Project: Media Platforms and Communication Practices

E2022

Media and Communication

Project

English

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Chris Peters (cpeters@ruc.dk)

Chris Peters (cpeters@ruc.dk)

IKH Studieadministration (ikh-studieadministration@ruc.dk)

U60312

The project Media Platforms and Communication Practices is a problem-oriented, exemplary, participant-driven, and group-based activity, where the student develops and documents knowledge, skills, and competencies to work with a defined, self-chosen, professional problem with a focus on media practices associated with a specific organization. The project focuses on understanding the development and realization of a mediated communication process from its initiation at an organizational level, to its actualization as a mediated communication product, to its reception, taking into account the broader context in which it is disseminated. Students can choose to prioritize one or more of these elements in the project. The project must include a detailed and systematic assessment of relevant scientific literature within the chosen issue and employ a multi-method design as part of its analysis, alert to the ethics of digital media research. The aim of the project is to use a real-life case to investigate how the media ecology impacts communicative affordances and choices, as well as the associated experiences and interpretation of relevant users, target groups, publics, and/or stakeholders, potentially across a variety of media platforms and devices. The project report must be based on relevant, academic literature of at least 500 pages.

The project takes place intensively over the second half of the semester, allowing the students to utilize knowledge from the two semester courses in their project work. Groups are formed administratively, based on students prioritizing different semester themes, which vary year-to-year based on pressing societal challenges and issues. Upon completion of the project, students will present their projects: for a public audience at a large ‘project festival’; and for an academic audience at the oral exam.

The total study effort for the student (ECTS points converted into hours) = 270 hours. The hours are divided as follows:

• Project start (including problem formulation seminar and literature search workshop): 30 hours
• Supervision meetings (including preparation and feedback): 20 hours
• Public presentation of project (including preparation): 10 hours
• Oral exam (including preparation): 20 hours
• Project work, both in group and independently (including literature search, empirical work, group meetings, reading, preparation of working documents, and writing report): 180 hours
• Other activities (Semester start, guest lectures, etc.): 10 hours

In principle, teaching activities take place on campus. The teaching can be arranged so that one or more activities take place elsewhere than at Roskilde University. This can also be online.

Evaluation will be based on the evaluation practice of the study board.

At the end of the project work, the student is able to:

• Demonstrate research-based knowledge and understanding of the theoretical and practical problems and opportunities associated with mediated communication in and from organizations and associations to stakeholders.

• Understand and discuss research-based concepts, theories, and methods with a particular focus on organizational communication practices and the associated influence of digital media technologies.

• Identify relevant empirical phenomena and establishing problem-oriented research questions.

• Search out, identify, and synthesize relevant academic research literature around a well-defined topic in digital media and communication studies.

• Design and implement a mixed-method research project, explain the strengths and limitations of its analysis, and produce and present research-based solutions to identified problems.

• Identify, sample, and potentially recruit relevant participants to participate in a study focused on evaluating a communication initiative.

• Independently initiate and complete a media and communication project and enter into professional collaborations with others.

• Take responsibility for one’s own professional development and specialization in the field of media and communication studies.

Oral project exam in groups with individual assessment


Permitted group size: 2-6 students.

The character limits of the project report are:
For 2 students: 43,200-52,800 characters, including spaces.
For 3 students: 48,000-57,600 characters, including spaces.
For 4 students: 52,800-62,400 characters, including spaces.
For 5 students: 57,600-64,800 characters, including spaces.
For 6 students: 60,000-72,000 characters, including spaces.
The character limits include the cover, table of contents, summary, bibliography, figures and other illustrations, but exclude any appendices.

The project report must include a summary, that is part of the assessment. The summary can either be written in English or Danish.

Time allowed for exam including time used for assessment is for:
2 students: 60 minutes.
3 students: 75 minutes.
4 students: 90 minutes.
5 students: 105 minutes.
6 students: 120 minutes.

Writing and spelling skills in the project report are part of the assessment.

Permitted support and preparation materials at the oral exam: All

Assessment: 7-point grading scale.
Moderation: External examiner.

Samme som ordinær eksamen / same form as ordinary exam

The exam is an oral group exam. It is based on the written project report and begins with a presentation from each student, with a maximum of 5 minutes per student. The examiner can ask short, clarifying questions after each presentation. On the basis of both the presentation and the project report, the examination then takes place as a conversation between the students, examiner, and external examiner about the project report’s area of study and associated literature.

In the assessment, emphasis is placed on the extent to which the student(s) demonstrate the ability to:

• Identify and discuss a concrete and relevant media and communication topic and examine how it is expressed in a specific organization.
• Systematically and extensively select, explain, and discuss academic literature from the field of media and communication studies that is relevant to the problem formulation.
• Select, discuss, and apply relevant approaches for a mixed-methodological, empirically-grounded analysis of a mediated communication process; from its initiation at an organizational level, to its actualization as a mediated communication product, to its reception.
• On the basis of the project’s findings, analyze, assess, and possibly prepare proposals for alternative mediated communication approaches, alert to the ethics of digital media.
• Critically reflect on core theoretical concepts and their basic assumptions about digital media and communication
• Communicate field specific knowledge clearly in an oral presentation with precise use of concepts, including delivering an introductory presentation that is well-delivered and logically structured in relation to the time available
• Formulate themselves correctly, precisely, and conceptually clearly, including being able to summarize the project report's content, arguments, and conclusion in a short and precise summary.

In addition, the evaluation assesses whether the project report meets all formal requirements. At the oral exam, the student(s) must also demonstrate the verbal ability, based on the project report, to:

• Disseminate research-based knowledge about communication to both peers and non-specialists clearly and precisely, using well-chosen forms of communication and presentation.
• Discuss the chosen media and communication studies problem, focusing on the selection and inclusion of relevant theories and methods, and the implications therein.
• Be able to account for and reflect on collaboration and group dynamics (roles, expectations, etc.) in relation to relevant actors and enter into a qualified group conversation (listen, build on, opportunities to speak, etc.)

An overall assessment is made based on the written and oral components of the exam.