A favourite with both students and lecturers, How to Do Media and Cultural Studies provides readers with all the knowledge and practical expertise they need to carry out their project or dissertation. Giving them hands-on guidance on managing the whole process, Jane Stokes: Shows students how to identify a topic and create a research question Guides them through the research process, from getting started through to writing-up Explores a range a case studies, showing how methods have been applied by others Expanded and updated throughout, this 3rd edition now includes: Increased coverage of digital media, social media and internet research More practical exercises to help you tie media and cultural theory to your work New guidance on understanding research ethics New guidance on mixing and combining methods How to Do Media and Cultural Studies has inspired thousands of students and researchers to understand why studying media texts, industries and audiences is so important. It is an ideal companion for anyone conducting a research project.
Jane Stokes is currently Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at the University of East London and has taught at the University of Kent at Canterbury, London South Bank University and London Metropolitan University. Jane's interest in the media can be traced back to her days working on the student television station while studying English Literature at Sussex University. She has an MA in Film and Television Studies from the University of Westminster where Jane began teaching Media Studies in 1984. She moved to Los Angeles in 1989 to study for a PhD in Communication Theory and Research at the Annenberg School of Communication, USC. Jane has made research methods a teaching specialism, blending American and European approaches to communication, media and cultural studies.
Part I: Thinking: Theory and practice Chapter 1: Addressing epistemology: How do we know anything about anything? Chapter 2: Why do we do media and cultural studies? Part II: Practicalities: Managing your research Chapter 3: Getting started Chapter 4: Managing the research process Chapter 5: Getting finished Part III: Methods and approaches to research Chapter 6: Researching texts: Approaches to analysing media and cultural content Chapter 7: Researching the creative industries: Studying organisations, institutions and producers Chapter 8: Researching audiences: Who uses media and culture? How and Why? Chapter 9: Research in context: Exploring mixed methods and research practice Chapter 10: Conclusion
This no nonsense, up-to-the-moment text cuts-to the-chase about how to conduct a research study. Jane Stokes effortlessly and expertly takes the reader by the hand and walks them through the principles, methods and practices of executing 'good' media and cultural studies. If any book can relieve anxieties about actually doing research this is it. Accessible, informed, incredibly useful. -- Professor Simon Cottle This is the best book available for students facing up to the challenge of writing a dissertation about media and communication. Jane Stokes introduces a wide range of methods for researching audiences, industries and texts, and guides the student through detailed discussion of well-chosen case studies and examples. -- Professor Graham Meikle
