Your final research paper for this class must be related to mass communication theory. For this assignment, you will conduct a relevant literature review to discover the mass communication theory that you will use in your final paper. In your literature review, you should also discuss the pros and the cons of each resource against the other resources you include.
Begin by using the university library’s Encyclopedia of Communication Theory to investigate whether any of these mass communication theories relate to your paper’s research question.
Once you have reviewed the theories, select one mass communication theory that appears to be related to your paper’s research question.
Using UMGC’s library resources, locate three academic journal articles about your theory. This resource can help you find academic journal articles in our library’s collection. You will need these journals for your final paper.
Academic journal articles are reports of previous research on your topic area published in journals for an academic field. Academic journals ARE NOT books, business, trade, or general circulation magazines, newspaper articles, or information found on general websites. The “scholarly journals only” One-search function on the library’s Research Guide for COMM 302 web page can help you find academic journals appropriate for your topic.
Based on what you learn, write a 2-page, double-spaced essay in which you explain how the mass communication theory that you have chosen relates to your final paper’s research question.
Do not merely summarize the three articles about the theory that you selected. Instead, synthesize what you learned by giving enough information about each article (e.g., its purpose, its study results, how it explains a mass communication behavior or media effect, etc.) so that readers will understand your argument for how/why using the article would inform and support your use of the theory in your final paper for this class. You will be graded on your argument, not on your ability to paraphrase what is written in the articles.
At the end of your essay, include a reference list for the three scholarly articles that you used to learn about the mass communication theory you chose. Format your references according to the American Psychological Association’s style rules. For guidance, see our library’s video on creating APA 7-style references at https://libguides.umgc.edu/apa-references-list-formatting-7h and the library’s references examples at https://libguides.umgc.edu/apa-examples
