MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION RESEARCH METHODS An Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

Second Edition

Arthur Asa Berger San Francisco State University

dSAGE Los Angeles | London | New Delhi

Singapore | Washington DC

Detailed Contents

Preface to the Second Edition xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction 1

Round Up the Usual Suspects 1 How I Became a Man Without Quantities 4 Data Man Versus Data-Free Man 4 Conclusions of a Man Without Quantities,

Who Is Also a Practicing Theoretician 6 Introduction: Applications and Exercises 7

PART I. GETTING STARTED 9

1. What Is Research? 11

We All Do Research, All the Time 11 Scholarly Research Is Different From Everyday Research 13 Nietzsche on Interpretation 14 The Problem of Certainty 16 Diachronie and Synchronic Research 17 On the Way the Human Mind Works 18 Overt and Covert Oppositions 20 On Quantity and Quality in Media Research 22 Media and Communication 24 Why a Book That Teaches Both Methodologies? 25 Considering Research Topics 25 What Is Research? Applications and Exercises 26 Conclusions 26 Further Reading 27

2. Library Searches Why Library Research Is So Important 29 Search Strategies 31 How to Read Analytically 31 Doing a Literature Review 32 Primary and Secondary Research Sources 33 Sources for Library Research in Media and Communication Other Sources of Information 35 Searching on the Internet or the Game of "Find the

Info If You Can!" 39 Analyzing Methodology in Research Articles 41 Library Searches: Applications and Exercises 42 Conclusions 42 Further Reading 43

PART II. METHODS OF TEXTUAL ANALYSIS 45

3. Semiotic Analysis 47

Saussure's Division of Signs Into Signifiers and Signifieds 48

The Semiotics of Blondeness 51 Semiotics and Society 52 Peirce's Trichotomy: Icon, Index, and Symbol 53 Allied Concepts 54 Clotaire Rapaille on Culture Codes 57 Semiotics in Society: A Reprise 58 The Syntagmatic Analysis of Texts 60 The Paradigmatic Analysis of Texts 63 Humpty Dumpty: A Paradigmatic Analysis 64 Applications of Semiotic Theory 65 Paul Ekman on Facial Expression 68 Semiotics: Applications and Exercises 69 Conclusions 71 Further Reading 71

4. Rhetorical Analysis 73

Aristotle on Rhetoric 73 Rhetoric and the Mass Media 75 A Brief Note on the Communication Process 78 Michel de Certeau on Subversions by Readers and Viewers 79 Applied Rhetorical Analysis 80 A Miniglossary of Common Rhetorical Devices 82 Other Considerations When Making Rhetorical Analyses 85

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A Sample Rhetorical Analysis: A Saturn Advertisement Rhetorical Analysis: Applications and Exercises 88 Conclusions 88 Further Reading 89

5. Ideological Criticism

Mannheim's Ideology and Utopia 91 Defining Ideology 92 Marxist Criticism 93 Roland Barthes on Mythologies 94 The Problem of Hegemony 95 The Base and the Superstructure and the

"Self-Made Man and Woman" 96 Post-Soviet Marxist Criticism 97 Basic Ideas in Marxist Criticism 98 A Marxist Interpretation of the Fidji

"Snake" Advertisement 99 John Berger on Glamour 102 Identity Politics 103 Feminist Criticism of Media and Communication 104 The Social Conception of Knowledge 106 Phallocentric Theory: The Physical Basis

of Male Domination 107 Political Cultures, the Media, and

Communication 108 Pop Cultural and Media Preferences of the

Four Political Cultures 112 Ideological Criticism: Applications and Exercises 114 Conclusions 114 Further Reading 115

6. Psychoanalytic Criticism

Freud's Contribution 118 The Unconscious 118 The Oedipus Complex 119

Human Sexuality 121 The Id, Ego, and Superego 122 Defense Mechanisms 124 Symbols 126

Jungian Theory 127 Archetypes 127

The Collective Unconscious 128 The Myth of the Hero 129

The Anima and the Animus 129 The Shadow Element in the Psyche 130

Psychoanalytic Criticism: Applications and Exercises 131 Conclusions 131 Further Reading 132

PART III. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS 133

7. Interviews 135

What Is an Interview? 135 Four Kinds of Research Interviews 136 Why We Use Interviews 137 How to Interview People 138 Questions Investigative Reporters Ask 140 The Structure of Conversations and Interviews 143 Transcribing Tapes 145 Making Sense of the Information on Transcribed Interviews 145 Coding 146 Problems With Interview Material 149 Interviews: Applications and Exercises 151 Conclusions 151 Further Reading 152

8. Historical Analysis 155

What Is History? 155 History as Metadiscipline or Specialized Subject 157 Is History Objective or Subjective or a

Combination of the Two? 158 Kinds of Historical Research 159 The Problem of Writing History 160 The Problem of Meaning 162 Historical Periods 163 Baudrillard and Jameson on Postmodernism 164 The Historical and the Comparative Approach 165 History Is an Art, Not a Science 166 Doing Historical Research 166 Historical Analysis: Applications and Exercises 138 Conclusions 169 Further Reading 170

9. Ethnomethodological Research 173

Defining Ethnomethodology 173 Garfinkel's Ingenious and Mischievous Research 176

Using Ethnomethodology in Media and Communication Research 178

Love Is a Game 180 Humorists as Code Violators 181 On the Techniques of Humor 183 Ethnomethodology and the Communication Process 185 Ethnomethodological Research: Applications and Exercises 185 Conclusions 186 Further Reading 186

10. Participant Observation 189

Defining Participant Observation 189 Significant Considerations to Deal With When

Doing Participant Observation 192 A Case Study of Participant Observation:

Readers of Romance Novels 194 Problems Connected With Participant Observation 195

The Problem of Focus 195 The Problem of Observers Affecting Behavior 196

The Problem of Unrecognized Selectivity 196 The Problem of Mind Reading 196 The Problem of Validity 196

Benefits of Participant Observation Studies 197 Making Sense of Your Findings 197

Dealing With Actions 197 Dealing With What People Think 198 Using Concepts to Interpret Your Findings 198

A n Ethical Dilemma 199

Ethics and Research Involving Human Beings 199 Participant Observation: Applications and Exercises 200 Conclusions 201 Further Reading 201

PART IV. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS 203

11. Content Analysis 205

Defining Content Analysis 205 Why We Make Content Analyses 207 Methodological Aspects of Content Analysis 208 Aspects of Violence 211 Advantages of Content Analysis as a Research Method 213 Difficulties to Contend With in Making Content Analyses 214

Doing a Content Analysis: A List of Steps to Take 215 Content Analysis: Applications and Exercises 217 Conclusions 218 Further Reading 218

12. Surveys 221

Defining Surveys 222 Kinds of Surveys: Descriptive and Analytic 222 The VALS Typology Survey 224 Methods of Data Collection 225 Advantages of Survey Research 227 Problems With Using Surveys 228 A Note on Media Usage Surveys: Shares and Ratings 229 Open-Ended and Closed-Ended Survey Questions 230 Writing Survey Questions 232 Making Pilot Studies to Pretest Surveys 234 Conducting Online Surveys 235 On the Matter of Samples 236 Obtaining Random Samples 237

Simple Random Samples 238 Stratified Random Samples 239 Clustered Samples 240

Evaluating the Accuracy of Surveys 240 Surveys: Applications and Exercises 243 Conclusions 243 Further Reading 244

13. Experiments 247

Everyday Experimentation 247 Defining Experiments 248 The Structure of an Experiment 249 Advantages of Experiments 251 Disadvantages of Experiments 252 A Checklist on Experimental Design 252 What's an Experiment and What Isn't? 253 Experiments: Applications and Exercises 255 Conclusions 255 Further Reading 256

14. A Primer on Descriptive Statistics 259

with Felianka Kaftandjieva Levels of Measurement 259 Descriptive Statistics 260

Frequency Distribution 261

Measures of Central Tendency 264 The Mean 265 The Median 266

The Mode 267 Measures of Dispersion 268

Range 268 Standard Deviation 269 The Normal or Bell-Shaped Curve 269 The Problems With Ratings 273 A Cautionary Note on Statistics 274 Statistics and Comparisons 274 Data on Media Use in America 275 On the Problem of Interpretation 277 Statistics: Applications and Exercises 278 Conclusions 279 Further Reading 279

PART V. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER 281

15. Nineteen Common Thinking Errors to Avoid 283

Common Fallacies 284 Conclusions 289 Further Reading 290

16. Writing Research Reports

Keeping a Journal 294 A Trick for Organizing Reports 296

The Secret: One Idea Per Slip of Paper 297 Outlines, First Drafts, and Revisions 297 Writing Research Reports 298 The IMRD Structure of Quantitative Research Reports Writing Correctly: Avoiding Some Common Problems More on Academic Writing Styles 305 A Checklist for Planning Research and Writing

Reports on Your Research 306 Conclusions 307 Further Reading 308

References

Glossary

Index

About the Author

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