COMM 1305: Understanding Communication: Social Scientific

Understanding a Research Article

90 points
Must be submitted via ICON in .pdf or .docx format. No email submissions will be accepted.

For this assignment, you will find and summarize an academic journal article. The purpose of this assignment
is to familiarize yourself with the University of Iowa’s library resources, as well as practice reading and
summarizing scholarly research in communication.

Important tips:
o The purpose of this assignment is to show that you can summarize important information from
academic journal articles. Thus, it is imperative that you stay within the suggested length while
addressing all of the questions/prompt.
o The purpose of this assignment is also to show that you understand the information contained in
academic journal articles. Thus, it is imperative that you use your own words as much as possible
rather than relying on excessive quotes.

Here is what you will need to do in order to be able to complete your homework assignment:
1) Find this article:
Lundy, L. K., Ruth, A. M., & Park, T. D. (2008). Simply irresistible: Reality TV
consumption patterns. Communication Quarterly, 56(2), 208-225.
2) Read the article carefully
3) Complete the posted worksheet by downloading it onto your computer, answering each of the
prompts/questions, and re-uploading the completed document to ICON. Your submitted document should
be no less than 2 and no more than 3 pages in length.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Use proper APA by using proper in-text citations and provide a full citation of the article. Use your own words
to describe the research as much as possible and use proper citations throughout. Do not cite anything you
did not actually read in its original form, which includes articles the authors are citing.

Remember, writing style counts – be sure to proofread.

If you need a refresher on APA style guidelines, please follow this link:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/