06/26/22 Lecture Notes 1 Media Research Jeremy Harris Lipschultz Isaacson Professor UNO Social Media Lab Social Science Foundations for Social Media Me
04/10/23 Lecture Notes 1
Media Research
Jeremy Harris Lipschultz
Isaacson Professor
UNO Social Media Lab
Social Science Foundations for Social Media Metrics
Do the data make sense?
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Defining Mass Communication Research
McQuail (1994) says the phrase coined at the end of the 1930s "still has no agreed definition."
Severin and Tankard (1992), treat mass communication as "part skill, part art, and part science."
Mass communication research is the use of research methods to study the flow of information, entertainment, and opinion in society.
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The Mass Communication Research Process
Step 1: Problem & Purpose Step 2: Literature Review Step 3: Research Questions Step 4: Methodology and
research design
Use theory-based RQs
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Theory -> Measurement
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Process (continued)
Step 5: Data Collection Step 6: Data Analysis and
interpretation Step 7: Presentation of results Step 8: Follow-up studies
Research Process
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Variables
A variable is how we observe and measure a concept.
A more precise way to measure, for example the media use concept, would be to create a variable that identifies a specific use of the mass media.
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Levels of measurement
Nominal measurement is the weakest of the four levels. It is a simple classification.
Ordinal measurement refers to ranking. Both interval and ratio measurement
consist of ordinal measurement with equal intervals between scale points.
Ratio measurement has a true zero point.
All data have error.
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Reliability and validity
Reliability is a measure of consistency.
Assuming that we have established reliability, the more difficult question is whether the measurement has validity.
In other words, has the variable measured what it is supposed to measure?
Statistical Significance?
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Relationships in Data
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Google Analytics & SEO
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Social Media Metrics
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