Ans: Mass media research being the part of communication research, scientifically studies the process of mass communication and its influence on individual and society.
Characteristics of Mass Media Research:
It adopts scientific method. It is systematic, objective and empirical. It is cumulative. It is build upon past investigations. Research does not stand isolated from what others have learned before. It is replicable. Its finding should be reproducible by other investigators using same procedures.
It is logical. It applies possible tests to validate the measuring tools and the conclusion reached. Nature of mass media research is purposive. It aims at describing, interpreting, and explaining a phenomenon. It begins with a question or problem. Mass media research is critical. Can be verified. Since it relies on scientific method, the conclusion drawn through research is subjected to verification.
Objectives of mass media research:
1. Generating new knowledge
2. Improving standing
3. Application testing
4. Comparing best practice
5. Helping with decision making.
6. To extend knowledge
Significance of research in the field of mass media
1. To solve unsolved problems from acquired knowledge
2. To get intellectual joy
3. For serving the society
4. Writing term paper, research paper, seminar on a certain topic having not having news sense.
5. Mass media research helps to study, research social science and journalism related science.
6. To develop it as career
7. Validate the findings and prove it with logic.
Casual observation are frequently inaccurate. Science helps alleviate this error by mandating conscious observation.
Casual observation are frequently inaccurate. Science helps alleviate this error by mandating conscious observation.
2. People frequently over-generalize on the basis of few limited observation. Scientist protects themselves against over generalization by employing large random samples & replicating studies.
3. General people observe selectively & ignore that don’t want. But the scientific approach helps to protect against these error by applying investigation process.
4. General people do illogical reasoning, there may be question over validity but science provide system of logic.
5. In comparison to casual inquiry, scientific inquiry is more careful than our casual inquiry.
Authority is the trusted source. Source may be some scholar, teacher, parents, book or any one. Here question raise about credibility & validity. Here belief has been established by source. Authority for one may not be the same for others. Authority may misguide because we never question authority. Source is not verified. But science, always give opportunity to go for numbers of examination, verification, verification & experimentations. In science, question may be raised over authority. Due to this, many scholars still research on Newton’s laws & suggest further theories.
Intuition is intellect we put to understand something. Reasoning, logic, intellect, experience is used to gain knowledge in this process. Here people rely on own analytical power. Its main drawback is people may knowledgeable but may be confused. E.g. Aristotle said women to be inferior & women to have 31 teeth. He reached to this conclusion without any examination; it was based on his intellect only.
Truth rests on assumptions; lots of people believe that why it is valid; this kind of observation or gaining of knowledge is tenacity. It’s traditional, people believe from one generation to another. There is no examination, no chance of verification -just believe what is believed. Whereas scientific inquiry doesn’t believe in such beliefs, it goes from characterization to experimentation followed by hypothesis & different examinations. But science never believes on methodologies. Science begins from Characterization, Hypothesis, Prediction and finally Experimentation; so, science is considered more trustworthy method of knowing than Tenacity, Authority, and Intuition.
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