We are in the midst of the Research Projects for the Senior Seminar in Communication and there have been interesting presentations on interesting topics. The Seminar is what we call the Capstone Course for the Communication major and the research project is a stretch project for all the students. They feel really relieved when they turn in that 30-page paper, which is usually when they complete the presentation to the class on their project.
Some of the topics being investigated this term include:
Gender Codes in Prime Time Television
"Is Obama Your Facebook Friend?" The use of social media in the 2008 presidential election
Leadership training at Coker
An analysis of how college students perceive Boondocks and its social commentary
Does Sex Sell -- Male and Female attitudes toward sexual appeals in advertising
Uses and Gratification theory and reality television using a comparison between male and female viewers
We have some more coming today as one student is investigating the question of ethics in sports journalism using in-depth interviewing and another student is investigating the public's appetite for celebrity journalism. In addition, one student is studying the workplace, trying to discover if employers seek different traits when hiring male and female employees. Another student has investigated the question of photography and its impact on viewers' support for war policies. Another student is investigating marketing of luxury items and how that marketing uses product placement in "Sex in the City."
This is a challenging class and most of the students are doing a good job meeting the challenge and providing interesting research that can be a springboard to either graduate school research or the variety of research needed in the working world.
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