Intro to mass media research

Prof. Dr. Akhlas Ahmed

Lecture # 02, July 9th 2014Greenwich University

WHAT IS RESEACH?

Verb

The systematic investigation into

Study of materials and sources in order to

establish facts

Reach new conclusion

The systematic, rigorous investigation of a

situation or problem in order to generate new

knowledge or validate existing knowledge.

Some Important Questions What is research?

Why it is so important?

When will research process commence?

What is the need of a research?

Where to do the research?

How to start the research?

What types of research are there?

What ethical considerations are there when conducting

research?

How might research findings be used?

TYPES OF RESEACH

Qualitative Research

Descriptive in nature

Paradigm usually associated with the socially

constructed nature of reality. It is about

recording, analyzing and attempting to uncover

the deeper meaning and significance of human

behavior and experience, including contradictory

beliefs, behaviors and emotions.

TYPES OF RESEACH

Quantitative Research

Analytical in nature

Quantitative research is generally associated

with the positivist/post-positivist paradigm. It

usually involves collecting and converting data

into numerical form so that statistical

calculations can be made and conclusions

drawn.

VARIABLES USED IN RESEARCH

A variable is an object, event, idea, feeling, time period, or

any other type of category you are trying to measure.

Therefore, variables are measurable characteristics or

properties of people or things that can take on different

values.

A variable is something that can change, such as gender,

which can be either male or female, age which can be 15

years old, 16 years old, 20, 38 or 30 years old and

variables are typically the focus of a study.

TYPES OF VARIABLES

There are two major types of variables

Independent variable

Dependent variable

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE An independent variable is one which is manipulated by

the researcher. It is like the knob on a dial that the

researcher turns.

An independent variable is that stands alone and isn’t

changed by the other variables you are trying to measure.

Example: someone’s age is an independent variable.

Other factors such as what they eat, how much they go to

school, how much television they watch aren’t going to

change a person’s age. In fact, when you are looking for

some kind of relationship between variables you are trying

to see if the independent variable causes some kind of

change in the other variables, or dependent variables.

DEPENDENT VARIABLE A dependent variable is one which changes as a result of

the independent variable being changed. Just like an

independent variable, a dependent variable is exactly

what it sounds like. It is something that depends on other

factors.

Example, a test score could be a dependent variable

because it could change depending on several factors

such as how much you studied, how much sleep you got

the night before you took the test, or even how hungry you

were when you took it. Usually when you are looking for a

relationship between two things you are trying to find out

what makes the dependent variable change the way it

does.

EXAMPLES OF VARIABLES

There are two major types of variables

Independent variable

Dependent variable

MEDIA RESEARCH Media is the most powerful tool of

communication. It helps promoting the right things on right time. It gives a real exposure to the mass audience about what is right or wrong. Even though media is linked with spreading fake news like a fire, but on the safe side, it helps a lot to inform us about the realities as well.

Media research helps the producer know what kind of his /her audience and their needs at that time, its better for a Radio presenter to know at what time he/she can play a certain type of music to a particular type of age group for example POP Music to youth and jazz for adults.

TYPES OF MEDIA RESEARCH

1. Readership2. Circulation3. Management4. Typography-makeup's5. Readability6. Online-media use

IMPORTANCE OF MEDIA RESEARCH

Media has a constructive role to play for the society. Today News Channels and even some Newspapers are mouthpiece of some social issues, which helps us to estimate the realities of lives.

Media has played an important role in order to focus on the social issues in almost every era. It is the fact that in most of the eras, media were not being given free and fair chances to explore the issues of society more openly than it is being given now; but we can't deny this fact that the issues were always raised in order to provide justice to the people.

Pakistani Media has expanded it's chain during this era, and many cases and issues were brought under one umbrella, which showcase us that even today, we are bounded in the barriers of loads of problems and issues, which is to be sought out.

Now, the time has arrived, when we need to re-think about our attitudes towards society.

VARIABLE USED IN MEDIA RESEARCH

HOW DOES MEDIA RESEARCH DIFFER FROM

THE OTHER FORM OF RESEARCH?

ROLE OF RESEARCHERIN MEDIA

WHY IS RESEARCH IMPORTANT IN MEDIA

INDUSTRY?

4W & 1H

Your…MEDIA Research project !

RESEARCHPROCESS…

SERIES OF STEPS which make up

research from the development of an

idea to the completed research paper.

Research Process

Ordered set of activities focused on…

systematic collection of information

using accepted methods of analysis

as a basis for drawing conclusions

and making recommendations.

There are five basic steps of any research process

Research Process… 1. Defining Research Needs2. Developing a Research

Strategy3. Conducting Research4. Evaluating Resources5. Incorporating Resources

First step in any process is defining what you need…

1. Describe your research need through developing any hypothesis.(an idea that attempts to explain something but has not yet been tested or proved to be correct)

2. Distinguish between different types of resources to decide which to use.

FIRST STEP

DEFINING RESEARCH NEEDS

Understand your assignment Think different problematic issues Identify a real problem Pick manageable task Suggest suitable title for research Turn idea into research questions. Discuss your idea with others Define research topic explain idea as project summary Distinguish between different

types of resources to decide which to use.

Make vision for your project Develop aims & objectives or

goals for your research project Write down project summary Find the best resources suitable

for your assignment.

Defining Research Need

Second step in any research process is developing research strategy…

1. Build a key word search2. Brainstorming search terms to

get the most relevant information.

SECOND STEP

DEVELOPING RESEARCH

STRATEGY

Visualize what exact information you need. Find out the ways & means for the research. Make plan which kind of resources would you like to utilize for research project.

A good search strategy will help you in writing a research procedure, formulating research methodology & research mission statement (action plan).

DevelopingResearch Strategy

Build a list of important keyword Discuss these key words, find out the keyword synonyms , consider word spellings, forms & structure, brainstorm the research concept The success of a search depends on the keywords you use in your research and how you combine them.

THIRD STEP

CONDUCTING THE

SEARCH

Third step in any process is conducting the search…

1. Start searching info 2. Review literatures3. Plan research samples4. Conduct surveys5. Keep interviews6. Link to useful websites

Visit university library… Find books, magazines, journals in the libraries catalog Find articles through newspaper catalog

Find any reputable digital library… Select valuable search engine Choose good web portal or

website Use online dictionaries, literatures,

encyclopedias, presentations, word docs for the access of information

There is no shortage of information sources at your disposal! A variety of options are available, including books, periodicals, and web sites. Your job is to sift through the information glut and find the best resources for your assignments.

Let's talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the different types of information sources: books, scholarly journals, popular magazines, and the Internet. Double check the whole research concept , design and process

FOURTH STEPEVALUATING RESOURCES

Fourth step in any research process is evaluating resources…

1. Evaluating all info extracted from database, articles, books, periodicals, journals etc.

2. Analyze collected info from web

Sort out relevant info from articles, books, catalogues, magazines… You'll encounter articles that come from two different sources: popular magazines and scholarly journals.

Select useful information… To save time, evaluate the

books, articles, and web sites you find to be sure they are relevant to your research topic

Many students try to "force" resources to fit their assignments instead of continuing to search until they find resources that really fit.

Trying to force quotations and facts that don't fit into a project outline takes a lot of time. Even if you can stick them in somewhere, the result is an assignment that seems poorly planned.

FIFTH STEPINCORPORATING

RESOURCES

Fifth step of research process is incorporating resources…

1. First understanding plagiarism2. Integrating your research data3. Cite your sources4. Give references

Understanding Plagiarism… Copying someone else's words without using quotation marks Quoting someone else's words inaccurately Citing the wrong source

Integrating your Research… To integrate the new

information into your written project thesis presentation and power point presentation after analysis and interpreting data.

Cite your Sources… To create in-text citations in

Final Research Report formats.

Last to create Reference List

Focus…Research Process

Develop Research Report

Presenting… a professional presentation at auditorium in conference / seminar / workshop/ TV program

KEEP ENJOYING !!!AFTER NICE WORK

GOOD LUCK!!!