Doing Media Research An Introduction

by Susanna Hornig Priest

• ISBN13: 9780803972933
• ISBN10: 0803972938
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-11-14
• Publisher: Sage Publications

Summary

Written in a straightforward and engaging style, this innovative textbook explains fully both qualitative and quantitative methods used in communication research.Doing Media Research guides the reader step-by-step through media research methodology. To facilitate a thorough understanding of the purpose and theories behind the various methodological approaches, the book is divided into four sections. Part One lays out the foundations to each approach, Part Two describes the types of research questions and data collection required, Part Three details a range of quantitative approaches, and Part Four examines qualitative methods. The author concludes with a discussion of special considerations for current media research.

Table of Contents

Introduction

PART ONE: ROOTS: SOCIAL SCIENCE FOUNDATIONS

A Philosophy of Social `Science'

Anthropology and the Range of Human Experience

Psychology and the Experimental Method

Sociological Study of Organizations and Institutions

PART TWO: DIGGING UP ANSWERS: ASKING QUESTIONS AND COLLECTING DATA

Developing a Research Question

Counting

A Quantitative Methods Primer

Interpreting

Introducing Qualitative Methods

PART THREE: TOOLBOX: QUANTITATIVE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES

Describing a Data Set

From Sample to Population

Testing Hypotheses

Explorations

PART FOUR: COOKBOOK: ANALYZING QUALITATIVE DATA

Qualitative Research Revisited

Writing Descriptive Summaries

PART FIVE: BRANCHING OUT: THE WIDER WORLD OF RESEARCH

Research Horizons

Writing the Research Report