The first media research blog of a Honours Student

By Garland-Waide Bradford

My name is Garland-Waide Bradford. I’m a media and broadcast professional, and a BA Honours: Media Studies student. What links everything in my first two sentences is that stories are at the centre of each one. In the case of my name, it’s the interesting stories of how people tend to butcher my name. I’m sure you are familiar with the stories in the media and broadcast.

It’s stories that are at the heart of Qualitative Research. And, that is what this blog will be looking into, qualitative research and how it can be used in the media. As a student, it is important to explore, investigate and gain an understanding through the practical application of a subject. This is also at the heart of the scientific method used in qualitative research.

Communications research has had many developments during its existence. The purpose of which was to better understand the subjects being studied(Jensen & JanKowski 1991: 3). In the case of research qualitative research has come to stand side by side quantitative research to analyse the texts the researcher is looking at. This has also helped with creating a deeper understanding of the text(Jensen & JanKowski 1991: 4). This can be seen with regards to study of signs, symbols and their meaning semiotics(Stokes 2003: 73). 

There are many areas in human life where the quantitative method falls short of explaining the phenomenon(Jensen & JanKowski 1991: 3). In the case of culture, it might not be as easy to explain and explore the phenomenon in a very clear way. This led to researcher devising different methods of exploring a phenomenon in language and culture like in the case of Grounded Theory(Jensen & JanKowski 1991: 67).

The Research

The research process starts with a question the researcher would like to answer. There may be a phenomenon that needs to be better understood. The question or subject matter determines what kind of research will be required.

In the field of qualitative research, there are many methods and techniques that can be applied to the research process. Textual analysis is one of these methods. Textual Analysis involves the researcher taking a closer look at the communication texts that exist within the mass media (Stokes 2003: 54). There are several methods that can be used for this purpose.

One such method is Content Analysis. The formation of a hypothesis starts the process, which is then followed by a literature review (Stokes 2003:81). It is important to establish what, if anything, has been written about the subject of interest. The more information a researcher has the better for the research project. Once this is done the research will be able to define what the object of the study will be as well as what categories of the content will be counted (Stokes 2003:81). The researcher will then be able to generate a coding sheet to record the findings in the content analysis(Stokes 2003:81). Research is rigorous therefore it is important to test the coding categories before collecting the data (Stokes: 2003:82). Only then can the data be collected, the information has then summed up into a percentage. This will make it easier to interpret the data to see if it has answered the question the research was meant to look into (Stokes 2003:82). In presenting the findings the researcher will show if the hypothesis has been proved. The researcher will still be required to discuss the finding of the research(Stokes 2003:82).

As pointed out above research is a rigorous process. Different types of research have different processes; each one has to be followed carefully to ensure the integrity of the research(Stokes 2003: 58). These processes exist as part of the broader scientific method of finding the best ways to explain the natural world around us.

Ethics are the codes of conduct, rules and or regulations that govern a specific field or people’s interaction with each other (Jensen & JanKowski 1991: 54). In media studies, these play an important part keeping the researcher accountable. With regards to qualitative research, it makes sure that a research does not bend the research process to fit the answer that would best suit the researcher. Throughout the rigorous research process, the research must subscribe to the code of ethics in his or her field of research.

Sources Consulted

Jensen, KB & Jankowski, NW. 1991. A Handbook of Qualitative Methodologies for Mass Communication Research. Routledge: London and New York.

Stokes, J. 2003. How to do media & cultural studies. Sage Publications: London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi.

Altheide, DL. 1996. Qualitative media analysis. Sage: Arizona

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University of South Africa. Department of Communication Science. 2016.  CMNHONE

University of South Africa. Department of Communication Science. 2016. Media research: Tutorial letter101/0/2016 for COM4802.