Exploring Media Research

Andy Ruddock lectures in Communications and Media Studies at Monash University. He has authored four books on researching media influence. Andy is known for his work on Cultivation Theory. He has published over 50 book chapters and journal articles, applying this theory to media violence, gaming, reality TV, political celebrity pornography, drug and alcohol abuse, sport and media education. Andy is currently writing Cultivation Theory and Digital Media Challenges. This new book details the history of cultivation theory and explains its relevance to contemporary "isms"; activism, sexism, Trumpism, and extremism.

PART 1: RESEARCH PRINCIPLES: MOTIVATION, CAUSATION, ETHICS AND GENERALIZABILITY Introduction: Communicating Media Research Chapter 1: Making Media Matter Chapter 2: Making Media Matter to You Chapter 3: On Causation: How do media 'do' things? Chapter 4: Practising Ethics in Media Research Chapter 5: What is 'Generalisability' in Media Research? PART 2: UNDERSTANDING MEDIA RESEARCH: FRAMING GENERAL QUESTIONS Chapter 6: Researching Media Reality Chapter 7: Researching Media's Role in Social Life Chapter 8: Researching the Synthesis of Media and Interpersonal Communication PART 3: DOING MEDIA RESEARCH: PEOPLE, MARKETS, TEXTS, EVENTS, USERS, AUDIENCES, POLICY Chapter 9: Researching Media People: Journalism, Oral History and Archives Chapter 10: Researching Media Markets: A Cultural Industries View on Pornography Chapter 11: Researching Media Content: Games, Texts and Discourse Chapter 12: Researching Media Events Chapter 13: Big Data: How Can We Use It? Chapter 14: Researching Media Policy Chapter 15: Researching Audiences Conclusion: Historicising Media Research - and the People who Do It

In Exploring Media Research, Andy Ruddock provides the theoretical, methodological, and ethical tools that enable scholars, students, and citizens to dissect the cultural power of media, and to apply this understanding to the creation of a more just society. Written in a direct and accessible style, this timely and provocative book firmly establishes Ruddock as one of the premier media scholars of his generation. -- Elizabeth Bird There can be no more pressing topic in current affairs today than the role of the media. From questions of warfare to public health, we get our information as citizens from these massively powerful institutions. But how do we interrogate those very entities whom we trust to interrogate others? Andy Ruddock explains all in a patient but crisp, historically-informed but very contemporary book. We are in his debt. -- Toby Miller This is a book that is sorely needed: an introduction to media research that is both comprehensive and thorough in its theoretical reach, and absolutely contemporary in its examples, in its applications, and in its conceptualisation of the key targets for media research today. -- Graeme Turner