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the field of communications research. Specifically, our research will focus on Doctor
Specifically, Dr. Khamis uses her professional writing to help Western students develop
deeper perspectives about the Middle East through written and verbal communication.
Our research will focus on the different forms of writing that Dr. Khamis uses while
communicating with her students in her COMM428 seminar, which focuses on the role of
Arab women in social media during the Arab Spring. In addition, we hope to examine
Western perceptions of the Middle East, especially towards Arab and Muslim women.
Our questions will allow us to form images of both her research process and the ways in
which she shares her research with the Arab and Western worlds. We aim to understand
how Dr. Khamis has had to alter her diction from researching in the Middle East to
publishing her research in the Middle East and Western World. Also, we hope to examine
the terminology she utilizes, and how it must change across cultures. We plan to
interview Dr. Khamis outside of the classroom, as well as conduct interviews with a few
of her students. In doing this, we will be able collect data on how her research has
impacted students perspectives of the Middle East. Some examples of questions we may
ask:
1. How did you conduct your initial research regarding the role of Arab women in social media
a. Do you find the questions you asked in your investigations to be inhibited by cultural barriers?
If so, how?
2. When publishing and/or sharing your research in the United States, do you encounter particularly
curriculum? What writing methods do you use to help students understand your research?
5. Through our own outside research, we have found that you use social media postings as data for
your research. Have you noticed specific stylistic or usage differences within social media
process?
a. How do you navigate between obtaining data and creating research documents based upon that
data?
We are investigating this topic and individual in particular because we are both very
interested in the role of the media in the Arab Spring, as well as its usage in combating
racial biases. We agree that Dr. Khamis is one of the best individuals to observe these
topics because she is an academic expert on Arab and Muslim media. In addition, her
role as an educator in the Western World probes our interest. Dr. Khamis publishes her
research in both the Middle East and in the Western world, so she has to use distinctly
different diction and styles in order to convey persuasive information about her subjects.
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As Dr. Khamis emphasizes her bicultural status and knowledge, we believe that she can
offer insight into the experiences she faces in combating racial stereotypes.
III. Research Subject:
Our research subject, Dr. Sahar Mohamed Khamis, is a Communications professor at the
University of Maryland, with expertise in Arab and Muslim media. Originally from Egypt,
Dr. Khamis headed the Department of Mass Communication and Information Sciences at
Qatar University before coming to teach at the University of Maryland. Dr. Khamis has
published numerous books and papers in both Arabic in English, and currently hosts a
radio show on the first Arab-American radio network. Her show broadcasts throughout
the U.S. and Canada. In addition, Dr. Khamis teaches COMM428A, a seminar course that
demonstrates her research on Arab communication through the lens of social media. In
particular, we would like to inquire about the writing and research methods she used in
creating her two books, Egyptian Revolution 2.0 and Islam Dot Com.
IV. Data Collection Methods:
We intend to gather various writing samples of Dr. Khamis, including her published
works, radio show transcripts, and lesson plans. In order to gain a holistic image of the
ways in which she broadcasts her research, we will compare the differences in diction
that she uses in her multimedia approach. Furthermore, we intend to interview Dr.
Khamis to learn how she sees her style of writing changes when addressing her Western
audiences. Through our interviews, we hope to understand the impact Dr. Khamis has on
Western and Arab culture through her different types of publications. While we would
ideally conduct all interviews in person, we can conduct interviews over the phone if
needed. If we cannot attend Dr. Khamiss class in person, we would hope to review her
lesson plans and course materials. We would also like to be put in contact with a handful
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of her students to discuss their perspectives of media in the Middle East while taking her
course.
V. Data Analysis:
In order to make sense of our data collection methods, we will create Microsoft Word
documents that reflect the comments made in our handwritten field notes. In order to use
those field notes to answer our research questions, we will develop word clouds for each
Microsoft Word document so that we can see the most used words in Dr. Khamiss
profession. We will eliminate article words to ensure that our word data are used in
understand the genre of communication studies, specifically in the context of Arab social
media. We will also make audio recordings of all interviews, so that we can accurately
describe the perspectives of Dr. Khamis and her students. In order to collect and analyze
our data from our ethnographic research project, we will use the following methods
writing, and speech with each other (266). In particular, we will be looking at the
kinds of information that Dr. Khamis hands off and to whom, as well as how she
radio audience. For example, we might examine how she interacts with her
students when she starts class. Does she use a powerpoint to lecture to her
students? Does she provide paper handouts to her students to allow them to
engage in group work? These are just some of the questions that would be
that distinguishes it from others, and technical communicators who seek to fit into
culture. This collection of information gathering is broken down into four parts.
developed and are sustained. Third, we have to uncover the problems of external
adaption that a professor faces. Fourth, we come to an consensus about how these
understand how to trace and analyze the writing process (366). Their heuristic is
understand the types of writing that Dr. Khamis uses as a professor, as well as her
emphasize duties and obligations, respect for difference and care of others,
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began her academic studies in Cairo, Egypt, so we must pay special attention to
how her character has been shaped by her experiences in Egypt and the U.S. In
addition, we must note where her biggest obligations and commitments lie,
genre chose and used by technical writers must adapt and evolve to new
[of your subjects technical writing genre]you can more comfortably stretch
writing as a professor who provides lessons to her students and analyzes the
assignments her students turn in. In addition, we must be flexible to the changing
pace or topics in Arab media that her students adapt to. In doing this, we will be
able to act as a liaison between students and Dr. Khamis, providing our audience
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with an unbiased observation of the documents and writing techniques she uses to
to ELMS
and in-
class
Note: As we arrange meeting times with Dr. Sahar Mohamed Khamis, we will reflect those dates
our schedule.
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Works Cited
Blakeslee, Ann M., and Gerald J. Savage. "What Do Technical Communicators Need to Know