Teaching experience

Introduction to Media Research

3rd year undergraduate course at the Webster Vienna University.

Course description

What makes fake news so popular? How do some advertisements appear to be more memorable than others? Why do some politicians embrace social media while others completely turn away from it? Some of the most interesting questions of our time require systematic analyses of the media. This course did not only introduce students to discussions of the contemporary mass media research but it also helped them develop a research project.

Students learnt about all stages of the scientific research process, from formulation of research questions to presentation of the results, in media communications scholarship. The course covered both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Through two course activities, students had the opportunity to put what they learnt into practice by developing their own research project.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students were able to:

• distinguish scientific research from other methods of knowing and the good research from the bad,
• identify common research methods used in media research,
• define a research problem,
• review existing research and theory related to that problem, and
• develop an appropriate research design for their project.