MECM20011-Approaches to Media Research

Research Proposal 

The major piece of assessment for this subject is a research proposal that builds on everything you have learned about research this semester. You are to develop a plan that could be used to conduct rigorous and insightful research into a research question of your choosing. You may choose one of the suggested research questions overleaf as a starting point, or you may develop your own research question from scratch (if you choose the latter, you must get your research question approved by your tutor).

The suggested research questions are deliberately left open to allow you scope to focus on your own specific area of interest within them. It is up to you decide which method and approach is most suited to answering your chosen research question. Some questions are clearly written with a specific approach in mind, while others may be open to multiple different approaches. You may make use of mixed methods approaches where appropriate (e.g. quantitative content analysis and qualitative textual analysis). Note also that while most of these questions are written with mass media outlets in mind, you may choose to apply them to social media or other publishers of news and journalism (check with your tutor if in any doubt about the suitability of the outlet chosen).

If you have any questions, please raise these in your tutorials or consult with your tutor in the first instance.

Questions

1. a) How often, and in how much depth, is x issue reported in mainstream media?

b) To what extent does the frequency and depth of coverage correlate with the significance afforded to the issue in other areas of social life?

2. a) Which issues are most salient in x media outlet/s during y time period?

b) How does this correlate to audience views of issue importance?

c) To what extent do these findings support an ‘agenda-setting’ theory of the media?

3. a) What discourses are dominant in media coverage of x?

b) How do these discourses connect to broader structures of power and knowledge in society?

4. a) Which frames are salient in media coverage of x?

b) To what extent do these frames differ across different [news outlets or cultural/ geographic regions]?

c) What are the likely reasons for the difference in news frames?

5. a) How do news audiences respond to media coverage of x?

b) On what interpretative registers do audiences draw in decoding media coverage of x?

6. a) To what extent is media driving audience attitudes towards x?

b) What other factors, besides media coverage, are significant in driving audience attitudes?

7. a) How has the media representation of x changed over the past 10 years?

b) What are the likely reasons for this change?

8. a) What are the preferred sources of news amongst x age/demographic group?

b) What are the major motivating factors affecting x group’s news preferences?

9. a) What type of network structure do social networks forming around x hashtag take?

b) Who or what are the most influential nodes in social networks forming around x hashtag? c) What does this network structure reveal about the nature of online conversations concerning x hashtag?

10.a) How is the issue of x represented in y media outlet/s?

b) To what extent do [political and economic factors AND/OR social and cultural factors] play a role in influencing the representation of x issue?

11.a) To what extent does coverage of x issue differ across news outlets owned by the same parent company?

b) How does this compare to coverage of the same issue across news outlets owned by different parent companies?

c) To what extent do these findings support the hypothesis that high concentration of media ownership limits the diversity of content available to audiences?