Conducting Research

Conducting Research

A postgraduate degree in Communication Arts and Sciences is foremost a research degree. Graduate students learn to conduct high quality research that will advance knowledge, develop and test theory, and offer novel and compelling insights into communication in our society. Conducting research carries with it important responsibilities, including upholding standards for scholarly integrity, following guidelines for the treatment of human research subjects, promoting ethical professional conduct, and navigating the realm of co-authorship and collaboration.

What is the Scholarly and Research Integrity Requirement?

Effective August 2009, all entering graduate students, by act of the Graduate School, must complete two online courses involving (1) the Responsible Conduct of Research and (2) Training in the Use of Human Subjects. These are both completed through the CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) program. Students must complete the two courses by no later than November 1 in the first year of their entry into the Graduate Program.

Students also need to take part in five additional hours of instruction concerning the responsible conduct of research and research integrity, with one hour completed outside the department and offered by the Graduate School. The department complements and facilitates completion of this requirement through a 1-hour discussion during orientation as well as two 1.5-hour discussion sessions focused on topics related to scholarship and research integrity.

Such instruction ordinarily will occur during one’s first year. Failure to complete these requirements will prevent one from earning a degree.