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Gizir, Sidika, Hasan Simsek. "Communication in an Academic Context." Higher Education 50 (2005): 197-221. Print.


The stated purpose is to examine a qualitative case study to understand common communication problems in an academic setting. Mainly, the authors are looking at how faculty members define communication and the various problems with communication in and between departments.The authors interviewed various professors in both the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ sciences. Then, using the definition of communication and the problems represented by the faculty, the authors listed the problems and a resolution to them.  Actually, I do not think the authors’ methods were appropriate. There was simply not enough research done. There was no initial definition of communication. Instead of an interview, there should have been more of a case study, as the abstract indicated it was. There should have been more observing and less interfering. The idea of the paper was too fluid to be conclusive, the case study too weak to observe anything truly problematic.


This paper deals mainly with the issues found at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey. Obviously, the Middle Eastern culture, and ways of communication, is not the same as the culture, and thus communication, in the US or the UK. However, this paper did give me an idea about the flexibility in communication. Because I do not agree with the way this “case study” was executed or the conclusion drawn, I realized I need to have specific questions when dealing with the idea of “communication”. In addition, I need to have a definite definition of communication, a sure foundation on which to build. In all, I need to be more exact.