Media and Communication Research Methods - International Student Edition

Arthur Asa Berger is Professor Emeritus of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts at San Francisco State University, where he taught between 1965 and 2003. He has published more than 100 articles, numerous book reviews, and more than 60 books. Among his latest books are the third edition of Media and Communication Research Methods: An Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches (2013), The Academic Writer’s Toolkit: A User’s Manual (2008), What Objects Mean: An Introduction to Material Culture (2009), Bali Tourism (2013), Tourism in Japan: An Ethno-Semiotic Analysis (2010), The Culture Theorist’s Book of Quotations (2010), and The Objects of Our Affection: Semiotics and Consumer Culture (2010). He has also written a number of academic mysteries such as Durkheim is Dead: Sherlock Holmes is Introduced to Sociological Theory (2003) and Mistake in Identity: A Cultural Studies Murder Mystery (2005). His books have been translated into eight languages and thirteen of his books have been translated into Chinese.

• Preface to the Fifth EditionAcknowledgementsIntroductionRound Up the Usual SuspectsApplying the Focal Points Model to MediaHow I Became a Man without QuantitiesDate Man versus Date-Free ManKinds of Questions Researchers AskConclusions of a Man without Quantities, Who Is also a Practicing TheoreticianIntroduction: Applications and ExercisesI. GETTING STARTED1. What Is Research?We All Do Research, All the TimeScholarly Research Is Different From Everyday ResearchCultural Studies and ResearchNietzsche on InterpretationProblem of CertaintyDiachronic and Synchronic ResearchThe Way the Human Mind WorksOvert and Covert OppositionsThinking Fast and SlowQuantity and Quality in Media ResearchMedia and CommunicationWhy a Book That Teaches Both Methodologies?Considering Research TopicsWhat Is Research? Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther Reading2. The Research ProcessSearch StrategiesSources of InformationHow to Read AnalyticallyCritical ThinkingCritical Thinking as Defined by the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, 1987Doing a Literature ReviewPrimary and Secondary Research SourcesSearching on the Internet (or “Find the Info if You Can!”)Using the Internet to Conduct ResearchAnalyzing Methodology in Research ArticlesThe Research Process: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther ReadingII. METHODS OF TEXTUAL ANALYSIS3. Semiotic AnalysisSaussure’s Division of Signs into Signifiers and SignifiedsSemiotics of BlondenessSemiotics and SocietyPeirce’s Trichotomy: Icon, Index, And SymbolAllied ConceptsFoucault on Codes and Cultural ChangeMarcel Danesi on Codes and CultureClotaire Rapaille on Culture CodesSemiotics in Society: A RepriseSyntagmatic Analysis of TextsParadigmatic Analysis of TextsApplications of Semiotic TheoryPaul Ekman on Facial ExpressionSemiotics: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther Reading4. Rhetorical AnalysisAristotle on RhetoricRhetoric and the Mass MediaA Brief Note on the Communication ProcessCerteau on Subversions by Readers and ViewersApplied Rhetorical AnalysisA Miniglossary of Common Rhetorical DevicesOther Considerations When Making Rhetorical AnalysesA Sample Rhetorical Analysis: A La Mer AdvertisementRhetorical Analysis of the Visual ImageImages in Narrative TextsGangsta Rap and American Popular CultureRhetorical Analysis: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther Reading5. Ideological CriticismMannheim’s Ideology and UtopiaDefining IdeologyMarxist CriticismRoland Barthes on MythologiesThe Problem of HegemonyThe Base and the Superstructure, False Consciousness, and the “Self-Made Man and Woman”Post-Soviet Marxist CriticismSociety of the SpectacleBasic Ideas in Marxist CriticismA Marxist Interpretation of the Fidji “Snake” AdvertisementJohn Berger on GlamourIdentity PoliticsFeminist Criticism of Media and CommunicationThe Social Conception of KnowledgePhallocentric Theory: The Physical Basis of Male DominationPolitical Cultures, the Media, and CommunicationPop Cultural and Media Preferences of the Four Political CulturesMarxist Perspectives on Social MediaA Preview of Critical Discourse AnalysisIdeological Criticism: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther Reading6. Psychoanalytic CriticismFreud’s ContributionSmartphones and the Psyche: Applying the Theories of Erik EriksonSmartphones and the SelfNeuropsychoanalysis: Freud and NeuroscienceJungian TheoryPsychoanalytic Criticism: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther Reading7. Discourse AnalysisDefining Discourse AnalysisTeun A. Van Dijk on Discourse AnalysisSpoken and Written DiscourseStyles and Written DiscoursePolitical Ideologies and Discourse AnalysisCritical Discourse AnalysisAdvertising and Critical Discourse AnalysisMultimodal Discourse AnalysisMultimodal Critical Discourse AnalysisFashion and Discourse AnalysisA Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of an AdvertisementDiscourse Analysis: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther ReadingIII. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS8. InterviewsThe Prisoner Interviews Number TwoWhat Is an Interview?Four Kinds of Research InterviewsWhy We Use InterviewsHow to Interview PeopleKinds of QuestionsQuestions Investigative Reporters AskThe Structure of Conversations and InterviewsTranscribing Recorded InterviewsMaking Sense of Transcribed InterviewsCodingProblems with Interview MaterialInterviews: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther Reading9. Historical AnalysisWhat Is History?History as Metadiscipline or Specialized SubjectIs History Objective, Subjective, Or A Combination Of The Two?The Importance of Fernand BraudelKinds of Historical ResearchThe Problem of Writing HistoryThe Problem of MeaningHistorical PeriodsBaudrillard and Jameson on PostmodernismPostmodernism and HistoriographyThe Historical and the Comparative ApproachHistory Is an Art, Not a ScienceDoing Historical ResearchHistorical Analysis: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther Reading10. Ethnomethodological ResearchDefining EthnomethodologyGarfinkel’s Ingenious and Mischievous ResearchNorbert Wiley’s Interesting Perspective on Harold GarfinkelUsing Ethnomethodology in Media and Communication ResearchMetaphors and MotivationLove Is a GameHumorists as Code ViolatorsTechniques of HumorEthnomethodology and the Communication ProcessEthnomethodological Research: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther Reading11. Participant ObservationDefining Participant ObservationSignificant Considerations When Doing Participant ObservationA Case Study of Participant Observation: Readers of Romance NovelsProblems with Participant ObservationBenefits of Participant Observation StudiesMaking Sense of Your FindingsWriting up A Participant Observation StudyAn Ethical DilemmaEthics and Research Involving HumansParticipant Observation: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther ReadingIV. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS12. Content AnalysisDefining Content AnalysisWhy We Make Content AnalysesMethodological Aspects of Content AnalysisAspects of ViolenceAdvantages of Content Analysis as a Research MethodDifficulties in Making Content AnalysesContent Analysis Step-By-StepContent Analysis: Applications and ExercisesA Cautionary Note from Denis McQuailConclusionsFurther Reading13. SurveysDefining SurveysKinds of Surveys: Descriptive and AnalyticThe VALS Typology SurveyMethods of Data CollectionAdvantages of Survey ResearchProblems with SurveysSurveys and the 2012 Presidential ElectionSurveys and the 2016 Presidential ElectionA Note on Media Usage Surveys: Shares and RatingsOpen-Ended and Closed-Ended Survey QuestionsWriting Survey QuestionsMaking Pilot Studies to Pretest SurveysConducting Online SurveysSamplesObtaining Random SamplesEvaluating Survey AccuracySurveys: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther Reading14. ExperimentsEveryday ExperimentationDefining ExperimentsThe Structure of an ExperimentThe Hawthorne EffectAdvantages of ExperimentsDisadvantages of ExperimentsThe “Black Rats” Case and Experimental FraudA Checklist on Experimental DesignWhat’s An Experiment and What Isn’t?Ethics and the Facebook ExperimentExperiments: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther Reading15. A Primer on Descriptive StatisticsLevels of MeasurementDescriptive StatisticsMeasures of Central TendencyMeasures of DispersionThe Normal or Bell-Shaped CurveThe Problem with RatingsA Cautionary Note on StatisticsUsing Statistics to Support a ClaimStatistics and ComparisonsData on Media Use in AmericaSmartphonesThe Problem of InterpretationStatistics and Problems Caused by DefinitionsStatistics: Applications and ExercisesConclusionsFurther ReadingV. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER16. Nineteen Common Thinking ErrorsCommon FallaciesConclusionsFurther Reading17. Writing Research ReportsKeeping a JournalA Trick for Organizing ReportsOutlines, First Drafts, and RevisionsWriting Research ReportsThe IMRD Structure of Quantitative Research ReportsWriting Correctly: Avoiding Some Common ProblemsAcademic Writing StylesA Checklist for Planning Research and Writing ReportsConclusionsFurther ReadingGlossaryReferencesAuthor IndexSubject IndexAbout the Author