PMCb1008 Research on politics and media

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 7 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. et Mgr. Vlastimil Havlík, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Lenka Hrbková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Kateřina Kirkosová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Alena Kluknavská, PhD. (lecturer)
Mgr. Martina Novotná, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Alena Pospíšil Macková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Marína Urbániková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Martina Novotná, Ph.D.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: doc. Mgr. et Mgr. Vlastimil Havlík, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 12:00–13:40 U35
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course is designed to introduce to the students the most important research areas related to examination of politics and media. Firstly, the students of the course will learn about the dominant issues in the area and about research methods and techniques of data collection. Secondly, the students will learn also about the key concepts and their measurement in available (internationl) data sets. The course is designed to cover the most used methods and techniques in the dominat research areas – in research on systems and contexts, in research on people (as political actors/citizens and as media consumers and users) and in reasearch on media contents.
Learning outcomes
After completing course, a student will be able to:
know specific and key research areas, topics and theories in the area of politics and media;
operationalize the key concepts in the area of politics and media;
find relevant data for the issue;
know the dominant methods in the area of politics and media – and their designs;
choose and evaluate individual research methods and techniques for data collection applied to specific issues in the area of politics and media.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction – evolution of research methods and techniques; history of research on politics and media, key areas and topics
  • Research on contexts/cases
  • 2. Comparative research and case studies - examining media and political systems, political and election news, political communication in the EU, political journalists, political events and groups
  • Research on people
  • 3. Survey I: Audience research - self-reporting and measuring media consumption, new media practices, media exposure and accidental exposure, media (dis)trust, online survey, data availability and sampling
  • 4. Survey II: Research on political and voting behaviour/attitudes/public opinion, measuring political attitudes and values
  • 5. Experiments: measuring media/campaign effects, eye tracking research
  • 6. Ethnographic research: examining political behaviour, groups, events, campaigns
  • 7. Reading week 8. Selected international studies: students presentations
  • Research on media content 9. Quantitative content analysis: analysing media content/campaigns/manifesto
  • 10. Discursive analysis: how to research language, power and ideology?
  • 11. Visual analysis of media content
  • 12. Content analysis on social media - campaigns, political discussion and interaction/deliberation
  • 13. Selected international studies: students presentations
Literature
  • de Vreese, C. H. 2017. “Comparative Political Communication Research.” The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication, Oxford University Press, pp. 287-301.
  • Steward, P., Salter, F. K., Mehu, M. 2013. “The Face as a Focus of Political Communication: Evolutionary Perspectives, Experimental Methods, and the Ethological Approach.” The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research. Routledge, pp. 165-193.
  • Rose, Gillian. Visual methodologies : an introduction to researching with visual materials. 4th edition. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2016. xxiii, 432. ISBN 9781473948891
  • Hoffman, L. H. 2013. “Political Communication Survey Research: Challenges, Trends, Opportunities.” The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research. Routledge, pp. 55-80.
  • Esser, F. 2019. Comparative international studies of election campaign communication: What should happen next? Journalism.
  • Chong, D., Druckman, J. N. 2013. “Identifying Frames in Political News.” The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research. Routledge, pp. 238-267.
  • McCombs M. E. et al. 2013. “International Applications of the Agenda-Setting Acapulco Typology.” The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research. Routledge, pp. 383-394.
  • Krupnikov, Y., Searles, K. 2019. New Approaches to Method and Measurement in the Study of Political Communication Effects, Political Communication, 36:2, 209-213.
  • Bucy, E. P., Bradley, S. D. 2013. “What the Body Can Tell Us About Politics: The Use of Psychophysiological Measures in Political Communication Research.” The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research. Routledge, pp. 525-542.
  • Holbert, R. L., Hmielowsky, J. D. 2013. “Secondary Analysis in Political Communication Viewed as a Creative Act.” The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research. Routledge, pp. 81-95.
  • Luthakallio, E., N. Eliasoph. 2017. “Ethnography of Politics and Political Communication: Studies in Sociology and Political Science.” The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication, Oxford University Press, pp. 749-762.
  • Grabe, M. E., Bucy, P. 2013. “Image Bite Analysis of Political Visuals: Understanding the Visual Framing Proccess in Election News.” The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research. Routledge, pp. 209-237.
  • Newhagen, J. E. 2013. “Beyond Self-Report: Using Latency Measures to Model the Question Answering Process on Web-Based Public Opinion Surveys.” The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research. Routledge, pp. 505-524.
  • Gross, k., Porter, E., Wood, T. J.. 2019. Identifying Media Effects Through Low-Cost, Multiwave Field Experiments, Political Communication, 36:2, 272-287.
  • Andrew Guess, Kevin Munger, Jonathan Nagler & Joshua Tucker (2019) How Accurate Are Survey Responses on Social Media and Politics?, Political Communication, 36:2, 241-258.
  • Benoit, W. L. 2013. “Content Analysis in Political Communication.” The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research. Routledge, pp. 268-282.
  • Hyes, A. F., Matthes, J. 2017. “Self-censorship, the Spiral of Silence, and Contemporary Political Communication.” The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication, Oxford University Press, pp. 763-776.
  • Andersen, D., Redlaws, D., Lau, R. L. 2019. The Dynamic Process Tracing Environment (DPTE) as a Tool for Studying Political Communication, Political Communication, 36:2, 303-314.
  • Strömback, J. 2013. “Mediatization of Politics: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Comparative Research.” The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research. Routledge, pp. 367-382.
Teaching methods
Lectures, class discussions, reading, work in groups
Assessment methods
Presentation 20% 8 summaries of selected research papers 40% Oral exam 40%
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2023, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2023/PMCb1008