COMM 302 Research Reflection

As the semester draws to a close, I want to reflect on my main project for COMM 302: Communication Research Methods I and also to discuss my experience using Wix.

Beginning this course, I already had an ePortfolio created from previous courses, but I was able to further curate it. The overall design and organization is what I like most about my ePortfolio. Organization was very important because I used this portfolio for a total of three courses this year. I created individual categories for current and past courses so that my blog posts are organized and easily searchable. I simplified the design and color palette as well. Green was my color of choice because it represents growth and positivity. In past courses, the Course Projects tabs was not utilized and left empty. This semester, I was able to fill it with several projects from my courses. My course long project was a research project that consisted of researching, writing a research proposal, and creating a presentation using Jing, a voice over program. Using Jing, I was able to create a screencast and showcase my presentation in my ePortfolio. I had never used this software before but I am so glad that I was able to learn how to use this program! My new found knowledge of this will help me in many future projects, I am sure. It is important for me to be able to show that I am savvy in various media methods. My ePortfolio provides examples of both my writing and creativity.

For the course long project, I completed a research proposal about the effects of cultural diversity within the work place. documenting the steps from the initial ideas phase until final execution. The actual survey was not executed, but the planning and possible outcomes were researched. Taking the time to research and think through an artificial experiment was difficult, but a great learning opportunity. It required a lot of critical thinking and execution. I appreciated how the project was broken down into “mini assignments” throughout the semester. The mini assignments kept me on track so I wasn’t scrambling at the end to complete a 10-page essay. This assignment required me to keep up with every piece that I submitted because I needed to build on it to further establish my overall project. If I could have done anything differently, I would have researched my survey method more thoroughly and expanded on that. I very much enjoyed the topic I chose to research and is something that I value. I also enjoyed watching the presentations of my classmates, it was very insightful.