This document outlines an assignment for a media studies course. It provides examples of potential topics students could explore related to audience research and media consumption. It emphasizes designing a small-scale research project to investigate an area of media or cultural consumption. Students must include a rationale, research question, engagement with relevant literature, proposed methodology, limitations of the study, and considerations for difficult areas of research. The document provides guidance on developing an appropriate research plan and considering relevant methodological approaches and concerns.

1. Assessment 2
MAC 201 Media Studies

2. Media audiences
• This unit begins by examining early work on media
consumption within ‘mainstream’ mass communication
research, before going on to explore issues raised by more
recent work in the cultural studies tradition.
• A range of academic and industry perspectives on media
consumption is considered, and you are invited to reflect on
appropriate theory and method in audience research.
• You are also introduced to debates about specific cultural
audiences for contemporary media output.

3. Learning outcomes
• Knowledge
• Knowledge and detailed understanding of key theories and
debates relating to audience consumption practices

4. Learning outcomes
• Knowledge
• Knowledge and detailed understanding of key theories and
debates relating to audience consumption practices
• Knowledge of your chosen subject
• Knowledge of the historical and contemporary debates
informing your chosen subject
• Knowledge of how your chosen subject fits within a broad
tradition of conducting effective audience research

5. Learning outcomes
• Skills
• The ability to evaluate and apply appropriate theoretical
perspectives and research methods in analysing specific areas
of media output and consumption
• The ability to communicate information, arguments and
analysis cogently and fluently

6. Learning outcomes
• Skills
• The ability to evaluate and apply appropriate theoretical
perspectives and research methods in analysing specific areas
of media output and consumption
• The ability to communicate information, arguments and
analysis cogently and fluently
•
•
•
•
Skills in analysis of data and interpretation
Skills in research
Skills in planning projects
Skills in persuasive writing

7. Due date: 8 Jan 2014
th
• One written assignment
• 2000-2500 words (no more, no less)
• Think of this more as a report than an essay

8. Generic assessment
• Students should be able to pick an area that matches their
own interest or their specific programme

9. Assignment 2
• This assignment requires students to design a small-scale
research project seeking to investigate a form of
media/cultural consumption of the student’s choosing, whilst
being sensitive to the appropriateness of the research.

10. The assignment should include suitable space dedicated to
a consideration of the following (from the module guide):
• An appropriate area of media consumption and a rationale for
investigation
• The development of a key research question
• A critical reflection upon and an engagement with relevant
literature regarding the study of audience consumption practices
• An appropriate methodology to investigate the form of
consumption/engagement
• A consideration of the limitations of the study (eg what will be
considered? What will be ignored? How justifiable is this?)
• A consideration of indicative areas that might be difficult to engage
with and the measures required to address these concerns (eg how
might you gather data regarding consumption of internet
pornography given that respondents might be difficult to obtain?).

11. The assignment should include suitable space dedicated to
a consideration of the following (from the module guide):
• An appropriate area of media consumption and a rationale for
investigation
• The development of a key research question
• A critical reflection upon and an engagement with relevant
literature regarding the study of audience consumption practices
• An appropriate methodology to investigate the form of
consumption/engagement
• A consideration of the limitations of the study (eg what will be
considered? What will be ignored? How justifiable is this?)
• A consideration of indicative areas that might be difficult to engage
with and the measures required to address these concerns (eg how
might you gather data regarding consumption of internet
pornography given that respondents might be difficult to obtain?).

12. The assignment should include suitable space dedicated to
a consideration of the following (from the module guide):
• An appropriate area of media consumption and a rationale for
investigation
• The development of a key research question
• A critical reflection upon and an engagement with relevant
literature regarding the study of audience consumption practices
• An appropriate methodology to investigate the form of
consumption/engagement
• A consideration of the limitations of the study (eg what will be
considered? What will be ignored? How justifiable is this?)
• A consideration of indicative areas that might be difficult to engage
with and the measures required to address these concerns (eg how
might you gather data regarding consumption of internet
pornography given that respondents might be difficult to obtain?).

13. The assignment should include suitable space dedicated to
a consideration of the following (from the module guide):
• An appropriate area of media consumption and a rationale for
investigation
• The development of a key research question
• A critical reflection upon and an engagement with relevant
literature regarding the study of audience consumption practices
• An appropriate methodology to investigate the form of
consumption/engagement
• A consideration of the limitations of the study (eg what will be
considered? What will be ignored? How justifiable is this?)
• A consideration of indicative areas that might be difficult to engage
with and the measures required to address these concerns (eg how
might you gather data regarding consumption of internet
pornography given that respondents might be difficult to obtain?).

14. The assignment should include suitable space dedicated to
a consideration of the following (from the module guide):
• An appropriate area of media consumption and a rationale for
investigation
• The development of a key research question
• A critical reflection upon and an engagement with relevant
literature regarding the study of audience consumption practices
• An appropriate methodology to investigate the form of
consumption/engagement
• A consideration of the limitations of the study (eg what will be
considered? What will be ignored? How justifiable is this?)
• A consideration of indicative areas that might be difficult to engage
with and the measures required to address these concerns (eg how
might you gather data regarding consumption of internet
pornography given that respondents might be difficult to obtain?).

15. The assignment should include suitable space dedicated to
a consideration of the following (from the module guide):
• An appropriate area of media consumption and a rationale for
investigation
• The development of a key research question
• A critical reflection upon and an engagement with relevant
literature regarding the study of audience consumption practices
• An appropriate methodology to investigate the form of
consumption/engagement
• A consideration of the limitations of the study (eg what will be
considered? What will be ignored? How justifiable is this?)
• A consideration of indicative areas that might be difficult to
engage with and the measures required to address these concerns
(eg how might you gather data regarding consumption of internet
pornography given that respondents might be difficult to obtain?).

16. Structure?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A key research question
Relevant literature
Methodology
Limitations of the study
Expectations (hypothesis)

17. • Students should be mindful of the different methods that can be
employed to undertake research – eg qualitative research, quantitative
research, participant observation, self-selection, etc – background
reading is essential
• Audience research can be time and labour intensive – you will need to
provide a feasible time-frame for the data gathering, processing and
summary of findings.
• You are encouraged to reflect upon the type of questions you build into
the project:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Are surveys/focus groups/lab tests appropriate?
Are ‘open’ or ‘closed’ questions appropriate?
Are multiple choice questions appropriate?
Do the questions presume a specific behaviour rather than seek to identify
that behaviour?
Are the questions consistent in delivery?
Are the questions likely to cause offence?
How will the project be targeted?
Will the project involve a mixture of involve focus groups, online surveys,
questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, etc?

18. • Students should be mindful of the different methods that can be
employed to undertake research – eg qualitative research, quantitative
research, participant observation, self-selection, etc – background
reading is essential
• Audience research can be time and labour intensive – you will need to
provide a feasible time-frame for the data gathering, processing and
summary of findings.
• You are encouraged to reflect upon the type of questions you build into
the project:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Are surveys/focus groups/lab tests appropriate?
Are ‘open’ or ‘closed’ questions appropriate?
Are multiple choice questions appropriate?
Do the questions presume a specific behaviour rather than seek to identify
that behaviour?
Are the questions consistent in delivery?
Are the questions likely to cause offence?
How will the project be targeted?
Will the project involve a mixture of focus groups, online surveys,
questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, etc?

19. • Students should be mindful of the different methods that can be
employed to undertake research – eg qualitative research, quantitative
research, participant observation, self-selection, etc – background
reading is essential
• Audience research can be time and labour intensive – you will need to
provide a feasible time-frame for the data gathering, processing and
summary of findings.
• You are encouraged to reflect upon the type of questions you build
into the project:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Are surveys/focus groups/lab tests appropriate?
Are ‘open’ or ‘closed’ questions appropriate?
Are multiple choice questions appropriate?
Do the questions presume a specific behaviour rather than seek to identify
that behaviour?
Are the questions consistent in delivery?
Are the questions likely to cause offence?
How will the project be targeted?
Will the project involve a mixture of focus groups, online surveys,
questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, etc?

20. • Pick an area of interest
• Here’s an example…

21. Celebrity culture?
• The “extortion of celebrity across contemporary culture”
(Johansson, 2006: 344)
• How pervasive is it? What forms does it take? How is celebrity
performance managed?
• What kind of methods or approaches would enable us to
discuss the impact of celebrity culture?
• How could you conduct audience research into this area?

22. Further Reading
• Analysis of fans and celebrities on
social networks
• Research methodology is worth
looking at
• Offers a systematic way of exploring
the ways in which celebrities and fans
interact
• Celebrity image management

23. What you will need to know…
1. Demonstrate an awareness of different
audience research methods.
2. Be aware of the positives/negatives
associated with various methodologies
3. Be able to identify an area worth
investigating and plan how best to
carry out the investigation
Chapter 4 & 5 of this
book will help!
Ebook available from
library

24. What you could do…
• If you are thinking about your final year major project, you
might want to use this module assessment as a test-bed for
the research into that work:
• Journalism students may want to look at reader comments in
relationship to target markets (ie readership ‘stickiness’, loyalty,
trust, etc)
• Production students may want to explore niche audience tastes
to support their pitches (ie pitching zombie film/documentary)
• PR students may want to gauge audience perception of key
events in order to strategically plan (ie campaigns around
brand/issue awareness)

25. Suggested Plan
• 3 part structure:
1.
identifying the subject
• Identify a behaviour or practice of interest
• Provide a rationale for looking at this
2.
establishing a hypothesis
• Consider the literature in this area
• Formulate a set of key concerns
• Develop theoretically informed questions that can be tested empirically
3.
developing a methodology
• Identify the most appropriate methodological tools
• Demonstrate an awareness of methodological concerns
• Identify the limits of the projects

26. The next few slides will
feature new examples

27. Example 1 – ‘RIP trolling’
• Much has been made recently in the press about the role of
internet ‘trolling’
1.
2.
3.
An interesting research project might want to consider this
phenomena. The essay might start with examples of high profile
examples drawn from the news (eg the rationale), as well as an
explanation as to what the behaviour entails
Having summarised the practice above, it might be worth
attempting to narrow down your focus to quite specific incidents
or key concerns (eg you can’t research the entire internet in 2500
words, so you might focus on ‘RIP trolling’ or YouTube abuse, etc).
You could draw on academic work in the area of cyberbullying or
bullying more generally to establish some key questions worth
investigating
Finally, you need to sketch out how you would attempt to gather
your data, picking approaches that help get reliable responses (ie
your methodology), within self-imposed limits

28. Example 2 – rebooted TV
drama
• There seems to be a vogue to reinvent old TV franchises,
giving them a fresh creative spin.
1.
2.
3.
A project might want to consider this phenomena (eg to support a
‘pitch’). The essay might start with high profile examples drawn
from the last decade of TV (eg the rationale), as well as an
explanation as to what consumer reaction (eg behaviour) has
been.
Following that, it might be worth attempting to narrow down your
focus to quite specific genres or key concerns (eg you can’t cover
every rebooted series ever). You could draw on industry figures or
academic work in the area of reboots or genre cycles to establish
some key questions worth investigating
Finally, you need to sketch out how you would attempt to gather
your audience data, picking approaches that help get reliable
responses (ie your methodology), within self-imposed limits

29. Example 3 – Journalistic trust
• Many reports have indicated that the public has lost faith in
journalists to report the ‘truth’
1.
2.
3.
A project in this area might want to consider the spate of industry
and academic reports that have suggested that journalists are the
least trustworthy professionals. It might start with an investigation
into those claims (eg the rationale) by looking at notable behavior
(decline in print sales?)
It may be worth contextualising this decline in trust against an
increase in public cynicism of several professions, increased
(media) literacy, and historical trends in order to identify what
trust means in this context. You could draw on high profile
examples to illustrate those key concerns
Finally, you need to sketch out how you would attempt to gather
your audience data, picking approaches that help get reliable
responses (ie your methodology), within self-imposed limits

30. Example 4 – product rebrand
• Frequently, when a company or a product receives negative
media attention it may be beneficial to strategically rebrand
1.
2.
3.
A project might want to consider effectiveness of high profile
rebranding. The essay might start with case studies of high
profile examples of good and bad rebranding projects (eg the
rationale), as well as an explanation as to what
consumer/market reaction (eg behaviour) has been.
Following that, it might be worth attempting to narrow down
your focus to a specific product/brand/incident outlining the
key concerns (eg, what risks are involved?). You could draw on
industry/academic research in the area of rebranding or
corporate communication to establish some key questions
Finally, you need to sketch out how you would attempt to
gather your audience data, picking approaches that help get
reliable responses (ie your methodology), within self-imposed
limits

31. Example 5 – 2-screen viewing
• Recent ‘hype’ exists about the role played by 2-screen viewing of
TV content, often taking place on tablets and smartphones
1.
2.
3.
A project might want to consider this claims made about this
phenomena. It might start with high profile examples drawn from
tablet manufacturer claims (eg the rationale) about changing
consumer habits. (eg behaviour)
Subsequently, it may be worth attempting to narrow down your
focus to quite specific platforms in order to assess the key
concerns (eg are viewers more distracted or engaged?). You could
draw on industry figures/academic work in the area of
media/technology consumption to establish some key questions
for the future of content creation (eg is less time spent looking at
the screen, and if so, does content need to be less complex?)
Finally, you need to sketch out how you would attempt to gather
your audience data, picking approaches that help get reliable
responses (ie your methodology), within self-imposed limits

32. Remember!
• You don’t have to do the actual research
• You just have to plan for it
• This is a small-scale project so be sure to limit the scope of the
project to something feasible (carried out by 1 person)
• Don’t be afraid to include an appendix if appropriate
• What you are NOT doing is measuring ‘effects’ (see
forthcoming week’s lectures)

33. To consider
• The better assignments will demonstrate an engagement with
critical reading in the area of audience research.
• Several examples of research on SunSpace
• See also:
• Keywords:
• quantitative; qualitative; ethnography; methodology; sampling;

34. To consider
• There are several sample essays in SunSpace to consider

35. Extensions
• AQH-F6-13
• Regulations Governing Extension
of Assessment Deadlines and
Consideration of Extenuating
Circumstances

36. Extensions
• AQH-F6-13
• 1.1 All assignments have hand in
dates set in advance and
published in the module guide. It
is a student's responsibility to
meet these deadlines. If the
assignment is not submitted on
time the work will be failed.

37. Extensions
• AQH-F6-13
• 1.2 In all cases it is the student's
responsibility to present to the
University supporting evidence
to justify their claim.

38. Extensions
• AQH-F6-13
• Maximum extension period = 72
hours
• Inclusive of weekends and bank
holidays
• NB: subject to module leader
approval

39. Plan of action (sem 2)
• Approx. 10-16 hours needed
• Approx. 60 hours of independent research undertaken
Identify and gather
resources:
~ reading 3 hours
~ notes 2 hours
Rough draft #1:
~ writing 2 hours
~ redraft 1 hour
Proof-reading:
~ 1 hour
Rough draft #3:
~ writing 2 hours
~ editing 1 hour
START
ESSAY
(Wk10)
SUBMISSION
8th Jan
Week 11
end
Cut-off point for
advice from staff
Week 12
end
39
Sketch out essay
plan:
~ 500 words
~ 1 hour
Rough draft #2:
~ writing 2 hours
~ redraft 1 hour