MASS MEDIA RESEARCH. (As Per Revised Syllabus of B.M.M. IVth Semester) Prof. Kishwar Panna

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2 MASS MEDIA RESEARCH (As Per Revised Syllabus of B.M.M. IVth Semester) Prof. Kishwar Panna M.A, Former Lecturer, Sociology Department, Maharashtra College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai MUMBAI NEW DELHI NAGPUR BENGALURU HYDERABAD CHENNAI PUNE LUCKNOW AHMEDABAD ERNAKULAM BHUBANESWAR KOLKATA GUWAHATI

3 Author No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording and/or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. First Edition : 2006 Reprint : 2008 Second Revised Edition : 2010 (As per Revised Syllabus) Third Revised Edition : 2016 Published by : Mrs. Meena Pandey for Himalaya Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., Ramdoot, Dr. Bhalerao Marg, Girgaon, Mumbai Phone: / , Fax: himpub@vsnl.com; Website: Branch Offices : New Delhi : Pooja Apartments, 4-B, Murari Lal Street, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi Phone: , ; Fax: Nagpur : Kundanlal Chandak Industrial Estate, Ghat Road, Nagpur Phone: , ; Telefax: Bengaluru : No. 16/1 (Old 12/1), 1st Floor, Next to Hotel Highlands, Madhava Nagar, Race Course Road, Bengaluru Phone: , , , Hyderabad : No , Lingampally, Besides Raghavendra Swamy Matham, Kachiguda, Hyderabad Phone: , Chennai : New-20, Old-59, Thirumalai Pillai Road, T. Nagar, Chennai Mobile: Pune : First Floor, "Laksha" Apartment, No. 527, Mehunpura, Shaniwarpeth (Near Prabhat Theatre), Pune Phone: / ; Mobile: Lucknow : House No 731, Shekhupura Colony, Near B.D. Convent School, Aliganj, Lucknow Phone: ; Mobile: Ahmedabad : 114, SHAIL, 1st Floor, Opp. Madhu Sudan House, C.G. Road, Navrang Pura, Ahmedabad Phone: ; Mobile: Ernakulam : 39/176 (New No: 60/251) 1 st Floor, Karikkamuri Road, Ernakulam, Kochi Phone: , ; Mobile: Bhubaneswar : 5 Station Square, Bhubaneswar (Odisha). Phone: , Mobile: Kolkata : 108/4, Beliaghata Main Road, Near ID Hospital, Opp. SBI Bank, Kolkata , Phone: , Mobile: Guwahati : House No. 15, Behind Pragjyotish College, Near Sharma Printing Press, P.O. Bharalumukh, Guwahati , (Assam). Mobile: , , DTP by : Sanhita Printed at : On behalf of HPH.

4 With Special thanks to God Dedicated to my parents and family for their constant support and encouragement

5 OBJECTIVES To introduce students to debates in Research approaches and equip them with tools to carry on research. To understand the scope and techniques of media research, their utility and limitations.

6 PREFACE This book is an attempt by me, to cover the SYBMM syllabus prescribed for Mass Media Research by the University of Mumbai. I would like to thank all my teachers and students for their faith in me, which has culminated into this book being written. Special thanks to Ms. Saba Lakdawala, Mr. Zuheir Patel and Rihaana Fatema. AUTHOR

7 Objectives: Syllabus Mass Media Research To introduce students to the debates in Research approaches and equip them with tools to carry on research. To understand the scope and techniques of media research, their utility and limitations. Sr. No. Particulars 1 Relevance, Scope of Mass Media Research and Role of Research in the Media 2 Steps Involved in the Research Process 3 Qualitative and Quantitative Research 4 Discovery of Research Problem, Identifying Dependent and Independent Variables, Developing Hypothesis 5 Concept, types and uses of Research Designs (a) Exploratory (b) Descriptive and (c) Causal 6 Data-Collection Methodology (a) Primary Data Collection Methods (i) Depth Interviews (ii) Focus Group (iii) Surveys (iv) Observations (v) Experimentations (b) Secondary Data Collection Methods (c) Literature Review 7 Designing Questionnaire and Measurement Techniques (a) (b) (c) 8 Sampling Process Types and Basics of Questionnaire Projective Techniques Attitude Measurement Scales 9 Data Tabulation and Research Report Format

8 10 Application of Research in Mass Media 11 Introduction to Semiology (a) The Semiotic Approach to the Construction of Meaning (b) Barthes Primary level and Secondary level Signification (c) Semiotic Analysis 12 Content Analysis (a) Definition and uses (b) Quantitative and Qualitative approach (c) Steps in Content Analysis (d) Devising means of a Quantification System (e) Limitations of Content Analysis

9 Contents Sr. No. Page No. 1 Relevance, Scope of Mass Media Research and Role of Research in the Media Steps Involved in the Research Process Qualitative and Quantitative Research Discovery of Research Problem, Identifying Dependent and Independent Variables, Developing Hypothesis Concept, Types and uses of Research Designs Data-Collection Methodology Designing Questionnaire and Measurement Techniques Sampling Process Data Tabulation and Research Report Format Application of Research in Mass Media Introduction to Semiology Content Analysis Bibliography 95

10 Chapter : 1 Relevance, Scope of Mass Media Research and Role of Research in the Media 1.1 Relevance and Scope of Mass Media Research 1.2 Role of Research in Media 1.1 Relevance and Scope of Mass Media Research Research means an attempt to discover something. It can be done formally or informally. In mass media, research is used for different reasons. It can be used to make decisions by the media decision makers or to evaluate problems relating to media. It is used to describe media, analyze the effects of media on the audiences, understanding the behaviour of the audiences and so on. Mass media research is significant as media has reached every corner of the world. In its various form be it print, television, films or the Internet, it has a huge impact on our lives. We cannot imagine a life without some or the other form of media. There are various questions related to media and its effects. Research is required to describe the media, to analyse the effects of media on consumers, to obtain an understanding of audience behaviour and other such reasons. Media decision makers require objective information to evaluate problem, especially when huge

11 2 Mass Media Research sums of money are involved. Theoretically also there is wide interest in gaining a deeper knowledge about media. Every day, we find references in media to audience surveys, public opinion polls, advertising and public relation campaigns. Media research is relevant in all forms of media. Be it print media involving readership studies, editor-reader comparisons or even lifestyle segmentation studies. In regard to Internet, there are studies on on-line usage, effects both positive and negative etc., Every time we have questions like, what, where, when and why related to the media, there is need and scope for investigation. There are some major reasons that have encouraged mass media research. The first reason was that after the 1st world War was there was a need to understand the nature of propaganda. At that point of time the media was believed to be very powerful and having great effects on the people. Research was done to study the effects of media on the people. Another reason for the development of mass media research was that the advertisers had realized the importance of research data which could be used to develop ways to persuade customers to buy products or services. As a result of this, research was done to evaluate effectiveness of media messages. Information was also accumulated about the audiences. The third factor was the interest of citizens to understand the effects of media on the general public and more specially on children. This resulted in research done on violence and sexual content in media. The last contributing factor was the increasing competition among the media for advertising. Prior to the early 1960 s most of the research in mass media was done in the psychology and sociology departments. During the later 1960 s media departments in colleges and universities were established.

12 Relevance, Scope of Mass Media Research and Role of Research in Media Mass media research makes use of the scientific method for its study. The purpose of making use of the scientific method is to have an objective and unbiased evaluation of data. In mass media research, both qualitative and quantitative data reliability and validity concerns should be kept in mind. Reliability is related to replicability. When two or more researchers are studying the same issue or topic by using the same methods they should come up with the same or nearly the same results, this is the reliability of the study. Validity is related to the nature of the findings of the study, the degree to which they are a true reflection of what has been formally stated and also in declaration of the aims and objectives of the study. Both reliability and validity are important methodological considerations. Media should not be seen in isolation. It should be seen as being one set of social institutions, which interacts with other institutions within the wider social system. Academic research in media is done by the scholars from colleges and universities. Here research is theoretical or scholarly by nature as its results are directed to help explain mass media and its effects on people. Topics of study involve issues like effects of media on consumers, effect of different types of programmes on children, the use of media, etc. Commercial research in relation to mass media is done by private companies or research consultants. This type of research is generally applied research because the results are aimed at facilitating decision making. Topics of study focus on the content of media and preferences of the consumers, advertising and promotional campaigns, sales forecasting and image studies of the properties owned by the company and so on. Cultural research in media is concerned with studies that offer a broad range of ideas about how the media affects culture. It also provides many different views concerning long-term consequences

13 4 Mass Media Research of the cultural changes affected by the media. Cultural studies research, political economy theories and hegemony culture theories are types of theories in cultural research. There are many other differences between these types of research in the media. Academic or administrative researches are public and made available to the public. On the other hand the commercial researches are considered to be the property of the agency which has conducted the study and other researchers or people cannot obtain it. Sometimes certain commercial or private researches are made known to the public like some of the public opinion polls. Academic researchers do not generally have a deadline to keep but private or commercial researches have to be conducted in a specific time frame. These commercial researches are comparatively more expensive to conduct. Cultural research focuses on topics like focusing on use of media to create forms of culture which can structure everyday life (cultural studies research). It could also focus on how social elites make use of economic power to exploit media institutions (political economy theories) or it could study the culture that is imposed from above or outside and that serves the interests of those people who have dominant social positions (hegemonic culture research). Research in all these different sectors differ in terms of their scope and cost, but they make use of similar methods of conducting their studies and have common goals like understanding problems and making some types of predictions. Researches in mass media are done in relation to the media institutions, media messages and media audiences. Media institutions are conceptualized in two ways. Firstly, they can be regarded as industries or businesses which produce media commodities in a capitalist society. They depend on the economic environment in which they operate. Secondly, in a broader context, media institutions can be seen as large organizing bodies or structure of a society. They form the fabric of the wider culture.

14 Relevance, Scope of Mass Media Research and... 5 Media products of media industries are seen as commodities. Media institutions are a source of research. Some researches have been done on media institutions include studies of the Frankfurt school and its critique of the Culture industries, Political Economy of the media, the Culture industries, etc. Research is also done in relation to the messages that are passed on to the audiences by the media. It could focus on the structure of the message, its presentation and its impact on the audiences. In relation to the media audiences also, researches have been conducted. Here the focus is on conceptualizing and measuring the media audiences. It can be done in relation to the different media types and their audiences. Studies are also carried out on the effects of the media on audience groups like the limited effects theories, uses and gratifications model. Studies are also done on media consumption, the power relations of media reception and technology, cultural studies and media consumption etc., It can include research on the minority audiences, and the media audiences and media and individuals, postmodernism, cyberspace and the media consumer, media consumption and social status, public participation, benefits for media producers, audience discussion programmes, active audience theory etc., Media researches have opened up to newer areas of study. More and more people have become interested in researches related to the types of mass media, their effects, its messages and content and its impact on the audiences. Questions 1. Discuss the relevance and scope of Mass media research. 2. Explain the role of research in media.

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