METHODS OF RESEARCH IN COMMUNICATIONS: QUANTITATIVES APPROCHES

Teacher(s)

Antoine Frédéric ; Standaert Olivier (compensates Antoine Frédéric) ; Vanoost Marie (compensates Sepulchre Sarah) ;

Language

Français

Main themes

This course of methods of research in communication, which follows the courses in Bac2 on qualitative methods, wants to analyze and complete the methodological reflection and its application in the field of Information and Communication Sciences. In this perspective, the course approaches positions, methods and techniques of quantitative research used in the communication world. As the course of Bac2, the aim of the course is to supply epistemological references, to present and stabilize methodological references and to engage concrete and effective initiatives.

Aims

This second course of methods of research in communication wants to place, in a specific way, the methodological reflection and its application in the field of Information and Communication sciences.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Content

This course of methods of research in communication follows the courses in Bac2 on qualitative methods (COMU 1212 - Méthodes de recherche en communication : approches qualitatives). This course wants to analyze and complete the methodological reflection and its application in the field of Information and Communication Sciences. In this perspective, the course approaches positions, methods and techniques of quantitative research used in the communication world. As the course of Bac2, the aim of the course is to supply epistemological references, to present and stabilize methodological references and to engage concrete and effective initiatives. As said in the presentation of the course, it is centred on two methods : content analysis and investigations. Professor Frédéric Antoine will be in charge of the part on investigation and measure of the audience of the medias. I will present the part on content analysis. The aim of my part is to present the quantitatives tools used in the field if communication in order to prepare the students to use them for the researches they must do in the framework of their academical cursus. The objective is also to underline the specificity of these tools so the students will be able to use them relevantly. To favor a pedagogical progression, the curse will begin on the most simple devises (thematical and category analyses), then we will approach more complex methods (analysis inspired by linguistic, narrative and discours analysis). Each time, we will focused the curse on quantitative processes. The curse will end on audiovisual analysis and the way to study televisual programmes (information, publicity, films, TV shows) or films. For each step, the curse will be illustrated with examples of researches lead in the communication field. Exercice sessions will help students to apply the methods described in the curse. The exercices will be centred on mediatical documents of different nature and combining various medium. Exercices on analysis content will be connected to exercices on investigations so the students will be able to understand the use to each tool in a research and the way to combine them.

Other information

Assessment methods There will be two kinds of assessment methods. Assessment will be ongoing during the exercice sessions. And an examination will verify of the student have understood the theory. Course materials Laurence Bardin's book (L'analyse de contenu, Presses universitaires de France, 2007) and Jean de Bonville's one (L'analyse de contenu des médias : de la problématique au traitement statistique, De Boeck Université, 2006) will be the basis of the curse. Theses books are available in various libraries of UCL. Some more ponctual and more precise references will complete theses two books. Students will be invited to consult regularly icampus where we will publish some pedagogical documents (summary, slides, texts). Basic books for the theorical course Laurence Bardin, L'analyse de contenu, Presses universitaires de France, 2007. Arthur Asa Berger, Media and Communication Research Methods. An Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitaves Approaches, Sage Publications, 2000. Jean de Bonville, L'analyse de contenu des médias : de la problématique au traitement statistique, De Boeck Université, 2006. Daniel Riffe, Stephen Lacy, Federick G. Fico, Analyzing Media Messages. Using Quantitative Content Analyses in Research, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, 2005. Willie van Peer, Jemeljan Hakemulder and Sonia Zyngier, Muses and Measures. Empirical research methods for the Humanities, Cambridge Scholars Publications, 2007. Some researches that could be used as examples. Les analyses des JT qui ont été publiées dans les Médiatiques n° 18-19 (2000), n° 22-23 (2001) Michel Mathien (dir.), Les jeunes dans les médias en Europe. De 1968 à nos jours, Bruylant, 2009. Marc Jacquemain (dir.), L'intégration par les jeunes des stéréotypes sexistes véhiculés par les médias, ULG, Institut des Sciences humaines et sociales, 2007.

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