The MSAS research requirement consists of two separate but closely related requirements: (1) completing a 3-credit hour research methods course and (2) submitting a final research paper or project.

Methods Course

You are required to complete a 3 credit, graduate level course in research methodology. The course may be taken on campus or online from any accredited university with advisor approval. Your academic advisor will assist you in making an appropriate choice for your Option Area  and career path. This course should be taken early in your program of study to prepare you for subsequent graduate course work. The course that was specifically developed to satisfy this requirement for the MSAS program is COM 718 Applied Communication Research Methods. There are other research methods courses being offered online and on campus that may be equally appropriate for you. If you are pursuing the Sports Management option you are required to compete PED 733 Current Problems in Sports Administration to satisfy the research methods requirement.

Research Requirement

MSAS graduate students will demonstrate research competency by producing a paper or project that is associated with completion of one of the four option area courses.  Sports Management students are required to submit a copy of the paper produced for PED 733. This does not mean that you complete a separate formal research project like a thesis or seminar paper. Submit a final copy of the paper as evidence of your scholarship.

Papers and Projects

Description.  Whatever you choose to use to satisfy the research requirement should be something you have already completed or are in the process of completing for one of your option area classes. Most graduate level courses require some sort of formal paper or class project to complete the course. The paper must be your own original work. It cannot be the result of a group effort. Here are a couple of examples:

Example 1. An MSAS candidate who works in a Human Resource department was asked to revise the organization's policy and procedures manuals on Affirmative Action. This was a topic studied in PSY 776 Personnel Selection and in COM 617 Communication and Diversity in the Workplace. The candidate revised the documents and then wrote a paper that explained how changes in the document were influenced by the courses completed. A copy of the organization's revised manuals plus a formal paper constituted the candidate's research.

Example 2. An MSAS candidate who works for a large software company in New Jersey completed COM 736 Communication in Organizations. The final project in the course involved an analysis of an organization's culture. This student chose to analyze his own organization. To satisfy his research requirement, the student took the paper he did for his course, made the corrections that were suggested and submitted the completed paper.

Example 3. An MSAS candidate was very interested in community issues, especially a local controversy concerning water quality. The candidate saw a connection between what was going on in her community with COM 611 Communication and Conflict. For her class research project the candidate conducted a detailed analysis of the controversy and prepared an action plan that could be used to better manage the conflict that was developing on this local issue. The finished paper satisfied a course requirement and the MSAS research requirement.

All papers submitted as evidence of original scholarship must conform to one of the following style manuals: the most recent editions of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), or The Chicago Manual of Style, or the Modern Language Association's Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (MLA).