Eck and Stomski 1

Melissa Eck and Jacqueline Stomski

2102 Worcester Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
October 17, 2016
Dr. Sahar Mohamed Khamis
2104 Skinner Building
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
RE: Research Project
Dear Doctor Sahar Mohamed Khamis,
Our names are Melissa Eck and Jacqueline Stomski, and we are currently enrolled in Professor
Anna Szczepaniec-Bialass Introduction to Professional Writing course. Melissa Eck is an
English Language and Literature major, with concentrations in Pre-Law and Broadcast Media.
Jacqueline Stomski is an Arabic Studies major. Our course requires us to study a professional
writer for a semester-long ethnographic research project. We are both interested in the role of
Arab women in social media, especially as it pertains to the recent revolutions of the Arab
Spring. This past summer, Jacqueline saw your presentation to UMDs Arabic Summer Institute
Cohort on the Arab Spring. She was intrigued by the research methods you use to make your
discoveries. Melissa currently works for a major media outlet that produces documentaries
focused on the impact social media has on Arab countries. We are hopeful for an opportunity to
observe you in your Communications 468A course (Seminar in Mediated Communication; Arab
Media), as well as inquire about your research methods, so that we can develop an in-depth
perspective on data collecting in regards to Arab media. Our research could be beneficial to you
because it would emphasize public awareness of Arabs in various social mediums through both
verbal and written communication.
This course is centered on an ethnographic research report that details how a professional writer
researches, uses critical skills, and writes in the workplace. As a benchmark assignment, we are
required to create a proposal for this research project. Our first draft for this proposal is due on
October 24, 2016, with a final draft to be submitted by October 31, 2016. This proposal is
needed to supplement our final ethnographic report that is due by the final day of classes
(December 12, 2016). As a part of our research, we would hope to observe you in your
workplace and review various documents that you have produced. We would compile these
observations as field notes, which would then be reflected in our ethnographic research report.
In addition, we would like to interview you about certain documents you have produced outside

Eck and Stomski 2

of the course. These documents might include your masters thesis A Comparative Study of the
News Credibility of Egyptian Television and Daily Newspapers and PhD dissertation Egyptian
Rural Women and Televisions Public Awareness Programmes, as well as any other documents
you might suggest. Our particular observations will allow us to gain insight into your writing
style and research process, as it pertains to reporting pertinent information on Arab women and
the media. Our research will in no means interfere with your work, and we will assure you that
your name is kept anonymous. We would like to meet with you after we collect our data and
draft a final report, as well as before we submit our final report. In this way, we would be able to
incorporate your input concerning our research. Finally, our analysis, final report, and other
related writings will be made available to you to view.
We hope to have an opportunity to meet with you soon to discuss this assignment in greater
length and answer any questions you may have regarding our deadlines or privacy concerns. We
can be reached Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays via our email addresses at
meck@terpmail.umd.edu and jstomski@umd.edu. We shall contact you soon to see if we might
meet. We look forward to hearing from you.
Respectfully,
Melissa Eck and Jacqueline Stomski