COM 691, Communication Topics - Online Communication
Syllabus
Spring 2007

Course Overview
In COM 691 we will explore established and emerging theories of how people are using consumer-generated, participatory online media in professional contexts such as public relations, organizational communication and journalism.

We will use a text on online public relations to provide a basic structure for the course, but you'll be encouraged to research and discuss topics related to all sorts of social uses o f online media within organizations and between organizations and their key publics, including news media. Weekly readings and discussions will cover a broad sample of approaches to studying online media. We will rely heavily on online resources for readings, observation and discussion. As the semester progresses, you will develop hypotheses and/or research questions that will provide the foundation for a research project. Your research interests will drive the focused threads of discussion that we generate.

A key objective will be for each student to write a research paper. Students are welcome to do research that supports thesis/dissertation projects. Ideally, the paper you write for this class will be suitable for submission at an academic conference, and perhaps even eventual journal publication.

Objectives

1. Discuss connections between academic literature and your personal experiences with online media
2. Analyze uses of online media in fields such as public relations, organizational communication and journalism
3. Evaluate effects of online media in these fields
4. Discuss roles of "consumers" and "producers" of information online
5. Search for scholarly literature that relates to your research interests
6. Apply theories from your areas of academic interest to professional uses of online media
7. Form sound hypotheses or focused research questions to advance theory
8. Design ways to test those hypotheses or answer the research questions
9. Write a research paper
10. Consider theoretical options for a thesis study

Resources
Required Text
Kelleher, T. (2007). Public Relations Online: Lasting Concepts for Changing Media. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. (Available online directly from SAGE and through Amazon and other retailers.)

Other Required Resources
Readings and research will be assigned from the Web throughout the semester. The course timeline below features a tentative outline of readings. As a group, we will develop a course Web presence at discourse.ics.hawaii.edu that will serve as the most up-to-date post for readings, resources and discussion.

If you anticipate any computer access problems, please see me during the first week of class.

Expectations 
You will have the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the material covered in course activities and reading assignments through class discussions, quizzes, written assignments and presentations.

In-class and online participation (30%)
Primary objectives covered: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
The participation portion of your grade will reflect your contributions as an individual and as a member of the class as a whole. Solid participation in class and online means reading/hearing what others have written/said, demonstrating critical thinking (saying more than just ‘I agree’), and consistently offering resourceful responses to queries from the professor and other students.

Here are some examples of participation grades. Of course, many combinations of factors are possible. These are only examples.

Participation Grade	Example
30/30	recognized by classmates as top online contributor, regularly made resourceful and constructive comments in class discussions and online that reflected reading, preparation and a solid understanding of the material covered (but didn't go overboard with look-how-much-I-know comments), helped other students turn good work into excellent work
27/30	recognized in class as a strong contributor, regularly made resourceful and constructive comments in class discussions and online that reflected reading and preparation, helped other students by sharing resources and perhaps peer editing of written work
25/30	this student made solid contributions online, but maybe not quite as involved in in-class discussions (or vice versa)
23/30	a polite student, but just-average contributions online and in class
20/30	didn't seem to take non-graded assignments and deadlines too seriously

Preparedness: Quizzes and Deadlines (20%)
Primary objectives covered: 2, 5, 7
At the beginning of some class periods, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your learning by taking a brief quiz on the required readings for that day. Quiz dates will be somewhat random and unannounced, to encourage consistent preparedness. Deadlines for various steps in the research process (e.g., building a bibliography, outlining, rough drafts, etc.) will be set as we go. At the end of the semester, your quizzes will be counted along with a tally of made/missed deadlines to figure a "preparedness" score.

Research Project (paper = 40%, presentation = 10%)
Primary objectives covered: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
We will discuss expectations for the research project in class. Many of our readings can serve as sources for ideas for further research. Each of you will have the opportunity to discuss your ideas with me in person and develop an individual plan, but everyone is required to complete both a written paper and an oral presentation with visual aids (e.g., PowerPoint, Web presentation). Papers will be due and presentations will be scheduled for the final weeks of the semester. I'm open to creative ideas and projects that you find personally interesting and useful in building your broader research agenda.

Grading Weight

Participation	30%
Quizzes & deadlines	20%
Research paper	40%
Research presentation	10%

Final Grade Requirements
A = 90-100% 
B = 80-89%
C = 70-79%
D = 60-69%
F = Below 60%

Special Accommodations
Students requiring special accommodations must notify the instructor and present appropriate supporting documentation by the end of the second week of class.

Seeking Help
The success of this course will depend largely on effective student-teacher interaction. Don't feel like you have to have a pressing problem to talk to me. I look forward to hearing your input. I'll be available during my office hours unless announced otherwise, and I'm also willing to set up an appointment if the office hours don't fit your schedule. We'll discuss other modes of communication such as online forums and e-mail as part of our course content - just part of what will make this course so interesting!

The phone number for the School of Communications is 956-8715. The school chair is Professor Gerald Kato.

Academic Honesty
Academic dishonesty of any sort will not be tolerated. I take cheating issues very seriously. I recently had the unpleasant experience of having to assign a failing grade to a student who presented someone else's work as his/her own. If you are at all unsure about what constitutes proper attribution to online sources or other sources and what is assumed to be your own work, PLEASE JUST ASK me before submitting your work. This will save us all much grief.

Preliminary Class Timeline 
Topics and readings are subject to change by the professor, especially to accommodate current events and newly available readings. Specific readings and assignments will be added as we go.

Class Days	General Topics	Required Reading and Deadlines
Jan. 9	Syllabus, course introduction, disCourse, student research interests	Read course syllabus by 1/10 Initial posting on disCourse by 1/16
Jan. 16	Interactivity	Read Chapter 1 by 1/16 Read Lessons learned from experiments with interactivity on the Web by 1/16 Discuss IRB concerns, schedule IRB training if necessary
Jan. 23	Systems, long tail	Read Chapter 2 by 1/23 Read The long tail by 1/23 Post tentative paper topic online
Jan. 30	"One-way" communication online	Read Chapter 3 by 1/30 Read Evolution of online campaigning: Increasing interactivity in candidate Web sites and blogs through text and technical features by 1/30. (You'll find a link to the full text article under "Trammell" in the blog research bibliography on this page.) Full text here. Post first 10 references for paper online Summarize two key studies that will influence yours or that you will use as models for yours (include basic outline of articles). This will be something you'll present informally on Feb. 6.
Feb. 6	"Peer-to-peer" communication online	Read Chapter 4 by 2/6 Read Introduction and Peer Production All Around from Coase's Penguin, or. Linux and the nature of the firm (follow link to full text PDF) by 2/6 Outline literature review
Feb. 13	Relationships	Read Chapter 5 by 2/13 Read "The business communicator as presence allocator" by 2/13. (This is an article by J.W. Turner & N.L. Reinsch in Journal of Business Communication, 2007, pp. 36-58. You can retrieve a full-text copy through the UH libraries' subscription service.) Bring two copies of typed outline of literature review to class on 2/13 Rough draft of literature review with RQs/Hypotheses (by end of week - bring to class for peer review on Feb 20)
Feb. 20	Research and evaluation	Read Chapter 10 by 2/20 Read "Communication audits in the age of the Internet" by 2/20. (This is an article by G.M. Goldhaber in Management Communication Quarterly: McQ; Feb 2002, pp. 451-457. You can retrieve a full-text copy through the UH libraries' subscription service). Read Social Media -- Under the Microscope by Matt Bailey and review sites to which he refers (i.e., Digg) by 2/20. (See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media ) Bring two copies of literature review with RQs/hypotheses on 2/20
Feb. 27	Online journalism and media relations Research study proposals	Read Chapter 6 by 2/27 By 2/27, read Cassidy, W. P. (2007), Online news credibility: An examination of the perceptions of newspaper journalist in Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(2), article 7. Bring two copies of rough draft of methods section to class on 2/ 27 IRB application (or equivalent study proposal) due at end of week
March 6	Online communication in commercial contexts	Read Chapter 7 by 3/6 Read Dan Smith's dissertation proposal (Chapters 1-4) by 3/6
March 13	Online communication in contexts of issues and activism	Read Chapter 8 by 3/13 Read "Weak ties in networked communities" by 3/13. (This is an article by Kavanaugh, et al. in The Information Society, Apr-Jun2005, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p119-131. You can retrieve a full-text copy through the UH libraries' subscription service).
March 20	Managing public relations online	Read Chapter 9 by 3/20 Read "What knowledge systems can deliver" by 3/20. (This is an article by Geoff Walsham in Management Communication Quarterly (McQ); Nov 2002, pp. 267-273. You can retrieve a full-text copy through the UH libraries' subscription service).
March 26-30	SPRING BREAK	NO CLASS
April 3	Data collection	Meet data collection goals
April 10	Data analysis	Readings to vary based on research methods
April 17	Reporting findings and conclusions	Readings to vary based on research methods
April 24	Presentations	Student-assigned readings
May 1	Presentations	Student-assigned readings Research paper due
Tuesday, May 8, 2:15 p.m.	Final exam period	Final exam period