MECM90038 Chap.1 Media and Communications Research and Its Ethics
Media and Communications Research and Its Ethics
The opening week sets up the whole semester. It defines research as knowledge production, maps the four areas media and communications research studies (audiences and users, industry, content and technology) and explains that the four assessments form one project built on a single topic you choose early.
It also introduces research ethics, which shapes every later choice: the subject allows desktop research only, using published secondary sources and publicly accessible online material, because interviews, surveys and focus groups would need institutional clearance that cannot be obtained within a semester.
Read this chapter before choosing a topic, since a topic that depends on talking to people will fail the ethics test before you write a word.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Research as the production of new knowledge about the world
- 02
Audiences and users, industry, content and technology as areas of study
- 03
Four assessments that together form one semester-long project
- 04
The three teaching blocks and the tasks each one feeds
- 05
Desktop research: secondary data and publicly accessible online material
- 06
Ethics as a process running through every stage of a study
Worked example · free
Placing a project idea in the field and checking its data
- 1Name the area: the idea is mainly about industry, since it concerns how media organisations present their own operations, with a secondary link to content.
- 1Name the data: station web pages, annual reports and public posts are published or publicly accessible texts.
- 1Apply the rule: the subject permits desktop research on secondary and publicly available material and excludes interviews, surveys and focus groups.
- 1Judge feasibility and ethics together: the plan fits, but posts that name individual volunteers should be paraphrased and the people left unnamed.
Key terms
- Research
- Research is the process of finding answers to questions about the natural or human world. The subject treats it as a practice of knowledge production rather than a summary of what is already known.
- Produsers
- Produsers are audience members who also create media, for example by posting, commenting, uploading or blogging. The term blurs the old line between audience and producer.
- Research ethics
- Research ethics is the set of conduct rules and moral, legal and social expectations that guide researchers through planning, carrying out and judging a study. In this subject it runs through every stage rather than appearing once.
- Desktop research
- Desktop research relies on published secondary data such as reports, policy documents and news articles, and on publicly accessible online material. It involves no direct data collection from people.
- Ethical clearance
- Ethical clearance is the institutional approval needed before research involving people can begin. The Week 1 lecture notes it takes about three months on average.
Media and Communications Research and Its Ethics FAQ
Can I interview people or run a survey for my project?
No. The Week 1 lecture explains that the subject relies on desktop research only, so primary data from people through interviews, focus groups, surveys or experiments is excluded. Human research needs institutional ethical clearance, which takes about three months on average, longer than the time available in one semester.
Do I have to pick one topic for every assignment?
Yes. The lecture describes the four tasks as a single project: you choose one topic or current issue early and research it across the semester. Each assignment builds on the previous one, so the literature review, methodology, poster and report all develop the same study.
How does this subject relate to MECM90039?
The slides present MECM90039 as the twin subject that covers media theories, critical reading, media history and current debates. Researching Media and Communications asks you to apply that theory and those reading skills by designing and conducting original research of your own.
What kinds of data count as publicly accessible?
The slides give examples such as publicly available online posts, blogs and audio-visual content, alongside credible secondary sources such as news coverage, policy papers and industry reports. Being public removes the need for clearance, but you still decide carefully what to quote and how to represent the people involved.
Assessment move
Spend the first week deciding what kind of project you can actually complete. List three ideas, and for each write the area it belongs to (audiences and users, industry, content or technology) and the public texts you could collect. Cross out any idea that only works if you talk to people. Then read the subject's learning outcomes and match each assessment to the outcome it targets, so you know what each task is for.
Finally, start a research log: every source, search and ethical decision you record now will be reused in the methodology and the final report.
Working through Media and Communications Research and Its Ethics in MECM90038? Sia is AskSia’s AI Media and Communications tutor — ask any MECM90038 Media and Communications Research and Its Ethics question and get a clear, step-by-step explanation grounded in how MECM90038 is taught and assessed. Read this chapter free, then take your hardest questions to Sia.
