Research in Mass Communication : A Practical Guide

by Poindexter, Paula M.; McCombs, Maxwell E.

• ISBN13: 9780312191627
• ISBN10: 0312191626
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-11-12
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

Using a real-world, interdisciplinary approach, Research in Mass Communication provides students with a step-by-step guide to planning, conducting, and applying mass communication research in both academic and industry settings. Students learn how to conduct and interpret research for a variety of fields within mass communication--journalism, advertising, public relations, and broadcasting--and then discover how to assess and analyze it. This invaluable reference tool offers dozens of guiding checklists and plentiful sample materials--reinforcing the material and providing students with the skills they'll need as professionals.

Table of Contents

To the Instructor	vii
To the Student	xi
Acknowledgments	xvii
Contents	xxi
Checklists, Sample Materials, and Figures	xxix
About the Authors	xxxv
PART I Introduction	1	(20)
Introduction to Research and the Three-Phase Research Process	3	(18)
PART II Applying the Three-Phase Research Process to Survey Research	21	(162)
The Pre-Research Phase and the Decision Maker	23	(10)
The Research Phase and the Research Expert	33	(23)
The Survey Questionnaire	56	(22)
Selecting Survey Respondents	78	(20)
Interviewer Training and Survey Data Collection	98	(14)
Coding and Processing Survey Data	112	(15)
Survey Data Analysis and Statistics	127	(27)
Reporting Survey Research Results	154	(21)
The Post-Research Phase and the Decision Maker	175	(8)
PART III Content Analysis, Experiments, Focus Groups, and Other Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods	183	(112)
Content Analysis	185	(30)
Experiments	215	(24)
Focus Groups and One-on-One Depth Interviews	239	(34)
More Research Methods	273	(22)
PART IV Research Issues, Applications, Ethics, and the Future	295	(82)
Researching Racial and Ethnic Minorities	297	(24)
Research in the Academic Environment	321	(22)
Research Applications, Ethics, and the Future of Communication Research	343	(34)
Appendixes	377	(52)
Glossary	429	(6)
References	435	(6)
Index	441