Communication Strategies for Conflict Management

Communication Strategies for Conflict Management
Research Project Essay – Interview with working professional
1. Select a concept from the course/academic readings uploaded that you find particularly valuable/relevant to your career interests. (Career interest:
Entertainment Business and Social Media)
2. Research at least 10 academic article/books about this topic, at least 5 articles/books must be from academic communication sources. Additional
research from non-communication journals or high quality professional publications is allowed. Most of the articles should be published within the past ten
years.
3. See list of Approved Academic Communication Journals uploaded in PDF file named “Approved Academic Communication Journals”
4. Create a list of interview questions about this topic based upon what is written in the academic literature.
5. Interview a working professional in your intended career area about this topic. How does that personal’s views compare/contrast with the academic
literature? (You can just make up an interview and a working professional, I will match this working professional’s name with a person I know later)
6. Write a 10-11 page paper analyzing the interviewee’s comments in light of the academic research. (Page length excludes the cover page and citations)
7. Use recent APA style for the citation format.
8. See the below for more details.
Advice:
1. It is very important that you do the research FIRST and create the interview questions from the findings of academic research.
2. How long of an interview? Ask for 30–45 minutes. Be prepared for the interview to go for an hour. Many of the interviewees have never been asked their
opinions on these topics and feel honored, so they don’t rush the interview process. (You can just make the interview up.)
3. How many questions? Rule of thumb is to have 10 and expect to ask about 5-7 of them.
4. Many students use the APA paper format (introduction, literature review, methods, results and discussion), or a slight modification, to organize the paper.
However, another way to structure the paper is to create an “informative essay” (for lack of a better term): introduction, theme 1, theme 2, theme 3, etc.,
conclusion/summary. In this latter format, the literature and interviewee’s comments are combined in the same sections. Either format is fine with me.
5. Rubric for excellent work
– Project demonstrates original thought and analysis. Information goes beyond what was discussed in class/readings. Ideas are clearly presented. Paper is
well written. Paper conforms to APA style guide.
– Literature review is thorough and contains sufficient number of references. References are from appropriated time period and quality publications. The
literature is summarized in the project and integrated with common themes. Transitions between sections link articles together.
– It is clear that the academic literature informed the creation of interview questions. Information from interview is used to compare and contrast what is said
in academic literature.
– Project is analytical and critical, not descriiptive. Project offers unique critiques of past literature and interviewee’s comments. Original insight about the
topic.
– Paper conforms to APA style manual. It is written in active voice, preferably present tense. There is an absence of wordy, awkward and run-on sentences.
Spelling and grammar errors are almost non-existed.