Scientific Research of Media (261203)

Learning Outcomes

This course aims to highlight the activity of the media as an object subject to scientific analysis. Considering the centrality of the media and the new media in modern western societies, we intend to take as the object of empirical study the elements that surround the production of the Media and the New Media, their audiences or publics and the effects of interaction between the former and the latter, considering the processes and meanings of the production and reception of the mediated messages. The definition of this general object implies a research process that involves the following steps: the definition of a problematic, through a starting question; the collection of bibliography on the subject; the formulation of explanatory hypotheses; the option for a type of research, followed by observation, collection, registration, analysis and interpretation (contextualized) of the data obtained. The centrality will be on Production/Encoding studies that focus on the event, selection, construction and production of the news, as well as investigations that focus on the singular and collective actors in this process, such as media groups, news companies, the nature of the channel, agencies, journalists and other professionals. The basic theoretical framework is intended to industrialize students to perform, in the semester, a scientific research project culminating in the realization of a scientific article.

Study Program

1.    Media criticism and scientific investigation of the media
    1.1.    Contribution of scientific research to rigor in media analysis.
2.    The media scientific research process
    2.1.    Choice of the theme;Definition and framing of the problem; Objectives of the research;
            Revision of what has been published (scientific articles, books, etc.) on the theme; Relevance of the theme, understood as a contribution to improve the media system and to a more rigorous perception of its functioning by the citizens (media education).
    2.2.    Planning the research process.
            The segmentation of the universe.
            The construction of the corpora.
            The content analysis and the analytical protocol.
    2.3.    Brief exposure: Quantitative and qualitative research; Sampling;
            Sampling methods; The data collection; Observation techniques;
            Documentary sources research;
            Interview surveys; Questionnaire surveys;
            Data treatment;
            Preview of difficulties and proposals for overcoming them;
3.    Formalization of the work proposal
4.    Carrying out the work of data collection
5.    Data treatment: Writing the scientific report Theoretical framework;
    Details of the method, with justification of the options taken; Results of the research carried out; Indication of the difficulties encountered, in order to industrious the student with proposals for overcoming them in future research.
6.    Development of a scientific article.

Bibliography

MAIN REFERENCES: 

Bardin, L., (2011). Análise de Conteúdo. Lisboa: Edições 70.
Bauer, M.W e G. Gaskell, (2002). Pesquisa qualitativa com texto, imagem e som: um manual prático, Petrópolis, Vozes.
Berger, A. A., (2000). Media and Communication Research Methods: Na Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, London, Sage.
Decon, D., Michael Pickering, P. Golding, G. Murdock, (1999). Researching Communication, London, Arnold.
Flick, U.,(2005). Métodos qualitativos na investigação científica,Lisboa.
Guerra, I. (2012). Pesquisa Qualitativa e Análise de Conteúdo. Sentidos e formas de uso. Parede: Princípia.
Gunter, B., (2000). Media Research Methods: Measuring Audiences, Reactions and Impact, London, Sage.