Exploring Media Research
Theories, Practice, and Purpose
- Andy Ruddock - Monash University, Australia
In Exploring Media Research, author Andy Ruddock explains that the only way to learn or teach about media research is to do it. Carefully balancing theory and practice, he demystifies the process, showing you don’t need huge amounts of time or money to do meaningful media analysis. This book:
- Explains how principles of motivation, causation, generalizability, and ethics apply to media research.
- Outlines different forms of ‘reality’ created by media stories, media users, and the blending of media and interpersonal communication.
- Identifies key areas of research, from media industries, content and events to regulation, policy and audiences.
- Demonstrates how key concepts translate into actual research methods, from archival and field research to the analysis of ‘big data’.
- Brings theory to life throughout with a range of contemporary case studies.
In Exploring Media Research, Andy Ruddock provides the theoretical, methodological, and ethical tools that enable scholars, students, and citizens to dissect the cultural power of media, and to apply this understanding to the creation of a more just society. Written in a direct and accessible style, this timely and provocative book firmly establishes Ruddock as one of the premier media scholars of his generation.
There can be no more pressing topic in current affairs today than the role of the media. From questions of warfare to public health, we get our information as citizens from these massively powerful institutions. But how do we interrogate those very entities whom we trust to interrogate others? Andy Ruddock explains all in a patient but crisp, historically-informed but very contemporary book. We are in his debt.
This is a book that is sorely needed: an introduction to media research that is both comprehensive and thorough in its theoretical reach, and absolutely contemporary in its examples, in its applications, and in its conceptualisation of the key targets for media research today.
This book simplify complex media research concepts
It helps researchers to gain a sense of direction when collecting pieces of information from the media.
