Communication Introductions

[CommPhD]

I thought I'd start a new thread since a lot of people seem to be reading the current "HOT" thread but not a lot of people are posting I thought it would also be nice to start something that isn't focused on application decisions because I'm sure we are all very stressed out!

So I'd like to hear about you!

I'm currently a master's student, getting a bit stir-crazy because I front-loaded my credits in my program so I have a lot of free time this semester. I am interested in gender and sexuality and my biggest struggle when applying for PhDs was figuring out where/how I fit. I don't fit neatly into traditional 'levels' of communication (which programs are so often organized by), like interpersonal, organizational, media, etc. Regardless, I think I was able to find some excellent prospective programs.

I am critical/qualitative oriented (social justice and all that good stuff), but am also very analytical and enjoy reading and doing quantitative research. I love the communication discipline because of its variety and because of how fundamental communication is to life experience.

So what do you do? What is your focus? What draws you to communication? Cheers!

[MediaMom]

Hi there..

A little bit about me: My undergrad degree is in English and my M.S. is in organizational communication. I finished my M.S. in 2002, and over the last ten years I've worked in PR and magazine journalism and, most recently, teaching communication and English courses at two colleges. My family recently relocated for my husband's job, and I've been unable to line up a teaching job in our new city. So for now, I'm focused on being a mom (I have a one-year-old and a three-year-old) while also doing a little independent research and trying to get a jump start on some reading before beginning school in the fall. As a Ph.D. student I hope to study media effects, specifically how mass media messages influence disclosure and decision-making in healthcare contexts and within interpersonal relationships. I'm also interested in the role of communication technologies in building and maintaining relationships, and in the critical analysis of media, especially TV.

I love the communcation field because, as gurlsaved mentioned, it is so broad, and there are so many avenues to explore within the discipline as a researcher and as a teacher. I adore teaching college students and as much as I want to develop my skills as a scholar, I know that I want to be in the classroom full time. I'm also a total TV addict/dorky fangirl at heart, and the thought of spending my career researching and writing about media is very attractive to me.

I've enjoyed discovering this forum and reading about everyone's journey.

[MediaMom]

@CommPhD - Ha, that's a good question. My M.S. program was more practice-oriented than academic, and because at the time I did not think I would want to continue with school, I chose not to follow the thesis track. So I don't have a lot of research experience beyond small-scale projects done for class, and a paper I wrote and presented this past fall on an activity I use when teaching interpersonal communication. What I do know about research methodology is mostly self-taught. I find that I am more drawn to qualitative methods - I'm interested in things like conversation analsys, rhetorical analysis, and ethnography - but the studies I read that cover the kind of content I'd like to be covering do have a strong quantitative component. I think my best bet is to focus on using mixed methodology, trying to study as broad a range of methods as possible. We shall see! It's been so long since I was a student that I'm eager to try out as many new things as I can.