Media and Communication Research; An Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

by Berger, Arthur

• ISBN13: 9780761918530
• ISBN10: 0761918531
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-03-21
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc

Summary

In this book, Arthur Asa Berger combines a practical focus, the use of numerous examples, a step-by-step approach, and humour to examine both qualitative and quantitative research methods in media and communication research.

Author Biography

Arthur Asa Berger is Professor of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts at San Francisco State University

Table of Contents

Introduction	xiii
Round Up the Usual Suspects	xiii
How I Became a Man Without Quantities	xv
Data Man Versus Data-Free Man	xvi
Conclusions of a Man Without Quantities, Who Is Also a Practicing Theoretician	xviii
Acknowledgments	xxi
Part I. Getting Started	1	(32)
What Is Research?	3	(18)
We All Do Research, All the Time	3	(2)
Scholarly Research Is Different From Everyday Research	5	(2)
The Problem of Certainty	7	(1)
Diachronic and Synchronic Research	8	(1)
On the Way the Human Mind Works	9	(2)
Overt and Covert Oppositions	11	(2)
On Quantity and Quality in Media Research	13	(2)
Media and Communication	15	(1)
Why a Book That Teaches Both Methodologies?	16	(1)
Considering Research Topics	16	(1)
Conclusions	17	(1)
Further Reading	17	(4)
Library Searches	21	(12)
Why Library Research Is So Important	21	(1)
Search Strategies	22	(1)
Doing a Literature Review	23	(1)
Primary and Secondary Research Sources	23	(2)
Sources for Library Research in Media and Communication	25	(1)
Other Sources of Information	26	(6)
Analyzing Methodology in Research Articles	32	(1)
Conclusions	32	(1)
Further Reading	32	(1)
Part II. Methods of Textual Analysis	33	(76)
Semiotic Analysis	35	(18)
Saussure's Division of Signs Into Signifiers and Signifieds	36	(3)
Peirce's Trichotomy: Icon, Index, and Symbol	39	(1)
Allied Concepts	40	(3)
Semiotics in Society: A Reprise	43	(1)
The Syntagmatic Analysis of Texts	44	(2)
The Paradigmatic Analysis of Texts	46	(2)
Applications of Semiotic Theory	48	(3)
Conclusions	51	(1)
Further Reading	51	(2)
Rhetorical Analysis	53	(18)
Aristotle on Rhetoric	53	(2)
Rhetoric and the Mass Media	55	(2)
A Brief Note on the Communication Process	57	(3)
Applied Rhetorical Analysis	60	(1)
A Miniglossary of Common Rhetorical Devices	61	(3)
Other Considerations When Making Rhetorical Analyses	64	(1)
A Sample Rhetorical Analysis: A Saturn Advertisement	65	(3)
Conclusions	68	(1)
Further Reading	68	(3)
Ideological Criticism	71	(22)
Mannheim's Ideology and Utopia	71	(1)
Defining Ideology	72	(1)
Marxist Criticism	73	(9)
Feminist Criticism of Media and Communication	82	(3)
Political Cultures, the Media, and Communication	85	(5)
Conclusions	90	(1)
Further Reading	91	(2)
Psychoanalytic Criticism	93	(16)
Freud's Contribution	94	(8)
Jungian Theory	102	(4)
Conclusions	106	(1)
Further Reading	106	(3)
Part III. Qualitative Research Methods	109	(62)
Interviews	111	(18)
What Is an Interview?	111	(1)
Four Kinds of Research Interviews	111	(1)
Why We Use Interviews	112	(2)
How to Interview People	114	(3)
The Structure of Conversations and Interviews	117	(2)
Transcribing Tapes	119	(3)
Problems With Interview Material	122	(3)
Conclusions	125	(1)
Further Reading	125	(4)
Historical Analysis	129	(16)
What Is History?	129	(2)
History as Metadiscipline or Specialized Subject	131	(1)
Is History Objective or Subjective or a Combination of the Two?	131	(2)
Kinds of Historical Research	133	(1)
The Problem of Writing History	134	(1)
The Problem of Meaning	135	(1)
Historical Periods	136	(2)
The Historical and the Comparative Approach	138	(1)
History Is an Art, Not a Science	138	(1)
Doing Historical Research	139	(2)
Conclusions	141	(1)
Further Reading	142	(3)
Ethnomethodological Research	145	(16)
Defining Ethnomethodology	145	(3)
Garfinkel's Ingenious and Mischievous Research	148	(2)
Using Ethnomethodology in Media and Communication Research	150	(3)
Humorists as Code Violators	153	(2)
On the Techniques of Humor	155	(2)
Ethnomethodology and the Communication Process	157	(1)
Conclusions	157	(1)
Further Reading	158	(3)
Participant Observation	161	(10)
Defining Participant Observation	161	(3)
Significant Considerations to Deal With When Doing Participant Observation	164	(2)
Problems Connected With Participant Observation	166	(1)
Benefits of Participant Observation Studies	167	(1)
Making Sense of Your Findings	168	(1)
An Ethical Dilemma	169	(1)
Conclusions	170	(1)
Further Reading	170	(1)
Part IV. Quantitative Research Methods	171	(68)
Content Analysis	173	(14)
Defining Content Analysis	173	(1)
Why We Make Content Analyses	174	(2)
Methodological Aspects of Content Analysis	176	(3)
Aspects of Violence	179	(2)
Advantages of Content Analysis as a Research Method	181	(1)
Difficulties to Contend With in Making Content Analyses	182	(1)
A Simple Content Analysis Research Assignment	183	(1)
Doing a Content Analysis: A List of Steps to Take	184	(1)
Conclusions	185	(1)
Further Reading	185	(2)
Surveys	187	(22)
Defining Surveys	188	(1)
Kinds of Surveys: Descriptive and Analytic	188	(1)
Methods of Data Collection	189	(2)
Advantages of Survey Research	191	(1)
Problems With Using Surveys	192	(1)
A Note on Media Usage Surveys: Shares and Ratings	193	(1)
Open-Ended and Closed-Ended Survey Questions	194	(2)
Writing Survey Questions	196	(2)
Making Pilot Studies to Pretest Surveys	198	(1)
On the Matter of Samples	199	(4)
Evaluating the Accuracy of Surveys	203	(2)
Conclusion	205	(1)
Notes	206	(1)
Further Reading	206	(3)
Experiments	209	(10)
Everyday Experimentation	209	(1)
Defining Experiments	210	(1)
The Structure of an Experiment	211	(2)
Advantages of Experiments	213	(1)
Disadvantages of Experiments	214	(1)
A Checklist on Experimental Design	214	(1)
What's an Experiment and What Isn't?	215	(1)
Conclusions	216	(1)
Further Reading	217	(2)
A Primer on Descriptive Statistics	219	(20)
Felianka Kaftandjieva
Levels of Measurement	219	(1)
Descriptive Statistics	220	(3)
Measures of Central Tendency	223	(5)
Measures of Dispersion	228	(1)
Standard Deviation	229	(1)
The Normal or Bell-Shaped Curve	230	(3)
The Problems With Ratings	233	(1)
A Cautionary Note on Statistics	234	(1)
Statistics and Comparisons	235	(1)
Data on Media Use in America	236	(1)
On the Problem of Interpretation	237	(1)
Conclusions	238	(1)
Note	238	(1)
Further Reading	238	(1)
Part V. Putting It All Together	239	(26)
Nineteen Common Thinking Errors to Avoid	241	(10)
Common Fallacies	242	(6)
Conclusions	248	(1)
Further Reading	248	(3)
Writing Research Reports	251	(14)
A Trick for Organizing Reports	252	(1)
Writing Research Reports	253	(2)
The IMRD Structure of Quantitative Research Reports	255	(2)
Writing Correctly: Avoiding Some Common Problems	257	(4)
A Checklist for Planning Research and Writing Reports on Your Research	261	(1)
Conclusions	262	(1)
Further Reading	263	(2)
References	265	(4)
Glossary	269	(16)
Name Index	285	(2)
Subject Index	287	(8)
About the Author	295