Berger (2014, p.31) states “Because of the way the human mind works, we are, in a sense always doing research – but not always doing scientific and scholarly research”
I personally didn’t realise how often I researched every day questions or products. I have been on the lookout for a fitness watch but can’t decide which one to get so I find myself on Google reading a crazy amount of reviews, going into the retailers and receiving more information as well as word of mouth information from my peers.
They are all forms of research!
So, what is media research? Berger (2014) states research means to “search for, to find”, it is about looking for information about something. Media is a form of mass communication which can range from digital media, social media platforms, newspapers, radio and television. My understanding of media research is gathering information about a medium, formulating a theory or use a known theory to gain understanding of the nature of the medium as well as gather more information.
Qualitative and quantitative research is a commonly used feature in media research as qualitative is used by applying the right theoretical concepts correctly which includes research of:
- Popular culture case studies
- Philosophy of communication
- media criticisms
- interpretations
Quantitative research can be measured numerically as information gathered is data based using:
- Experiments
- Content Analysis
- Questionnaires
- Surveys
We were also asked what aspects of media would we like to research, at this stage I am currently unsure, and I’ve just been thrown this concept of media research after having little known information prior to this subject. If I were to choose a topic right now it would be social media platforms and how information transitions from one person to thousands in the matter of seconds, it is so interesting that with a click of a button you can reach people without even trying.
I would like to research about charity appeals that use social media platforms to raise awareness of issues that we may not have heard of otherwise. The ‘KONY’ campaign is an example of how social media platforms were used in order to create awareness as it quickly became an overnight trending topic (although it wasn’t exactly credible) and was a main topic in conversation the following day.
Or if I didn’t do that I would like to research about how magazines use social media platforms for articles and if they receive more customers online or with a physical copy.
– Ange
References
Berger, Arthur A. 2014, ‘What is research?’, in Media and communication research methods : an introduction to qualitative and quantitative approaches, 3rd ed., SAGE, Los Angeles, pp. 13-32
McCutcheon, M 2015, ‘What is Media Research?’, powerpoint slides, BCM210, UOW, viewed 11.3.15.
ange pennisi 