Case Study: Dynamics of Group Communication

The purpose of the final project is to assess the depth of your knowledge of our course material, as well as your ability to apply this knowledge in meaningful and practical ways. 

For this assignment, you will write an original case study about the dynamics of group communication.  The goal is to bring several ideas together into a coherent narrative that demonstrates insights and critical thinking, resulting in a complete case study that could be used by future students in this course.  

Here are the requirements for your case study:

• Must be 2500-3000 words    [5 pts] 
• Must be clear that this case is about a group (civic, professional, or hybrid) and about communication    [5 pts] 
• Clearly identifies whether this is a decision, problem, OR evaluation case (though there may be some modest overlap)   [5 pts] 
• Clearly foregrounds at least one topical area from our course material, while also incorporating aspects of all four learning units (though not necessarily every weekly topic)    [10 pts] 
• Develops a scenario that is problem-focused—there is an underlying issue(s) to address—and involves competing interests and priorities but with no clear “right” answer    [10 pts] 
• Written in a narrative framework that involves multiple characters/stakeholders and includes a number of critical incidents that require the reader to make a decision and/or that invite the reader to evaluate the decisions of the characters involved   [10 pts] 
• Interesting and compelling scenario that draws readers into the story and holds their attention   [10 pts] 
• Encourages inductive reasoning: invites analysis of specific events in order to illustrate or discover general principles   [5 pts] 
• Ends ambiguously with an overall sense of “what would you do…and why?”  [5 pts]  

*Most of these requirements are rooted in our Case Study Approach  Download Case Study Approachreading  

As you develop your case study, focus more on SHOWING through actual dialogue/interactions not just TELLING through an omniscient narrator

Additionally, your case must also include the following components:

• 3-5 learning objectives listed at the beginning   [5 pts]    
• 5-8 discussion questions at the end    [5 pts] 
• 5-8 key terms with concise definitions listed at the end    [5 pts] 
• 5-8 research citations for further reading    [5 pts] 
• Attractive layout (color, fonts, use of whitespace, callout boxes, etc.)    [5 pts] 
• Quality formatting: single-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, fully justified text, one space between paragraphs, paragraphs not indented, page numbers at bottom right   [5 pts] 
• Quality writing: spelling, grammar, coherence, clarity, etc.    [5 pts] 
• Pictures or graphics are welcome, but not required 

*Please submit your case study as a Word document or a .pdf file (no Google Docs or .pages files please)