Research Proposal & Presentation

In the Spring 2025 semester, I completed COMM 302, a course dedicated to introducing students to social scientific investigation of communication. In the course, I learned how to examine how communication processes, behaviors, and phenomena can be studied using careful research design and ethical data collection. For the entire semester, I was tasked with completing a research proposal and presenting it. The topic for the paper was "Modern Digital Relationships." For my paper, my topic was "The Role of Social Pressure and FoMO on Spending in Free-To-Play Games." While working through the proposal, I had to develop original research questions and hypotheses, suggest methods for answering or testing, suggest possible outcomes, and discuss shortcomings of my research design. ​​​​

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During my research stage, I had to learn new skills such as how to write a proper literature review, something I had only done once previously. By doing this, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the process. I can critically evaluate scholarly sources on a more nuanced level than before, identifying gaps where further research is needed. While brainstorming my topic, I initially struggled to come up with something because I was either too broad or too narrow. Additionally, I had to figure out a way to tie in gaming, which proved challenging due to the limited research available on my first topic. However, after narrowing down to focus on free-to-play games and peer influence, I found my research topic.

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After that, the process became easier, as I was able to gather other research for my literature review, then look for research gaps that I could develop further into a research proposal. Through this experience, I developed my research skills, professional writing capabilities, presentation skills, and critical analysis while working. This process showed me a different side to communication research, something that I may be interested in pursuing as a future career. Additionally, having these skills is crucial to both my majors, as extensive research is required to develop effective products and identify areas for improvement in a business.