Audience theories

Hypodermic needle:

A hypodermic needle is the message in texts are injected into the audience by powerful media. The audience is powerless to resist, therefore the media works like a drug and the audience is drugged, addicted, doped or duped. The hypodermic needle suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and uniformly by shooting or injecting them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response. They express the view that the media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea because the receiver or audience is powerless to resist the impact of the message.

Reception theory:

The reception theory is an active theory that analyses the relationship between producer and audience. The theory suggests that when a producer constructs a text is it encoded with an important meaning or message that the producer wishes to convey to the audience. Audiences will then correctly decode the message or meaning and understand what the producer was trying to say. In some instances, the audience will either reject or to fail to understand the message that was provided by the producer. The three ways that the audience could interpret the readings are through dominant or preferred, negotiated and oppositional.

Uses and Gratification theory:

Uses and gratification theory suggests that people use the media and its many texts to their advantage and in order to meet their individual needs. The theory describes mass communication, as it provides an immediate approach that is centred around the audience. It deals with how and why people adopt specific media to satisfy their needs. Uses and gratifications theorist explain why people choose and use certain media forms. The theory emphasizes a limited effect position; that is, the media have a limit he effects on their audiences because audiences are able to exercise control over their media.

Copycat theory:

Copycat theory is when audiences will copy what they see in a media text. It refers to how the media can influence and affect the audience’s behaviour and how they think. The copycat theory relates to something which is publicised in the media that creates a lot of attention. The well known example of this is copycat murders. Audiences react differently to various situations as they have different interpretations. An individual perceives a form a behaviour describes or portrayed by a character in media content.

Desensitisation theory:

Desensitisation theory is the theory of a media audiences’ reactions growing weaker according to the level/amount of exposure to violence, death and sex. A decrease in fear and sensitivity to extremely aggressive behaviour and taboo subjects, and possible introduction to every day life.

Catharsis:

Catharsis is the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from. Strong or repressed emotions.

Cultivation theory:

The cultivation theory is a theory that insists that television is responsible for our perceptions of day to day norms and reality. It means that every television show that you watch has some sort of hold on the way you perceive the real world situations. The communication studies of media uses this theory and this theory does not exist without television shows.

Conclusion of Opportunities and Limitations Research Methods

When investigating about the effects that Media violence has on Children, one of the most important research methods to use to conduct your data is a Survey. With my Primary research I would use a survey to ask Parents different questions on whether they think that media violence has an effect on their children through the video games they play and what they watch on TV. A survey is a good research method to use because it is free and quick to develop and it is also easy to collect valuable data which will help me justify my research and compare it with Secondary sources. A limitation of conducting a survey is that respondents may not feel encouraged to provide accurate, honest answers and they might put the incorrect answers that present themselves in a favourable manner. With this it would be difficult to come to a conclusion on my Primary research as it might not match my Secondary.

Experiments are a good way of collecting research on Media violence on children because you are able to get a natural reaction from the experimentee which would then be more accurate in forming your research. An experiment that I could perform to find out if media violence affects children would be to put a few kids in a room and get them to play some violent games. An experiment links with observations so you could get an unexpected result of what happens when they are playing the video games. A limitation of experiments is that it can create a false situations that do not always represent real life situations. This is largely due to fact that all other variables are tightly controlled which may not create a fully realistic situation.

Another good way to gather data about media violence on Children is an observation. An observation allows you to closely observe or monitor something or someone. With an observation you are sitting and watching in order to come to a conclusion about your primary research, it is also the same as an experiment. An opportunity of conducting an experiment is that it gives access to people in real life situations which would help you get a better understanding if the violence in the media effects children or not. A limitation of an observation is that it is time consuming and also expensive to put together.

Theories are conveyed to explain, predict, and understand a situation that is observed to exist and happen, and in many cases, to test and extend existing knowledge within the limits of critical bounding expectations. An opportunity of using theories to formulate your research on Media violence on children is that it gives you a basic level of understanding your idea, which is very important as you would need to later compare your research with Secondary sources and see if the information collected from your theory is correct or incorrect. A limitation of theories is that they could be someone else’s opinion which could mean that it is false and not a ground-breaking research.

Academic research is a useful way of collecting information about media violence on children, because they were written by experts and Professionals who have studied it for half of their lives and know exactly what they are talking about, which would make your research precise and truthful. An opportunity of using an academic research to collect some information about how violence in the media affects children is that it Include references to other sources you can use and is also checked well by the publisher to make sure that the information provide is not inaccurate. A limitation is that the information can take a long time to publish and since most of the research is written by experts, you might not understand the words used which means that you would have to go to another website.

Lastly, another way of conducting research of violence in the media is through watching documentaries or films, which is a good Primary research method. An opportunity of watching documentaries or films to find out about this research is that it can be a visual representation of a topic and can be based on facts and real life events. For example if you’re watching a film about a young boy who is initially affected by what he sees on TV, it would then give you a clear understanding on how to justify your research since you’ve watched it happen. A limitation of watching films or documentaries to gather research about this particular topic is that it is created for entertainment purposes only and may not accurately represent a topic or event. When collecting information through films or television you have to make sure that the research isn’t biased and that it is effective or else the data you collected could be inaccurate and not tie in with your Secondary research.

Summary of Key terms

Primary methods:

Primary research mostly involves collecting new original information or data that has not been collected before by anyone else. When collecting Primary research, it should tie in under your Secondary research which is already available on the net. There are many different ways of gathering Primary research such as Surveys, with Surveys you are collecting valuable data, it gives you a percentage at the end to evaluate your data and it is easy to collect as the service is free. Observation allows you to see what the person is doing so you can have a better understanding of your research and it also gives you a first hand on their behaviour to have more of an analysis to compare your data and research. With an experiment, you are able to get a natural reaction which would be more accurate and it links with observation so you could get an unexpected result. And lastly, theories give you a basic level of understanding your ideas which can also give you a better understanding of coming to a conclusion on your research.

Secondary methods:

Secondary research includes gathering existing data that has already been produced by Professionals or experts of the net. It can includes things like statistics and theories based of someone else. The con of collecting secondary research is that it can back up the primary research you’ve gathered by yourself and it is also reliable. A con of Secondary research is that some research may not be based in your country which could give you an inaccurate data in your research and also since the research is written by Professionals and experts who have spent time conducting the research, it may be hard to understand and comprehend. You can collect Secondary research through things like Google Scholar, academic reports and newspapers.

Qualitative:

Qualitative research is used to gain an understanding of fundamental reasons, opinions and motivations. It delivers a great perception into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypothesis for potential quantitative research. It is related to personal responses, opinions, tastes, beliefs, thoughts and feelings. Qualitative data collection methods vary using unstructured or semi-structured techniques. Some common methods include focus groups individual interviews, and observations.  For example with qualitative research, you include things such as quotes in your research in order to gain a better understanding of your analysis and conclusion.

Quantitative:

Quantitative Research is used to measure the problem by way of generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into statistics. It is used to measure attitudes, opinions, behaviours, and other defined variables and simplify results from a larger sample population. The purpose of quantitative research is to find numbers/figures, percentages, charts, graphs and measurement for your research. By using quantitative information, it makes your study sound more interesting as you are presenting actual statistics and data.

Sample:

A sample is a small amount of something that demonstrates what the whole is like. Sample research is very important, because it determines if your research method (Survey, experiment or observation) is produced accurately. The purpose of a sample in research is to draw conclusions about population from samples, it enables us to determine a population characteristics by observing a portion of the sample.

Open questions:

An open question is more likely to obtain a long answer. The characteristics of an open question are that they ask the respondent to think and reflect, they will give you opinions and feelings and they hand control of the conversation to the respondent. If something is an open question people have different opinions about it and nobody can say which opinion is incorrect. An advantage of an open question is that it is designed to encourage a full, meaningful answer using the subject's own knowledge or feelings.

Closed questions:

A closed question can either be answered with a single word or a short phrase (yes or no). The characteristics of a closed question are that they give you facts, they are easy and quick to answer and they keep control of the conversation with the questioner. An advantage of a closed question is that the answers of different respondents are easier to compare and the response choices can clarify question meaning for respondents.