Example of responses and how they are graded:  What are the differences betwe

 
Example of responses and how they are graded:  What are the differences between advocacy and scientific theories?
High quality: Advocacy theories are theories that are presented with a thesis and then evidence is collected and formed into a well-structured argument to support the thesis. Scientific theories are theories that begin with a question, that is then formed into a hypothesis and is tested to determine whether or not that theory is true.
Why is this a high-quality response? The students addressed the differences concisely in two sentences, using their own words and providing an example.
Medium quality: An advocacy theory first presents a thesis position, then assembles evidence in an argument to support that thesis. A scientific theory presents a set of explanatory propositions that are speculations about the phenomenon that furthermore require testing to determine their value. In a comparison between the two, they differ in terms of purpose, treatment of evidence, and criteria for judging quality. For example, scholars who use advocacy theories look for evidence to support their position so as to maximize the strength of their argument. In comparison, scholars who use scientific theories do the opposite, and instead are less concerned with winning an argument than with refining their explanations so that they better fit the patterns within the phenomenon itself.
Why is this a medium quality response? The student understood what each effect meant. However, the response was not succinct.
Low quality: Advocacy theories are those which present a thesis first, then assemble evidence to support that thesis. 
Why is this a low quality response? Student did not completely answer the question. Students that don’t use own words as much as expected or are not succinct are also considered low quality.
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Reading Guide Module 3
Theory & Analysis of Media effects: Chapters 2 & 3
To assist you with the assigned readings, I have developed an outline of questions for you to answer. Think about this as a key for what information to pay attention to in the reading. Research shows that students learn and retain information better when they can write it down in their own words.
Try to answer the questions within these guides in your own words rather than copying and pasting the content from readings/lectures. The idea is to see if you can succinctly answer the question in your own words based on the knowledge you gained from your readings/lectures. Try to answer each question within one to three sentences.
1. Chapter 2: What are the differences between the exploratory and explanatory phase of research in the following dimensions? (4 points, 1 point for each dimension)
a. Motivation for research studies
b. Design of research studies
c. Perspective on building knowledge
d. Nature of findings
2. Chapter 2: What are the limitations of large fragmented literature?
3. Chapter 2: What is the role of theory in the media effects scholarship? How often is it used and why?
4. Chapter 3: What are the different conceptualization of media effect?
5. Chapter 3: What are the different conceptualization of media influence?
6. Chapter 3: What kinds of changes can theoreticians make to theory to advance its conceptual development?
7. Chapter 3: What is the difference in introducing a theory through an empirical pattern focus versus speculation focus?