ALC 208: Researching Media: Texts, Audiences and Industries

1. ALC 208: Researching Media: Texts, Audiences and Industries Welcome

2. Week 1- Introduction Introduction • Qualitative & • Quantitative Research Methods • How they are applied in the everyday professional practices of journalism, public relations, media production and media and communication. • Basic statistics only • Unit prepares you to work as a research assistant.

3. Common Applications of Research Methods • Content analysis- Google searches • Focus groups- Advertising, marketing, political campaign research • Participant Observation/Field Studies- ‘Mystery shoppers’, regular journalism, ‘New’ or ‘Gonzo’ journalism. • Depth interviews /Archival research- Biographies, TV/Film scripts • Surveys- Polls, SETUs.

4. Online Resources and the Library Searching for journal articles and databases for the necessary information • See details on pages 2-3 in unit’s Study Guide • Work on SmartSearcher Tutorial Look up • Communication Abstracts & • Communication & Mass Media Complete On DSO search via • Useful Deakin Links- Deakin Library

5. Why study Research Methods? • Science Fiction Writer-Issac Asimov • Compared everyone learning science to a sport fan knowing and understanding the rules of a sport to follow and enjoy it. • Helps members of public, policy makers, professional practitioners, students in the field to understand how research is done, what is researched and reported and the implications of findings.

6. Types of Research 1. Basic (pure/public/academic) research • For ‘Discovering Knowledge’ eg. ARC Discovery Grants • Carried out for academic purposes as universities and research institutes- eg. CSIRO • Cheaper to conduct as organisations bear cost of overheads and salaries • Findings made public

7. Types of Research (Contd.) 2. Applied (private/Sponsored) Research • Seeks practical applications and solve specific problems. Eg. ARC Linkage Grants • Funded by industry • More expensive as done by commercial research companies and independent consultants • Findings not always made public- may only publish positive results

8. Types of Research (Contd.) Overlap between Basic and Applied research For functions and purposes e.g. Neilson / OZTAM/Arbitron ratings for TV/radio • Both academic and industry use findings of each other • So avoid stereotypes of: • ‘unrealistic’, ‘Ivory tower’ or ‘pedantic’ (Basic research) & • ‘limited in scope’ or ‘self serving’ (Applied research)

9. A Theory • Way of explaining and understanding a phenomenon • Maps that guide us from where we are to where we want to go in an organised and efficient manner • Describes, explains and predicts a phenomenon and sometimes suggests how it may be controlled (in the natural world but not the social world as people are complex and the social world is not easily controlled).

10. Types of Theories 1. Personal theories- personal, subjective and used in everyday communication. Hard to change even with contradictory evidence. e.g. Superstitions, prejudices. 2. Scholarly theories- Social scientific, resulting from scholarly research, systematic inquiry and analysis, generalisations and predictions. e.g. Boyle’s Law. 3. Common Sense theories- based on what wee know as true from experience. Can be scientifically proven as correct. e.g. Adding salt to reduce acidity of a fruit or vegetable.

11. Video Viewing-Can TV Kill? – 1995 Documentary • Exercise: Examine the research article provided (See DSO). • Stern, S R 2005, ‘Self-absorbed, dangerous and disengaged: What popular films tell us about teenagers’, Mass Communication & Society, vol 8, no. 1, pp. 23-38. • Is this academic or applied research or both? • Why do you think so? • What is the rationale for this study (reason or importance of this research) provided by the author? Please retain this article for the entire semester, especially to help you work on Assignment 1.