Mass Media Research: Introduction and Methods

Introduction to Mass Media Research

• Research is defined as discovering something
• Daily activities rely on research through information and tests when making decisions
• Basic steps to business success involve finding out what the audience wants, providing it, and informing the audience that you have provided it; research is the way to accomplish this

Meaning of Research

• Beginning researchers are concerned with how to use, when to use, and what to do with research methods and statistical procedures
• Algorithms refer to the statistical procedures or formulas generated during research
• "Scientific research is organised, objective, controlled either qualitatively or quantitatively via empirical analysis involving one or more variables"
• All research, both formal and informal, begins with a basic question or proposition

Methods of Knowing

• There are four common methods of knowing: tenacity, intuition, authority, and science

Tenacity Method

• States that something is true because it has always been true
• Example: "I don't eat meat because my family doesn't eat meat"

Intuition Method

• Also known as the priori approach
• Asserts that something is true because it is self-evident or stands to reason
• It is built on guts, emotions, or instincts

Authority Method

• Something is true because a trusted source, such as a celebrity, says so

Scientific Method

• Views learning as a step-by-step process where truth is discovered via objective analysis series
• The scientific method is not appropriate for art, religion, and the likes but is relevant in mass media research

Characteristics of the Scientific Method

• There are five basic characteristics used
• Science must be public; with information that is freely available
• Science must be objective; dealing with facts, not interpretations
• Science must be empirical; knowable and measurable
• Science must be systematic and cumulative; each study builds on former work
• Science is predictive; linking the present to the future

Two Research Sectors

• There are two major categories of research: academic/basic and private/applied

Private Sector Research

• Use results for decision-making purposes
• Deadlines are present
• It is expensive

Academic Research

• Results are made public
• Used for theory purposes
• Timeline accommodates teaching schedules
• It is comparatively less expensive
• Both private and academic research share a common goal: understand problems and predict the future

Mass Media Research

• Mass media deals with forms of communication in order to simultaneously reach a large number of a heterogeneous audience through newspaper, magazine, radio, TV etc
• Mass media research applies the scientific process of investigation to media and its endpoint, communication
• Mass media research studies the mass media to optimally reach the audience

Mass Media Research Cont.

• Mass media research is the systematic investigation and discovery of the use of print, broadcast and new media to solve communication-oriented problems
• Aim to scientifically appreciate: The Medium, Media Industry, Media Message, Media Audience, Media Effect

Mass Media Research Procedures

• Steps include:
  • Identify a problem (topic)
  • Review existing literature
  • Develop a research question or hypothesis
  • Determine an appropriate methodology/research design
  • Collect relevant data
  • Analyse and interpret the results.
  • Present the results appropriately
  • State the conclusion from the data
  • Make valid recommendations
  • Discuss the contribution to knowledge

Sourcing for Topic Ideas

• Research topic ideas can be sourced from:
  • Personal observation
  • Current/topical issues
  • Media engagement
  • Interactions/discussions
  • Literature review
• Topic should be in an area of interest to the researcher

Mass Media Research Procedures

• A research topic is the researchers' guide on what to study
• Qualities of a good topic:
  • Relevance: addresses a concern
  • Topical: subject of discuss
  • Recency: current event
  • Scope: defined boundaries
  • Objective: yields results for generalization
  • Innovative: makes new discoveries
  • Media oriented
  • Concise: less than 21 words