of teledentistry before and after participating in the gamified online role-play (Supplementary material 1 ). The self-perceived assessment was developed based on previous literature 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 . The assessment scores would inform whether or not the participants could improve their self-perceived confidence and awareness through a learning activity. The assessment consisted of two parts, which were (1) self-perceived confidence and (2) self-perceived awareness. Each part contained six items, which were similar between the pre- and post-assessments. All items were designed using a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 being ‘strongly disagree’ and 5 being ‘strongly agree’.

Satisfactions toward the gamified online role-play

All participants were asked to complete the satisfaction questionnaire after participating in the gamified online role-play, to investigate whether or not they felt satisfied with their learning (Supplementary material 2 ). The questionnaire was developed based on previous literature regarding gamification and role-play 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 . Most of the items were designed using a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 being ‘very dissatisfied’ and 5 being ‘very satisfied’. They were grouped into three aspects, which were (1) Perceived usefulness, (2) Perceived ease of use, and (3) Perceived enjoyment.

Learner experiences within the gamified online role-play

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the purposively selected participants to gather in-depth information regarding their learning experiences within the gamified online role-play. This technique allowed researchers to ask additional interesting topics raised from the responses of participants. A topic guide for interviews were constructed based on the findings of previous literature 45 , 46 , 47 . The interview was conducted in a private room by a researcher who was trained in conducting qualitative research including interviews. The interview sessions took approximately 45–60 minutes, where all responses from participants were recorded using a digital audio recorder with their permission. The recorded audios were transcribed using a verbatim technique by a transcription service under a confidential agreement.

Validity and reliability of data collection tools

To enhance the quality of self-perceived assessment and satisfaction questionnaire, they were piloted and revised to assure their validity and reliability. According to the content validity, three experts in advanced general dentistry were asked to evaluate the questionnaire, where problematic items were iteratively revised until they achieved the index of item-objective congruence (IOC) higher than 0.5. To perform a test–retest reliability, the validated versions of both self-perceived assessment and satisfaction questionnaire were afterwards piloted in residents from other programs, and the data were analyzed using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), where the values of all items were 0.7 or greater. The data from the first pilot completion of both data collection tools were analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha to ensure the internal consistency of all constructs. The problematic items were deleted to achieve the coefficient alpha of 0.7 or greater for all constructs, which was considered as acceptable internal consistency.

Data analysis

The quantitative data retrieved from self-perceived assessment and satisfaction questionnaire were analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS, version 29, IBM Corp.). Descriptive statistics were performed to present an overview of the data. The scores from pre- and post-assessments were analyzed using a paired sample t-test to evaluate whether or not the participants would better self-perceive their confidence and awareness in teledentistry after participating in the gamified online role-play. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare whether or not there were statistically significant differences in self-perceived assessment and satisfaction scores among the three academic years.

The qualitative data retrieved from semi-structured interviews were analyzed using a framework analysis, where its procedure involved transcription, familiarization with the interview data, coding, developing an analytical framework, indexing, charting, and data interpreting qualitative findings 48 . In this research, the initial codes had been pre-defined from previous literature and subsequently adjusted following the analysis of each transcript to develop an analytical framework (themes and subthemes), requiring several iterations until no additional codes emerged. Subsequently, the established categories and codes were applied consistently across all transcripts (indexing). The data from each transcript were then charted to develop a matrix, facilitating the management and summarization of qualitative findings. This method enabled the researchers to compare and contrast differences within the data and to identify connections between categories, thereby exploring their relationships and informing data interpretation.

The procedure of framework analysis necessitated a transparent process for data management and interpretation of emerging themes to ensure the robustness of research 49 . The transparency of this analytic approach enabled two researchers (C.Te. and K.S.) to independently analyze the qualitative data, and the emerging themes afterwards were discussed to obtain consensus among the researchers. This technique can be considered as a triangular approach to assure the intercoder reliability and internal validity of this research. The transparent process also allowed an external expert in dental education to verify the accuracy of the analysis. All emerging themes and the decision on data saturation were based on a discussion of all researchers until an agreement was made. NVivo (version 14, QSR International) was used to performed the qualitative data analysis. Subsequently, a conceptual framework was constructed to demonstrate emerging themes and subthemes together with their relationships.

Ethical consideration

The ethical approval for the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Faculty of Dentistry and Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University on 29 th September 2022, the ethical approval number: MU-DT/PY-IRB 2022/049.2909. All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. Although the data were not anonymous in nature as they contained identifiable data, they were coded prior to the analysis to assure confidentiality of participants.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

There were 18 residents from Year 1 to 3 of the Residency Training Program in Advanced General Dentistry who participated in this research (six from each year). Of these, there were 14 females and 4 males. There was no participant dropout, as all of them completed all required tasks, including the pre- and post-perceived assessments, gamified online role-play, and satisfaction questionnaire. According to the purposive sampling, the participants from the quantitative phase were selected for semi-structured interviews by considering sex, year of study, and self-perceived assessment scores. Twelve students (ten females and two males) participated in semi-structured interviews, where their characteristics are presented in Table 1 .

Internal consistency of all constructs

The data collected from the research participants, in addition to the pilot samples, were analyzed with Cronbach’s alpha to confirm the internal consistency. The coefficient alpha of all constructs demonstrated high internal consistency, as demonstrated in Table 2 .

Self-perceived assessments toward confidence and awareness of teledentistry

There were statistically significant increases in the assessment scores of self-perceived confidence and awareness after participating in the gamified online role-play ( P  < 0.001). According to Table 3 , there was an increase in self-perceived confidence from 3.38 (SD = 0.68) for the pre-assessment to 4.22 (SD = 0.59) for the post-assessment ( P  < 0.001). The findings of self-perceived awareness also showed score improvement from 4.16 (SD = 0.48) to 4.55 (SD = 0.38) after interacting with the simulated patient ( P  < 0.001).

According to Fig.  2 , participants demonstrated a higher level of self-perceived assessments for both self-confidence and awareness in all aspects after participating in the gamified online role-play for teledentistry training.

Self-perceived assessments toward confidence and awareness of teledentistry.

When comparing the self-perceived assessment scores toward confidence and awareness in the use of teledentistry among the three years of study (Year 1–3), there were no statistically significant differences in the pre-assessment, post-assessment score, and score difference (Table 4 ).

Satisfactions toward the use of gamified online role-play

According to Fig.  3 , participants exhibited high levels of satisfaction with the use of gamified online role-play across all three aspects. The aspect of usefulness received the highest satisfaction rating with a score of 4.44 (SD = 0.23) out of 5, followed by ease of use and enjoyment, scoring 4.40 (SD = 0.23) and 4.03 (SD = 0.21), respectively. Particularly, participants expressed the highest satisfaction levels regarding the usefulness of gamified online role-play for identifying their role (Mean = 4.72, SD = 0.46) and developing problem-solving skills associated with teledentistry (Mean = 4.61, SD = 0.50). Additionally, they reported satisfaction with the learning sequence presented in the gamified online role-play (Mean = 4.61, SD = 0.50). However, participants did not strongly perceive that the format of the gamified online role-play could engage them with the learning task for an extended period (Mean = 3.72, SD = 0.83).

Satisfactions toward the use of gamified online role-play.

When comparing the satisfaction levels perceived by participants from different academic years (Table 5 ), no statistically significant differences were observed among the three groups for all three aspects ( P  > 0.05).

Following the framework analysis of qualitative data, there were five emerging themes, including: (1) learner profile, (2) learning settings of the gamified online role-play, (3) pedagogical components, (4) interactive functions, and (5) educational impact.

Theme 1: Learner profile

Learner experience and preferences appeared to have impact on how the participants perceived the use of gamified online role-play for teledentistry training. When learners preferred role-play or realized benefits of teledentistry, they were likely to support this learning intervention. In addition, they could have seen an overall picture of the assigned tasks before participating in this research.

“I had experience with a role-play activity when I was dental undergraduates, and I like this kind of learning where someone role-plays a patient with specific personalities in various contexts. This could be a reason why I felt interested to participate in this task (the gamified online role-play). I also believed that it would be supportive for my clinical practice.” Participant 12, Year 1, Female “Actually, I' have seen in several videos (about teledentistry), where dentists were teaching patients to perform self-examinations, such as checking their own mouth and taking pictures for consultations. Therefore, I could have thought about what I would experience during the activity (within the gamified online role-play).” Participant 8, Year 2, Female

Theme 2: Learning settings of the gamified online role-play

Subtheme 2.1: location.

Participants had agreed that the location for conducting a gamified online role-play should be in a private room without any disturbances, enabling learners to focus on the simulated patient. This could allow them to effectively communicate and understand of the needs of patient, leading to a better grasp of lesson content. In addition, the environments of both learners and simulated patient should be authentic to the learning quality.

“The room should be a private space without any disturbances. This will make us feel confident and engage in conversations with the simulated patient.” Participant 10, Year 1, Female “… simulating a realistic environment can engage me to interact with the simulated patient more effectively ...” Participant 8, Year 2, Female

Subtheme 2.2: Time allocated for the gamified online role-play

The time allocated for the gamified online role-play in this research was considered as appropriate, as participants believed that a 30-minutes period should be suitable to take information and afterwards give some advice to their patient. In addition, a 10-minutes discussion on how they interact with the patient could be supportive for participants to enhance their competencies in the use of teledentistry.

“… it would probably take about 20 minutes because we would need to gather a lot of information … it might need some time to request and gather various information … maybe another 10-15 minutes to provide some advice.” Participant 7, Year 1, Female “I think during the class … we could allocate around 30 minutes for role-play, … we may have discussion of learner performance for 10-15 minutes ... I think it should not be longer than 45 minutes in total.” Participant 6, Year 2, Female

Subtheme 2.3: Learning consequence within a postgraduate curriculum

Most participants suggested that the gamified online role-play in teledentistry should be arranged in the first year of their postgraduate program. This could maximize the effectiveness of online role-play, as they would be able to implement teledentistry for their clinical practice since the beginning of their training. However, some participants suggested that this learning approach could be rearranged in either second or third year of the program. As they already had experience in clinical practice, the gamified online role-play would reinforce their competence in teledentistry.

"Actually, it would be great if this session could be scheduled in the first year … I would feel more comfortable when dealing with my patients through an online platform." Participant 11, Year 2, Male "I believe this approach should be implemented in the first year because it allows students to be trained in teledentistry before being exposed to real patients. However, if this approach is implemented in either the second or third year when they have already had experience in patient care, they would be able to better learn from conversations with simulated patients." Participant 4, Year 3, Male

Theme 3: Pedagogical components

Subtheme 3.1: learning content.

Learning content appeared to be an important component of pedagogical aspect, as it would inform what participants should learn from the gamified online role-play. Based on the interview data, participants reported they could learn how to use a video teleconference platform for teledentistry. The conditions of simulated patient embedded in an online role-play also allowed them to realize the advantages of teledentistry. In addition, dental problems assigned to the simulated patient could reveal the limitations of teledentistry for participants.

“The learning tasks (within the gamified online role-play) let me know how to manage patients through the teleconference.” Participant 5, Year 2, Female “… there seemed to be limitations (of teledentistry) … there could be a risk of misdiagnosis … the poor quality of video may lead to diagnostic errors … it is difficult for patients to capture their oral lesions.” Participant 3, Year 2, Female

Subtheme 3.2: Feedback

During the use of online role-play, the simulated patient can provide formative feedback to participants through facial expressions and tones of voice, enabling participants to observe and learn to adjust their inquiries more accurately. In addition, at the completion of the gamified online role-play, summative feedback provided by instructors could summarize the performance of participants leading to further improvements in the implementation of teledentistry.

“I knew (whether or not I interacted correctly) from the gestures and emotions of the simulated patient between the conversation. I could have learnt from feedback provided during the role-play, especially from the facial expressions of the patient.” Participant 11, Year 2, Male “The feedback provided at the end let me know how well I performed within the learning tasks.” Participant 2, Year 1, Female

Theme 4: Interactive functions

Subtheme 4.1: the authenticity of the simulated patient.

Most participants believed that a simulated patient with high acting performance could enhance the flow of role-play, allowing learners to experience real consequences. The appropriate level of authenticity could engage learners with the learning activity, as they would have less awareness of time passing in the state of flow. Therefore, they could learn better from the gamified online role-play.

"It was so realistic. ... This allowed me to talk with the simulated patient naturally ... At first, when we were talking, I was not sure how I should perform … but afterwards I no longer had any doubts and felt like I wanted to explain things to her even more." Participant 3, Year 2, Female "At first, I believed that if there was a factor that could influence learning, it would probably be a simulated patient. I was impressed by how this simulated patient could perform very well. It made the conversation flow smoothly and gradually." Participant 9, Year 3, Female

Subtheme 4.2: Entertaining features

Participants were likely to be satisfied with the entertaining features embedded in the gamified online role-play. They felt excited when they were being exposed to the unrevealed challenge which they had randomly selected. In addition, participants suggested to have more learning scenarios or simulated patients where they could randomly select to enhance randomness and excitement.

“It was a playful experience while communicating with the simulated patient. There are elements of surprise from the challenge cards that make the conversation more engaging, and I did not feel bored during the role-play.” Participant 4, Year 3, Male “I like the challenge card we randomly selected, as we had no idea what we would encounter … more scenarios like eight choices and we can randomly choose to be more excited. I think we do not need additional challenge cards, as some of them have already been embedded in patient conditions.” Participant 5, Year 2, Female

Subtheme 4.3: Level of difficulty

Participants suggested the gamified online role-play to have various levels of difficulty, so learners could have a chance to select a suitable level for their competence. The difficulties could be represented through patient conditions (e.g., systemic diseases or socioeconomic status), personal health literacy, and emotional tendencies. They also recommended to design the gamified online role-play to have different levels where learners could select an option that is suitable for them.

“The patient had hidden their information, and I needed to bring them out from the conversation.” Participant 12, Year 1, Female “Patients' emotions could be more sensitive to increase level of challenges. This can provide us with more opportunities to enhance our management skills in handling patient emotions.” Participant 11, Year 2, Male “… we can gradually increase the difficult level, similar to playing a game. These challenges could be related to the simulated patient, such as limited knowledge or difficulties in communication, which is likely to occur in our profession.” Participant 6, Year 2, Female

Theme 5: Educational impact

Subtheme 5.1: self-perceived confidence in teledentistry, communication skills.

Participants were likely to perceive that they could learn from the gamified online role-play and felt more confident in the use of teledentistry. This educational impact was mostly achieved from the online conversation within the role-play activity, where the participants could improve their communication skills through a video teleconference platform.

“I feel like the online role-play was a unique form of learning. I believe that I gained confidence from the online communication the simulated patient. I could develop skills to communicate effectively with real patients.” Participant 11, Year 2, Male “I believe it support us to train communication skills ... It allowed us to practice both listening and speaking skills more comprehensively.” Participant 4, Year 3, Male

Critical thinking and problem-solving skills

In addition to communication skills, participants reported that challenges embedded in the role-play allowed them to enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which were a set of skills required to deal with potential problems in the use of teledentistry.

"It was a way of training before experiencing real situations … It allowed us to think critically whether or not what we performed with the simulated patients was appropriate." Participant 7, Year 1, Female “It allowed us to learn how to effectively solve the arranged problems in simulated situation. We needed to solve problems in order to gather required information from the patient and think about how to deliver dental advice through teledentistry.” Participant 11, Year 2, Male

Subtheme 5.2: Self perceived awareness in teledentistry

Participants believed that they could realize the necessity of teledentistry from the gamified online role-play. The storytelling or patient conditions allowed learners to understand how teledentistry could have both physical and psychological support for dental patients.

“From the activity, I would consider teledentistry as a convenient tool for communicating with patients, especially if a patient cannot go to a dental office”. Participant 5, Year 2, Female “I learned about the benefits of teledentistry, particularly in terms of follow-up. The video conference platform could support information sharing, such as drawing images or presenting treatment plans, to patients.” Participant 8, Year 2, Female

A conceptual framework of learning experience within a gamified online role-play

Based on the qualitative findings, a conceptual framework was developed in which a gamified online role-play was conceptualized as a learning strategy in supporting learners to be able to implement teledentistry in their clinical practice (Fig.  4 ).

The conceptual framework of key elements in designing a gamified online role-play.

The conceptual framework has revealed key elements to be considered in designing a gamified online role-play. Learner profile, learning settings, pedagogical components, and interactive functions are considered as influential factors toward user experience within the gamified online role-play. The well-designed learning activity will support learners to achieve expected learning outcomes, considered as educational impact of the gamified online role-play. The contributions of these five key elements to the design of gamified online role-play were interpreted, as follows:

Learner profile: This element tailors the design of gamified online role-plays for teledentistry training involves considering the background knowledge, skills, and experiences of target learners to ensure relevance and engagement.

Learning settings: The element focuses the planning for gamified online role-plays in teledentistry training involves selecting appropriate contexts, such as location and timing, to enhance accessibility and achieve learning outcomes effectively.

Pedagogical components: This element emphasizes the alignment between learning components and learning outcomes within gamified online role-plays, to ensure that the content together with effective feedback design can support learners in improving their competencies from their mistakes.

Interactive functions: This element highlights interactivity features integrated into gamified online role-plays, such as the authenticity and entertaining components to enhance immersion and engagement, together with game difficulty for optimal flow. All these features should engage learners with the learning activities until the achievement of learner outcomes.

Educational impact: This element represents the expected learning outcomes, which will inform the design of learning content and activities within gamified online role-plays. In addition, this element could be considered to evaluate the efficacy of gamified online role-plays, reflecting how well learning designs align with the learning outcomes.

A gamified online role-play can be considered as a learning strategy for teledentistry according to its educational impact. This pedagogical approach could mimic real-life practice, where dental learners could gain experience in the use of teledentistry in simulated situations before interacting with actual patients. Role-play could provide learners opportunities to develop their required competencies, especially communication and real-time decision-making skills, in a predictable and safe learning environment 20 , 23 , 46 . Potential obstacles could also be arranged for learners to deal with, leading to the enhancement of problem-solving skill 50 . In addition, the recognition of teledentistry benefits can enhance awareness and encourage its adoption and implementation, which could be explained by the technology acceptance model 51 . Therefore, a gamified online role-play with a robust design and implementation appeared to have potential in enhancing self-perceived confidence and awareness in the use of teledentistry.

The pedagogical components comprised learning content, which was complemented by assessment and feedback. Learners could develop their competence with engagement through the learning content, gamified by storytelling of the online role-play 52 , 53 . Immediate feedback provided through facial expression and voice tone of simulated patients allowed participants to learn from their failure, considered as a key feature of game-based learning 29 , 45 . The discussion of summative feedback provided from an instructor at the end of role-play activity could support a debriefing process enabling participants to reflect their learning experience, considered as important of simulation-based game 54 . These key considerations should be initially considered in the design of gamified online role-play.

The interactive functions can be considered as another key component for designing and evaluating the gamified online role-play 45 . Several participants enjoyed with a learning process within the gamified online role-play and suggested it to have more learning scenarios. In other words, this tool could engage learners with an instructional process, leading to the achievement of learning outcomes 29 , 45 . As challenge and randomness appear to be game elements 32 , 33 , this learning intervention assigned a set of cards with obstacle tasks for learners to randomly pick up before interacting with simulated patients, which was perceived by participants as a feature to make the role-play more challenging and engaging. This is consistent with previous research, where challenging content for simulated patients could make learners more engaged with a learning process 55 . However, the balance between task challenges and learner competencies is certainly required for the design of learning activities 56 , 57 . The authenticity of simulated patient and immediate feedback could also affect the game flow, leading to the enhancement of learner engagement 45 . These elements could engage participants with a learning process, leading to the enhancement of educational impact.

The educational settings for implementing gamified online role-play into dental curriculum should be another concern. This aspect has been recognized as significant in existing evidence 45 . As this research found no significant differences in all aspects among the three groups of learners, this learning intervention demonstrated the potential for its implementation at any time of postgraduate dental curriculum. This argument can be supported by previous evidence where a role-play could be adaptable for learning at any time, as it requires a short learning period but provides learners with valuable experience prior to being exposed in real-life scenarios 58 . This strategy also provides opportunities for learners who have any question or concern to seek advice or guidance from their instructors 59 . Although the gamified online role-play can be arranged in the program at any time, the first academic year should be considered, as dental learners would be confidence in implementing teledentistry for their clinical practice.

While a gamified online role-play demonstrated its strengths as an interactive learning strategy specifically for teledentistry, there are a couple of potential drawbacks that need to be addressed. The requirement for synchronous participation could limit the flexibility of access time for learners (synchronous interactivity limitation). With only one learner able to engage with a simulated patient at a time (limited participants), more simulated patients would be required if there are a number of learners, otherwise they would need to wait for their turn. Time and resources are significantly required for preparing simulated patients 60 . Despite the use of trained and calibrated professional actors/actresses, inauthenticity may be perceived during role-plays, requiring a significant amount of effort to achieve both interactional and clinical authenticities 46 . Future research could investigate asynchronous learning approaches utilizing non-player character (NPC) controlled by an artificial intelligence system as a simulated patient. This setup would enable multiple learners to have the flexibility to engage with the material at their own pace and at times convenient to them 29 . While there are potential concerns about using gamified online role-plays, this interactive learning intervention offers opportunities for dental professionals to enhance their teledentistry competency in a safe and engaging environment.

Albeit the robust design and data collection tools to assure reliability and validity as well as transparency of this study, a few limitations were raised leading to a potential of further research. While this research recruited only postgraduate students to evaluate the feasibility of gamified online role-play in teledentistry training, further research should include not only experienced dental practitioners but also undergraduate students to confirm its potential use in participants with different learner profiles. More learning scenarios in other dental specialties should also be included to validate its effectiveness, as different specialties could have different limitations and variations. Additional learning scenarios from various dental disciplines should be considered to validate the effectiveness of gamified online role-plays, as different specialties may present unique limitations and variations. A randomized controlled trial with robust design should be required to compare the effectiveness of gamified online role-play with different approaches in training the use of teledentistry.

Conclusions

This research supports the design and implementation of a gamified online role-play in dental education, as dental learners could develop self-perceived confidence and awareness with satisfaction. A well-designed gamified online role-play is necessary to support learners to achieve expected learning outcomes, and the conceptual framework developed in this research can serve as a guidance to design and implement this interactive learning strategy in dental education. However, further research with robust design should be required to validate and ensure the educational impact of gamified online role-play in dental education. Additionally, efforts should be made to develop gamified online role-play in asynchronous learning approaches to enhance the flexibility of learning activities.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, up-on reasonable request. The data are not publicly available due to information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express our sincere gratitude to participants for their contributions in this research. We would also like to thank the experts who provided their helpful suggestions in the validation process of the data collection tools.

This research project was funded by the Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University. The APC was funded by Mahidol University.

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Teerawongpairoj, C., Tantipoj, C. & Sipiyaruk, K. The design and evaluation of gamified online role-play as a telehealth training strategy in dental education: an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study. Sci Rep 14 , 9216 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58425-9

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Primary Data Collection Methods

• Via the telephone
• Via the mail
• Not very economical (paper expenses etc)
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• Responses can be misleading (especially if researchers are not around to clarify)
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• Provides in-depth information
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•  May result in unnecessary information
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• Facilitates the collection of primary data
• Comparatively lessens respondents bias and possible interference
• It can yield a high volume of data
• It allows for researcher flexibility
• Can be affected by researcher's bias
• Reactions of the respondents may be misinterpreted
• Important and relevant data may be missed as chosen times of observation may not be    appropriate or even significant
• May be affected by Observer’s Paradox where the person being observed exhibits behaviour they feel is expected.

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The authors acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 42301299).

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Nan, M., Huang, L. Innovation Ecosystems: A Cross-Industry Examination of Knowledge Flows and Collaboration Dynamics. J Knowl Econ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-01986-x

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