Investigating Audiences

"It is a strong book and a welcome addition to the literature on audiences, either as a first introduction or as a particular reading of the tradition for those more familiar with it.  Ruddock presents himself as a very human but also very trustworthy guide, one worth following."              --COMMUNICATION RESEARCH TRENDS

Picking up on some of the themes developed in his critically acclaimed book Understanding Audiences (SAGE), this new book on audience research focuses on qualitative methods and will draw upon students' own media experience. Structured around contemporary topics, including celebrity and reality TV, Investigating Audiences is designed with the needs of lecturers and students in mind.

The book is divided into chapters that deal with audience research in terms of concepts and topics. Regarding concepts, Investigating Audiences is firmly grounded within interpretive approaches to studying viewers, readers, and listeners. Further to this, the book looks at the different ways in which media influence can be accessed and the attendant methodological consequences. These issues are then be applied to a survey of recent scholarship on a variety of topics of pressing concern such as violence, pornography, video gaming, and children and advertising.

Investigating Audiences will be very useful for undergraduates in media studies/mass communications courses containing qualitative research components and dealing with cultural studies themes and approaches to audience studies.