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Tables of Contents for Media and Communication Research Methods
Chapter/Section Title
Page #
Page Count
Introduction
xiii
Round Up the Usual Suspects
xiii
How I Became a Man Without Quantities
xv
Data Man Versus Data-Free Man
xvi
Conclusions of a Man Without Quantities, Who Is Also a Practicing Theoretician
xviii
Acknowledgments
xxi
Part I. Getting Started
1
32
What Is Research?
3
18
We All Do Research, All the Time
3
2
Scholarly Research Is Different From Everyday Research
5
2
The Problem of Certainty
7
1
Diachronic and Synchronic Research
8
1
On the Way the Human Mind Works
9
2
Overt and Covert Oppositions
11
2
On Quantity and Quality in Media Research
13
2
Media and Communication
15
1
Why a Book That Teaches Both Methodologies?
16
1
Considering Research Topics
16
1
Conclusions
17
1
Further Reading
17
4
Library Searches
21
12
Why Library Research Is So Important
21
1
Search Strategies
22
1
Doing a Literature Review
23
1
Primary and Secondary Research Sources
23
2
Sources for Library Research in Media and Communication
25
1
Other Sources of Information
26
6
Analyzing Methodology in Research Articles
32
1
Conclusions
32
1
Further Reading
32
1
Part II. Methods of Textual Analysis
33
76
Semiotic Analysis
35
18
Saussure's Division of Signs Into Signifiers and Signifieds
36
3
Peirce's Trichotomy: Icon, Index, and Symbol
39
1
Allied Concepts
40
3
Semiotics in Society: A Reprise
43
1
The Syntagmatic Analysis of Texts
44
2
The Paradigmatic Analysis of Texts
46
2
Applications of Semiotic Theory
48
3
Conclusions
51
1
Further Reading
51
2
Rhetorical Analysis
53
18
Aristotle on Rhetoric
53
2
Rhetoric and the Mass Media
55
2
A Brief Note on the Communication Process
57
3
Applied Rhetorical Analysis
60
1
A Miniglossary of Common Rhetorical Devices
61
3
Other Considerations When Making Rhetorical Analyses
64
1
A Sample Rhetorical Analysis: A Saturn Advertisement
65
3
Conclusions
68
1
Further Reading
68
3
Ideological Criticism
71
22
Mannheim's Ideology and Utopia
71
1
Defining Ideology
72
1
Marxist Criticism
73
9
Feminist Criticism of Media and Communication
82
3
Political Cultures, the Media, and Communication
85
5
Conclusions
90
1
Further Reading
91
2
Psychoanalytic Criticism
93
16
Freud's Contribution
94
8
Jungian Theory
102
4
Conclusions
106
1
Further Reading
106
3
Part III. Qualitative Research Methods
109
62
Interviews
111
18
What Is an Interview?
111
1
Four Kinds of Research Interviews
111
1
Why We Use Interviews
112
2
How to Interview People
114
3
The Structure of Conversations and Interviews
117
2
Transcribing Tapes
119
3
Problems With Interview Material
122
3
Conclusions
125
1
Further Reading
125
4
Historical Analysis
129
16
What Is History?
129
2
History as Metadiscipline or Specialized Subject
131
1
Is History Objective or Subjective or a Combination of the Two?
131
2
Kinds of Historical Research
133
1
The Problem of Writing History
134
1
The Problem of Meaning
135
1
Historical Periods
136
2
The Historical and the Comparative Approach
138
1
History Is an Art, Not a Science
138
1
Doing Historical Research
139
2
Conclusions
141
1
Further Reading
142
3
Ethnomethodological Research
145
16
Defining Ethnomethodology
145
3
Garfinkel's Ingenious and Mischievous Research
148
2
Using Ethnomethodology in Media and Communication Research
150
3
Humorists as Code Violators
153
2
On the Techniques of Humor
155
2
Ethnomethodology and the Communication Process
157
1
Conclusions
157
1
Further Reading
158
3
Participant Observation
161
10
Defining Participant Observation
161
3
Significant Considerations to Deal With When Doing Participant Observation
164
2
Problems Connected With Participant Observation
166
1
Benefits of Participant Observation Studies
167
1
Making Sense of Your Findings
168
1
An Ethical Dilemma
169
1
Conclusions
170
1
Further Reading
170
1
Part IV. Quantitative Research Methods
171
68
Content Analysis
173
14
Defining Content Analysis
173
1
Why We Make Content Analyses
174
2
Methodological Aspects of Content Analysis
176
3
Aspects of Violence
179
2
Advantages of Content Analysis as a Research Method
181
1
Difficulties to Contend With in Making Content Analyses
182
1
A Simple Content Analysis Research Assignment
183
1
Doing a Content Analysis: A List of Steps to Take
184
1
Conclusions
185
1
Further Reading
185
2
Surveys
187
22
Defining Surveys
188
1
Kinds of Surveys: Descriptive and Analytic
188
1
Methods of Data Collection
189
2
Advantages of Survey Research
191
1
Problems With Using Surveys
192
1
A Note on Media Usage Surveys: Shares and Ratings
193
1
Open-Ended and Closed-Ended Survey Questions
194
2
Writing Survey Questions
196
2
Making Pilot Studies to Pretest Surveys
198
1
On the Matter of Samples
199
4
Evaluating the Accuracy of Surveys
203
2
Conclusion
205
1
Notes
206
1
Further Reading
206
3
Experiments
209
10
Everyday Experimentation
209
1
Defining Experiments
210
1
The Structure of an Experiment
211
2
Advantages of Experiments
213
1
Disadvantages of Experiments
214
1
A Checklist on Experimental Design
214
1
What's an Experiment and What Isn't?
215
1
Conclusions
216
1
Further Reading
217
2
A Primer on Descriptive Statistics
219
20
Felianka Kaftandjieva
Levels of Measurement
219
1
Descriptive Statistics
220
3
Measures of Central Tendency
223
5
Measures of Dispersion
228
1
Standard Deviation
229
1
The Normal or Bell-Shaped Curve
230
3
The Problems With Ratings
233
1
A Cautionary Note on Statistics
234
1
Statistics and Comparisons
235
1
Data on Media Use in America
236
1
On the Problem of Interpretation
237
1
Conclusions
238
1
Note
238
1
Further Reading
238
1
Part V. Putting It All Together
239
26
Nineteen Common Thinking Errors to Avoid
241
10
Common Fallacies
242
6
Conclusions
248
1
Further Reading
248
3
Writing Research Reports
251
14
A Trick for Organizing Reports
252
1
Writing Research Reports
253
2
The IMRD Structure of Quantitative Research Reports
255
2
Writing Correctly: Avoiding Some Common Problems
257
4
A Checklist for Planning Research and Writing Reports on Your Research
261
1
Conclusions
262
1
Further Reading
263
2
References
265
4
Glossary
269
16
Name Index
285
2
Subject Index
287
8
About the Author
295