Becoming Media Researchers, Digital Media Methods, and Ethnographic Approaches
Research Log – 3 x 500 words,or 2 x 750 words (1,500 words total) - 30%
Your research log should draw on your notes from seminars (and lectures) but should be more than just notes: it should consist of discussion, explanation, reflection and any preliminary analyses you may have made. It follows that your log should be more than a list of points or ideas. Rather, your points and ideas should be worked up and interconnected into a continuous piece of writing, although you can include short lists to illustrate your discussion or provide examples. As it is a piece of academic work, the log should draw on and reference appropriate academic literature as relevant. Therefore, part of the task is to connect what you are reporting on from your seminars / lectures with the relevant literature. Be sure to list your bibliography at the end of each log (not included in word count). In terms of style, the log should be written in the first person because it is a report of what you did.
The best strategy to approach this assessment is to do it as you go, that is, to write or at least outline a log after each seminar, then choosing which of the three logs to develop for your submission.
Research Log Prompts: Choose two or three of the following prompts. If you choose 2 you should write 750 words each, if you choose 3 you should write 500 words each. See below for more instructions on if you choose two prompts. Please note that the Week 5 topic is not included in the prompts below.
'Becoming Media Researchers'
Write a critical reflection using the questions below, drawing on Stokes and other relevant other literature from the further readings lists and elsewhere, and on your lecture/ seminar notes. What are some of the reasons why it is important to study or research the media? What are some of the limitations? In what ways can/do we study the media? Otherwise put, what kinds of approaches do we find in media studies? What ‘research values’ do you think are important in media studies? How do they relate to your interests in media studies?Starting your research process'
Discuss how you would potentially define and build up a collection of sources, or a sample of participants, for one of the hypothetical research projects discussed in the seminar. Drawing on your essential and further readings and lecture/ seminar notes, include and comment on the practical and ethical considerations of developing your sample/ collection of sources. The research project you discuss can be one that you or your group have devised.
'Analysing written texts'
Report on the preliminary thematic analysis of data that you have conducted. How did you find themes in the data? What were the different patterns you began to see emerging? Did you reach any preliminary analytic insights? Be sure to include any visual thematic maps that you may have begun to draw.
'Digital media methods'
Report on two or three of different digital media methods explored in the readings, lecture and seminar. Briefly define these methods and choose an example platform on which you could conduct research using these methods. Report on the benefits and limitations of different digital media methods approaches in researching your chosen platform.
'Ethnographic approaches'
Report on the preliminary plan to hold interviews or undertake observation fieldwork for your hypothetical project (e.g. who you would plan to include and why, how you would find and recruit these people to participate in your project, ethical and practical considerations), and give examples of the kinds of questions you would plan to ask them, or situations that you would plan to observe and why - note: do not just include a long list of proposed interview or focus group questions - instead, ensure you include some paragraphs that connect your plan to this week's core / further readings, and your seminar/ lecture notes.
'Political economy'
Report on the steps you took to begin to take a political economic approach to a select piece of media, company or industry. What did you begin to find? What kinds ofchallenges did you encounter? How might you try to address these challenges if you were pursuing the research?
If you choose two prompts, you need to ensure that you should include more references and do more reading around the subject to demonstrate appropriate engagement with those two prompts. In other words, if you choose to write 2 x 750 word logs, you should not just meet these higher word counts with 'filler'. You need to put in the same amount of time and effort that you would put in for 3 x 500 words - thus, your 2 prompts will have to be thoroughly researched, referenced and detailed.
RESEARCHING MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION
By [Insert Your Name]
Course Code and Name
Professor’s Name
University’s Name
City and State
Date
Becoming Media Researchers
Jane Stokes emphasizes the importance of research methods in her book “How To Do Media and Cultural Studies.” One of the primary reasons why studying or researching the media is crucial is that it helps people understand the world better. Individuals study the media since they want persuasive answers to various questions (Silverstone, 1999, p. 11). For example, were it not for researching the media, I would not have known about the cultural practices of different groups of individuals. In addition, media research enables us to borrow various concepts from distinctive disciplines, including literary studies, history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and ethnomethodology (Stokes, 2002, p. 2). Studying the media has enabled me to know more about quantitative and qualitative research methods. A significant limitation of studying media can be deciding the topic or research question. Stokes argues that deciding the research topic when studying some media, cultural, or film studies can be overwhelming in specific cases (Stokes, 2002, p. 8). In that light, the topic might be very broad, and narrowing it down might lead to leaving out vital details. I study the media by analyzing the content, semiotics, genre, auteur, narrative, and star. Notably, different approaches to media studies can be used during research, such as surveying, observation, focus groups, interviewing, and oral history. I think there are numerous research values that are crucial in media studies. Some of them include source credibility, trustworthiness, fairness, and truth. These values relate to media studies since they contribute to identifying credible sources that are used to support the selected research topic.
“Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-Time Researchers” by Judith Bell and Stephen Waters depicts the crucial things that researchers should observe throughout the study process. They give a hypothetical research project involving a final-year undergraduate undertaking his or her research study and being supervised by the tutor (Bell & Waters, 2018, p. 14). I can already figure myself finding credible sources to come up with a long essay or dissertation. As a researcher, I would first develop a hypothesis or primary research question. That would help me to define or identify the sources that I am going to use. For example, once I have the hypothesis, I will open various scholarly databases, such as ProQuest, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar to search for sources that support or reject my hypothesis. In other words, I would develop a literature that enables the researcher to know the direction that he or she will take throughout the research. If I intend to involve participants, I would conduct a survey or interview to gather the information that I need. Later, the data collected should be well-analyzed and interpreted. During the research, ethical and practical considerations must be adhered to throughout. In particular, ethics refers to the guiding principles that enable the researcher to decide what is wrong or right (Bell & Waters, 2018, p. 63). For example, in the scenario of an undergraduate researching in preparation for writing his or her final-year paper, all the sources obtained should be referenced and in-text citations included to recognize others’ ideas. If an interview is conducted, participants should be treated well and their privacy and confidentiality should not be violated.
Digital Media Methods
Specifically, the data availability and increasing application of digital platforms have significantly contributed to the transformation of media and communication. Technological advancement has led to the rise of different digital media methods, including electronic documents and software. In the course readings, seminars, and lectures, the use of electronic documents has been mentioned. For example, currently, people can share electronic documents by sending emails or using social networking platforms. The digital communication change has led to the rise of platformization and datafication (Troeger & Bock, 2022, p. 44). Indeed, there are numerous digital platforms that individuals can use to share information with others regardless of their geographical locations. The world has been reduced to a global village, where anyone can reach out to others in other places without moving physically. The other common digital media method is the use of software, including applications. There are millions of apps developed to facilitate distinctive functions, including but not limited to money transfer, business transactions, socialization, games, sports, and news sharing among others. Since the number of people owning electronic devices is increasing daily, more apps are being developed to enhance different functionalities to make life easier. For instance, by using a smartphone, an individual can record a video and edit it. Moreover, one can take pictures and post them on the Internet. Notably, I usually share various images on my social networking platforms and get feedback from friends. Some of these contents are informative or persuasive. That way, communication has become easy, and physical location is no longer a barrier when using the web.
Digital media has facilitated the faster circulation of data, cultural and social exchange, and informatio...