BFI NATIONAL LIBRARY VISITS

We are booked in for a visit to the British Film Institute National Library, on Wednesday 4th March. This will be mostly of interest to you if:

• you are researching anything to do with film or tv OR
• you are planning to study anything related to film or tv at university (film or practical)

If neither of those applies to you, there may still be relevant resources for you. The librarian is very good and if there is anything there, she will make sure you get access to it.

If there is nothing much for you, you can help other people, or use the web and get on with your own research or just enjoy a day out of school! No decision as yet about the afternoon part of the trip but whatever we do, it will be fun, after a hard morning's work at the library!

You will have a seminar session first with the librarian who will introduce you to their extensive collection of film related resources and explain the system of accessing what you want. We will email your topics to her in advance, and there will be a printout for each of you that will identify most of the books and journals that may be significant.

Bring some cash for photocopying - we will get some copies free but you will probably need to buy an extra photocopy card.

We will need to go in to the library as a group at 9.30 am. Please meet by 9.20 in the foyer where there is a waiting area. Security is tight and no bags can be taken into the library. It is a public library and all guests are expected to work quietly, although we will be the only school group visiting that morning.

In the meantime however, if you want to visit individually or in pairs, the Media Dept has membership and 2 passes. You could arrange a visit during a free am/pm for example.

Opening times:

Monday + Friday 10.30 am – 5.30pm
Tuesday + Thursday 10.30 am – 8pm
Wednesday 1pm – 8pm

Closed at weekends.

To arrange a visit:

Work out a time slot

See Ms Blackborow well in advance to book a pass, and to help you with the email (I will phone ahead for you as well to book you in)

Send an email in advance to let the librarian know your topic area, they will have a printout of available resources for you when you arrive.

Make sure you have some change for photocopying, and collect your pass on the day from the Media Office.

Plan your route to ensure you arrive on time. You will find the library just off Tottenham Court Road, nearest tube Tottenham Court (also Goodge Street) at 21 Stephen Street, London W1T 1LN

Report to the front desk when you arrive, show your pass, collect your printout and make a start!

Google maps link, click here.

You might have to zoom in!

AUDIENCE THEORY - A GUIDE

Understanding audience theory is essential for this unit. Here is a brief guide - most of this you will know anyway:

In carrying out good Media research you must show awareness of

• Audience reading theories
• Target Audience

Audience Reading Theories
Hypodermic needle, Passive or Effects model
Academic or Active Model

Many researchers who have written about the Media, particularly in the past, have treated the Media negatively in terms of its effects on audience.

The Effects model
In this model the media is seen to have power to create a simple cause and effect relationship with the audience which is perceived as negative indoctrination. Effects include

• Inactivity (couch potato)
• Manic activity (such as performing sexual or violent acts
• Attitudinal change (changing or morals, values, beliefs systems)

Such theories when they are raised periodically have caused moral panics in certain sectors of the public and have led to Government action to curb the Media.

These moral panics particularly surround sectors of the audience who are perceived as ‘vulnerable’ – children, young working class males, particularly those with a low IQ, unemployed or from broken homes, disturbed individuals

Examples are fear of the effect of ‘Child’s Play 3’ and the James Bulger case, ‘Natural Born Killers’ (Oliver Stone, and Nathan Martinez), and the US Music Industry, lyrical content and recent killings in US schools. Currently computer games are being ‘shown’ to have adverse effects of brain development in children.

An influential example of the effects model is the agenda setting model proposed by McCombes and Shaw which proposed that topics that the Media selects for attention, and the attention and priority they give to the topics selected, has a matching effect upon what the audience perceives as important.

The effects arguments are largely rejected by Media theorists as producing a conspiracy theory of the Media and a passive view of the audience. The preference is to see the audience as Active in creating their own meanings

The Effects models are seen to:

• Exaggerate the influence of the mass media
• Portray sources in the media as having deliberate intentions to control issues and their debate in a manner that resembles conspiracy theory
• Portray the audience as all the same, unthinking, need protecting, easily manipulated (passive)

There has been much research, often widely quoted in the press, that has supposedly ‘proved’ Effects Theories, dating back as far as the 1960’s and the Bobo Dolls experiment. The audience is always assumed to be a passive ‘victim’, and the blame for societies ills is always placed on the Media.

When you study this kind of research, you should always ‘question’ the following:

-who is conducting the research
-what is their initial starting point/personal attitude towards the media
-what is their purpose
-who is financing the study – do they have a vested interest in a particular result being
‘proven’
-what was the sample selected for the study
-where did the study take place
-what methods were used to obtain results
-what methods were used to analyse results
-what conclusions were drawn

If you know the answers to these questions, you can then ascertain how influential these
factors were on the outcomes. It is important to problematise the conditions that research is conducted in. Most effects research is considered to be utterly flawed by media theorists (such as David Buckingham), and therefore results ‘proving’ the effects of the media have been widely discredited among academics.

However, the results of this kind of research makes good headlines (‘HALF of all our children have seen a video nasty’ Daily Mail 1984,) because it a sounds really shocking and sensational.

Also it supports what the majority already believe to be true - this is called The ‘Common Sense’ approach – of course TV is bad for you!, and gives credibility to popular myths around the influence of the media. (‘Horror film made boys kills Jamie’ The Sun 1994, ‘Research proves negative effects of video nasties’ Guardian 1995).

No research is without flaws – and all research should be problematised as part of the study, in order to understand its context. It is impossible to treat Media research in a totally scientific manner as measuring influence, attitudes etc is a cultural thing, and therefore is more suited to a cultural approach. This is where academic research into the media is relevant.

Effects research is usually undertaken by professors/doctors, with backgrounds in psychology/ medicine or with expertise in studying children and childhood. They usually have no experience of/ awareness of traditions/ theories/ academic approaches in Media Studies. Academic Media Research is usually undertaken by academics specialising in Media Theory.

The Academic or ‘Active’ Model
The academic approach to media research is the opposite to the Effects Model. Its starting point is that the audience is ‘active’ when consuming the media, therefore this kind of research is often called ACTIVE RESEARCH. Where Effects research explores what the media does to the audience, the active approach explores what audiences do with the media.

It does not start with any assumption that the media is to blame for anything, and it is often not trying to ‘prove’ a hypothesis, but attempting to investigate or explore cultural developments, such as the popularity of a particular TV genre, or the way TV audiences have reacted to multi-channel TV.

This is the way we have always approached audience study throughout Media GCSE and A level, and this is the kind of study you will be undertaking.

It is based on cultural, qualitative methodology and explores the relationship audiences have with the media, why they consume it, how they consume it and what it does for them. Consumption and reception theories are very relevant here. There are three key features to this

1 This is to do with understanding who the audience is (demographics, lifestyle, tastes,
background etc) and why people consume or ‘read’ texts differently (the way we consume or read a text relates to who we are).

2 The second point is that there is an understanding that media consumption is about a two – way flow ie the way we consume a text is not just about a ‘personal or individual response’, but is also one that is also determined by the way the text has been constructed – the editing, camera work, style, layout – these all determine our responses, as well as who we are as a person. Understanding how the media works and how it’s made helps us to understand how and why we consume it.

3 The third point is that the industry shapes our responses in another way, through careful
gatekeeping, scheduling, marketing, classification and censorship – many of our responses are pre-determined according to the choices that have already been made for us, institutionally. If we understand this, we can understand that the relationship between audiences and the media they consume is a complex one, not easily explored through superficial study, generalisations, or scientific/ rigid methods – this relationship is a product of the cultural and social structures around us and should be treated as such. There are many examples of academic studies in the department for you to look at.

However the Effects model will raise itself with your topic areas and you need to establish if there are parts of the effects theory that you do think are relevant to your topic. Indeed, under the topic area of Children and TV, you may want to study the whole area of effects from an academic perspective ie does the media have the power to instill violence in children. Under Popular Music and Youth Culture, the Music Industry’s construction of the audience and that effect on young people may be relevant, and in Sport the Media’s ability to highlight certain sports and male sports personalities as more important.

Effects theories are more persuasive in commercial media like advertising and pester power and the Music Industry where people are buying into an image or sub-culture.

The Uses and Gratifications Model
The Uses and Gratifications Model sees the Media positively and gives the audience an active role in making meaning. Therefore it is an example of an academic approach to audience study that you may want to draw upon.

This model sees the media as a medium used by the audience to create gratifications of a wide variety of sorts. Uses and gratifications were classified by Arthur Asa Berger in 'Media Analysis Techniques' as:

To be amused - to see authority figures exalted or deflated – to experience the beautiful – to have shared experiences with others – to satisfy curiosity and be informed – to identify with the deity and the divine plan – to find distraction and diversion – to experience empathy (sharing in the joys and sorrows of others) – to experience, in a guilt-free and controlled situation extreme emotions such as love and hate, the horrible and the terrible, and similar phenomena – to find models to imitate – to gain an identity – to gain information about the world – to reinforce our belief in justice – to believe in romantic love – to believe in magic, the marvellous and the miraculous – to see others make mistakes – to see order imposed upon the world – to participate in history (vicariously) – to be purged of unpleasant emotions – to obtain outlets for our sexual drives in a guilt-free context – to explore taboo subjects with impunity and without risk – to experience the ugly – to affirm moral, spiritual and cultural values – to see villains in action.

These have been grouped into 4 categories -
1 Surveillance 2 Social 3 Personal Identity 4 Distraction

You will need to apply and ascertain the relevance of the Uses and Gratifications Theory to your topic area

What are the ideologies being promoted in your topic area and how able is the audience to ‘resist’ messages?

Mainstream media texts usually reflect dominant ideologies. Audience are generally 'positioned' by the construction of media texts to accept this message but they do have choices in their reading.

These have been analysed as:

• Dominant response (dominant reading) - the dominant values and existing society are wholly accepted by the viewer.
• Subordinate response (negotiated reading) - indicates general acceptance of dominant values but the viewer is critical of certain aspects.
• Radical response (oppositional reading) - the viewer wholly rejects the values.

Target Audience Theories
The Media constructs target audiences through audience research in the following ways:

Mainstream and Niche: The Nuclear Family, The Football fan, The hip-hop fan

Demographics: Socio-economic status

Social Minority Groups: Age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation etc

Lifestyle Profiling: The Business Woman, The University Student, Newly-weds,
Yuppies, Tweenies

Psychographic Profiling: Aspirers, Succeeders, Carers, Leaders

NB: Demographics is about dividing the audience into demographic groupings is to see the audience in terms of class and wealth. See the chart in your folder for the break down of groupings

PROS + CONS OF METHODS + SOURCES

Try to identify the advantages + disadvantages of the following methods/sources:

1. questionnaires
2. focus groups
3. discourse analysis
4. reading books
5. observation
6. 1 to 1 interview
7. websites
8. watching TV documentaries
9. textual analysis of TV programmes, radio shows, films etc

EVALUATING SOURCES + METHODS - A WORKED EXAMPLE

Using the Internet – a general evaluation of using a Search Engine

How do they work?
A computer programme is constantly searching the Web. As it does it sends information about what it finds (ie content and addresses) to a central database. When you enter a search term, you are actually looking into this central database.

Advantages
Very wide coverage of the Web, therefore you should find more material.
Many try to sort material by how relevant it is to your enquiry
Offer the opportunity to refine and enhance your search
Many offer useful links to related material
Many offer a directory listing of popular sites
A real help when you don’t know the exact address
Can specify UK sites only if you prefer

Disadvantages
Can often return too much material
Minimal sorting of material returned, particularly similar material at the same address
Different engines cover different pages, so you need to search in more than one
All engines have slightly different rules for refining a search

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This is all about using and identifying different ways to go about your research, what sources you should use, and using research theory to provide a framework for your research.

Question 1 is purely a test of your understanding of and ability to carry out research with a full and mature understanding of research theories and methodologies.

You must carry out your study carefully, therefore, incorporating ALL the following, from the start. We have broken down the different methodologies into 4 headings for you to consider:

Research Methodology 1

Your Starting Point - Deductive and Inductive Research

There are different starting points for research and you may well want to use both during the course of your research.

The starting point for deductive research is to read other people’s theories and to work towards one of your own.

• It works from the more general to the more specific
• Also called a ‘top down’ approach
• Knowledge driven

The starting point for inductive research is to start with your own observation

• It works from specific observations to broader generalizations and theories
• Also called a ‘bottom up’ approach
• Feature-detecting

Research Methodology 2

Types of Research you must conduct

• Academic research means to explore the viewpoints of academics who have written critically about similar areas to yours. Much of this will be presented as critical analysis published in books, articles or academic papers. Many of them will also have published their own research studies as well, to explore their own ideas or to establish particular ways of thinking about the media
  
  You will need to read the research papers they have written (usually published in books), including the analysis of their findings and any conclusions they may have drawn. You will need brief notes to summarise each research study you read, in order to be able to compare and contrast them to your own.

• Popular Criticism research means the views of practitioners (producers, directors, actors, website designers, sports professionals etc), and popular views as stated in newspapers, magazines, talk, internet etc. You will need to talk to relevant people and read articles etc, take notes on what they say and draw conclusions that may be applicable to your study.

• Audience Reception including yourself means research into how audiences (including yourself) respond to texts. To do this, you should read up on theories around audience reception, you should read other audience research studies (for context), you should explore your own responses, and you should set up your own audience response study.

You must cover all three types of research in your study.

Research Methodology 3

Sources - Primary and Secondary Research

This involves an understanding of the source for your research. There are many different sources of data, and you will need to know how to categorise them. When you write up your research for the exam, you will be expected to be able to categorise and reference your sources carefully.

When referencing secondary sources, you will be expected to know information such as correct source title, producer, date and location of production. This applies to all books, articles, websites, films, TV programmes, soundtracks etc

Note that, on the whole, secondary research is likely to be academic research but that this is not always the case – ie a newspaper article might be a popular cultural response

You will need to carry out both primary and secondary research

See your folder for a chart that identifies the difference between them.

Research Methodology 4

Quantitative and Qualitative Gathering of Data

There a two types of data gathering methodology which you must
show awareness of:

1. Quantitative Research involves counting or measuring response in terms of statistical significance. It is used to measure the activity of an entire audience by measuring a sample. There are two methods of sampling:

Random sampling – this is like sticking a pin into a list with your eyes closed. It has to be balanced by methods which ensure that the sample includes all types of people represented in the population but it is a procedure which excludes human judgement and thus bias.

Quota sampling – the sample includes a fixed number of people from the types represented in the population as a whole. This is easier but opens the possibility of bias.

Market research and surveys are typically quantitative. Quantitative data gathering always involves statistical analysis once the data has been gathered. It is also often used as a way in to more in-depth qualitative research. For example a brief ‘closed’ questionnaire might be used as the pre-cursor to setting up a focus group.

2. Qualitative Research involves a more personal (less scientific) approach through interviews, discussions, focus groups etc. This is used to discover experiences and responses which are difficult to measure in statistical samples. Information is gathered through observation, recording, questions and interviews in order to investigate a subject in depth and it does not attempt to be fully representative but to develop an in-depth understanding.

This method is more regularly used in Media Studies, and is more appropriate to studying cultural phenomena such as audience consumption.

Examples include

• action research
• case study research
• textual analyses
• ethnography.

Qualitative data sources include

• observation
• participant observation (fieldwork)
• interviews
• open-ended questionnaires
• documents and texts.

Qualitative data is often explored through ‘discourse analysis’ – the analysis of talk, which can help us to understand how and why we consume the media.

In order to conduct a discourse analysis of a focus group for example, you would have to listen carefully to what everybody said, and then explore the reasons behind their responses. To do this, you would have taped the focus group discussion and ‘transcribed’ the results, so you know exactly who said what.

Make sure that you do this research with clear target audiences – eg alternative youth/mainstream youth/age specific audiences etc

PRIMARY RESEARCH

A key part of your research is the primary research. This is research that you undertake first hand.

You can carry out primary research in a number of ways, these include:

• Questionnaires
• Interviews
• Questions on message boards
• Observations
• Your own analysis of the text

The method(s) that you choose for your own research will depend on which you think will generate the most useful information. You should consider carefully what it is that you wish to gain from your primary research and information you need for your project. It is important to think about the time you have available and the logistics of completing the research.

Things you should do before beginning to do primary research:

• Be realistic about how much information you can collect
• Think about how it will fit in with the rest of your project
• Be prepared to follow up any requests for interviews/meetings with a phone call!
• Be prepared for your request to be turned down
• Be realistic about who will speak to you

Below is an outline of what each method involves and how it can be used.

Questionnaires
Questionnaires are a useful way of collecting information off a larger sample of people. As you are limited in the time available you should think about qualitative questionnaires, this is where you ask a small sample of people and focus on getting as much information as possible from them. There are number of questionnaire types, each will be used for different types of research and in different ways. You should decide what one suits your research best.

• Unstructured questionnaire:
Most of the questions are open ended. You are free to change the order of asking questions and to explain them. The questionnaire may take the form of a checklist for discussion. The unstructured questionnaire is used in ‘depth’ interviews and group discussions.

• Semi-structured questionnaire:
This usually constitutes a mixture of closed or fixed response questions and open-ended questions. Semi structured questionnaires are useful in enabling you to ‘stage manage’ the interview so that all the open ended questions are answered fully.You will find that you will often get a better response if you are present whilst people complete the questionnaire. This will allow you to answer any questions that people may have about it. As with any research your results will depend on the quality of your questions.

Interviews

• Individual:
Interviews are likely to be in-depth conversations with individuals concerning a particular topic. The individual that you interview will depend on what you wish to find out. You will need to make contact with the individual that you wish to interview; you may do this through a letter or by e-mail. We would strongly recommend that you follow this up with a phone call should it be appropriate.It is possible that the interviewee could ask for a copy of the questions or conduct the interview via e-mail. This is why it is worth preparing questions beforehand. An interview is a really effective method of getting lots of information as it is likely that open-ended questions will generate a lot of conversation. Should you be interviewing someone from an institution it is worth carrying out some brief research on him or her first if you have not already.

• Group:
Another type of interview involves putting together a group of people to discuss a particular topic. This is often known as a focus group, where the group is selected because of a common interest or because the people in it represent a particular 'type'. For instance, you might put together a group of female viewers to discuss their responses to films directed by women or a group of Primary school children to discuss their television consumption.This sort of focus group needs careful selection and handling; obviously, being with other people will have some impact on how they respond to questions compared to an individual interview. In addition when there are several people present it will be hard for you as the interviewer to keep track of what is said. It might be useful to tape record the interview or even to video it and transcribe it for analysis later. The kinds of question you might ask for either group or for individual interviews are considered below.

Questions on message boards:
In some cases one of the most effective way of getting information from a diverse range of sources is by posting questions on an Internet message board. This can often generate a range of responses from readers of the message board who may have a detailed understanding of your topic area. As with the two previous methods the quality of responses will depend upon the quality of your questions. This method of research can be a quick and effective way of gathering primary information.

Observations:
Another form of primary research is your own observations; this could include watching how people react to a media product. You need to plan carefully how this would fit into your research and what you wanted to achieve before you organised an observation. This is more suitable for certain topics than for others, it would often be supported by a series of questions with the individuals or group who have been observed.

Own analysis of a media text:
For a number of topics it may be appropriate to undertake your own analysis of a media text. This would include analysing a text that is closely related to your research topic. It would require you to trust your academic skills as you would have to make comments about your chosen text and how it links to your topic and is relevant.

Note: It would be advisable to undertake more than one type of primary research, as this is likely to generate the most information. It will also mean that you improve your chances of collecting the necessary information.

Question Types
There are 3 main types of question that you could choose to use in you questionnaires, these are:

• Open-ended questions:
The term “open” describes your interviewee’s options for responding: they are open. The answer can be 2 words or 2 paragraphs. The major advantage of this more natural discussion is the greater detail and variety that the respondent can provide. You are also more likely to discover all sorts of information that you hadn’t anticipated. The down side might be that the mass of detail might be difficult to sort through, especially when you are trying to collate responses of multiple interviews.An example of an open-ended question:What was your response to the humour in “The cannonball run”?

• Closed questions:
With a closed question the possible responses are closed to the interviewees, since they can only reply with a finite number or limited choice. Multiple-choice exams are the obvious example. You have to choose one answer from a number of examples. A variation is the “bipolar” question where the respondent must choose yes/no, true/false, or agree/disagree. The obvious benefits of these questions are ease, speed and concrete data, which you can readily collate and tabulate. An example of a closed question:Do you agree or disagree that “Smokey and the Bandit” is a funny film?

• Probe questions:
A probe, or “follow-up” question, goes beyond an initial answer to get more meaning, to clarify, and to draw out and expand on the interviewee’s point. A probe is often necessary to get beyond an initial superficial or opinionated response. Follow-up probes come quite naturally after a closed question.Probes can be taken by your interviewee as a sign that you are listening to what’s being said, thinking it through, and responding appropriately.Examples of a probe question:Why ? Can you give me an example? Will you elaborate on that for me ?

RESEARCH RECORD AND EVALUATION CHART

When recording and evaluating your research sources and/or methods, you should identify the following:

1. Date
2. Name of source
3. Type of research
4. Purpose - why might this method be useful and what for?
5. Brief evaluation - pros + cons. think about the advantages + disadvantages raised by this method or source.


See your folder for a worked example.

DETAILED PROPOSALS - 15 QUESTIONS

For a detailed proposal, you will need to identify the following:

1. Topic Area
2. Proposed title, question, hypothesis
3. Teacher approval granted, in principal?
4. Principle texts (if text based study)
5. Reason for choice
6. Academic context for this study (similar research, relevant theory, named theorists)
7. Institutional context for this study (industry focus, other texts for comparison, named practitioners, relevant theory, issues, questions)
8. Identify the audience context for this study (audience profile, access to audience, potential sample)
9. How will the 4 key concepts be relevant to your study (audience, institution, forms and conventions, representation)?
10 Potential research sources (secondary): secondary academic books and websites, secondary industry books and websites, secondary popular criticism. Please identify specific examples you have come across.
11. Potential research sources (primary): audience reception research, your own content/textual analysis etc
12. Modifications agreed with your lead teacher
13. Potential limits/obstacles/problems?
14. Teacher concerns
15. Teacher approval

INITIAL PROPOSALS

When preparing an initial proposal, please answer the following questions:

1. Which topic area is this proposal for?
2. What is the suggested focus?
3. Do you have an idea for a question/problematic?
4. Why would you choose this?
5. Do you have any concerns or are there any limitations to this proposal?
6. Can you rate it on a sliding scale 1- 5 (5 being great proposal, 0 being lousy proposal)

RESEARCH - DO'S + DONT'S

Do
Be specific - your question should be focused
Be realistic - you have to think how much information you can gather/find
Use a variety of research methods
Be organised - decide what information you need and where you are going to get it from
Set yourself deadlines - working to a deadline will help your project remain focused

Don’t
Try to research too large an area
Waste time waiting for people to contact you, be proactive- contact them
Leave it to the last minute, there is too much you have to do
Hesitate to ask for help

TOPIC AREA 9 - WORLD CINEMA

Please see your folder for guidance on this topic area.

TOPIC AREA 8 - WOMEN + FILM

Suggested focus areas for Women and Film Critical Research

• What stereotypes of men and women are used or subverted by your focus texts? (Look at mise-en-scene, choice of actors, camera angles, music, posture, facial expression as well as behaviour)
• Is there such a thing as a feminine film style? Can a male director use it? Will audiences like/dislike this style?
• What are ‘female issues’? How do female directors treat them? What about male directors?
• Could look at the representation of women in power (‘The Devil Wears Prada’, ‘Working Girl’) – is this a female stereotype constructed by male directors?
• Can feminism ever be profitable?
• How are film texts different to film when looking at representation of women?
• What genre conventions in representing gender are supported/subverted by your focus texts?
• To what extent would you say your focus texts empowered women? Is a woman only empowered when she’s acting like a man?
• To what extent are your focus films viewing the world with a ‘male/female gaze’?
• What problems/issues did the women involved in your focus texts have to face from filmmaking institutions?
• How did the press and public of the time react to the gender issues in your focus texts
• How do modern audiences react to your focus texts?
• Choose a female actor or director and consider issues (industry, creative/thematic, audience reception, representational etc.) in their work (e.g. Kate Winslet is a popular choice here as she has worked in mainstream and non-Hollywood contexts and has been written about frequently regarding her image – also a comparison of the work of directors Jane Campion and Kathryn Bigelow is possible
• Look at the treatment of key themes by a variety of filmmakers – e.g. female rites of passage (a Campion reference here, especially in early films) – perhaps with additional reference to fiction/music/diaries (non-fiction and fiction) (Bridget Jones perhaps) etc.
  Identify industry strategies (high concept marketing – how women are used to sell films etc.) or preoccupations (such as star and body image) and their effects on spectators (female and male)
• Look at female roles, archetypes, casting and examine how (and why) they change over time
• Look at critical and popular criticism of men and women in films (the two Sight & Sound Readers in the further reading section at the back of these resources offer excellent material to contrast) and account for the differences and similarities
  Consider national variations in gender representation or stars (e.g. France, China, Bollywood etc.) and offer reasons
• Examine synergy of fashion, film promotion, men’s and women’s magazines, marketing and music (Showgirls, Destiny’s Child, Charlie’s Angels, Tomb Raider, Ericsson mobile phones etc.)
• Consider the relationships (thematic, industry, marketing, star etc.) between television and film (e.g. Sarah Michelle Gellar – Buffy/Cruel Intentions/Maybeline cosmetics, The Devil Wears Prada and Ugly Betty) also actresses crossing over the divide eg Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox))
• Women as spectators (of any kinds of film) – at the cinema and at home (Uma Dinsmore-Tuli did an excellent and accessible presentation on her research on ‘Watching Movies at Home’ at BFI conference – written up for Screen)

Specific case study examples

Area One :The Director as auteur
Examples: Sofia Coppola - Jane Campion – Jodie Foster – Gurinder Chadha – Maya Deren – Sally Potter – Kathryn Bigelow – Allison Anders – Leni Riefenstahl – Lynne Ramsay

Possible questions:
Explore the relationship between director, Jane Campion, her subject matter and her audience.
To what extent is Jane Campion’s subject matter of direct relevance to the modern female audience?
To what extent does Lynne Ramsay make films that sell themselves on her merits as a filmmaker – not because she is a woman
To what extent can Sally Potter be considered a true auteur

Gurinder Chadha’s films deal with Asian women breaking the mould. How far is this a thematic conception in her films?
What relationship exists between the way women’s roles are challenged on film and in the reality of their spectators? (Apply to any of above?)

Area Two: Female Action heroes
Examples: Carrie Ann Moss – The Matrix / Angelina Jolie – Lara Croft / Kathleen Turner - V I Warshowski – Serial Mom / Sigourney Weaver – Alien / Uma Thurman - Kill Bill

Possible Questions:
Explore the archetype of the Female warrior
How is the classic stereotype of the female warrior in Martial Arts/Asian film crossing over into western film? (Charlie’s Angels/Uma Thurman)

Area Three : Chick Flicks
Films about women for women
Examples : The Devil Wears Prada/ Step Mom/ Fried Green Tomatoes/Brigid Jones’ Diary

Possible questions:
Explore the degree to which female actors who offer identification as opposed to image desirability
are more popular for female audiences? ( ie the move from star to girl next door / character
actress)

What pleasures are offered through the “chick flick?”
How is “Being a woman” used as a strategy for Box Office success?
Actresses: Renee Zellwegger/ Cameron Diaz/ Meg Ryan/ Lindsey Lohan/ Meryl Streep/

Area Four : The Older Woman
Examples : Calendar Girls / Eight Women / Searching for Debra Winger/ Notes on a Scandal/ The Queen

Possible questions :
To what extent are audience’s more accepting of the older woman?
How does contemporary mainstream film cater for older audiences?
Older female actresses – Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver – account
for their enduring success in the film industry

See your media folder for further ideas.

TOPIC AREA 7 - TELEVISION DRAMA

See your folder for guidance on this topic area.

TOPIC AREA 3 - COMMUNITY RADIO

Potential Focus Areas

• Local radio stations and their relationship with their local community (can include pirate radio
• Do national radio stations have specific communities that listen to their programming?
• Can a national radio station meet the needs of a community/communities?
• How do radio stations form communities?
• Functions and roles of community radio, including public service broadcasting and local radio (public and/or commercial)
• The needs of community/community identity
• Public access
• Community radio as balance for London-centric broadcasting
• Impact of digital revolution on radio industry with a focus on one community audience/ one community station

How might I research radio?

• Internet - radio home pages, message boards, chat rooms & e-mail DJ’s
• Record shows/ download podcasts - listen to audience participation, is there a sense of community? How is this expressed?
• Interview listeners - what do they get out of the show? How do they feel like members of a community?
• Print material - search for articles on the Internet, books, journals or newspapers including industry papers

Examples of potential research titles
Can a national radio station meet the needs of a range of diverse communities in its programming?
OR
How does x dj construct a community through his/her daily show?
OR
How does x local radio station target its local audience?

How do I research this?

• Choose a national radio station e.g. Radio 1 or a local station eg LGR or a digital station eg 6
• Music or a particular DJ o a particular audience
• Examine the schedule and highlight specialist programming
• Choose a couple of programmes to examine in greater detail.
• Contact listeners, search for articles, look on the Internet

See your folder for further ideas

TOPIC AREA 4 - CRIME + THE MEDIA

You could look at the representation of crime across any medium.

• In cinema, could explore the work of a particular director, genre, actor, decade or type of criminality. You could explore the representation of criminality and youth, age, gender, and social economic status. Guy Ritchie and his films may be a popular choice here. Early silent movies focused on crime dramas as the best way to reach the audience – this could be a focus.
• Criminality and humour – Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther Series
  Bond baddies
• In TV, you could look at fictional or non-fictional representations.
• In fiction, you could focus on prison drama and the representation of women and criminality (Bad Girls).
• Popularity of The Bill or other popular crime/ police series. You could explore the success of TV crime drama with an audience reception study into consumption habits and pleasures.
• You could explore criminal characters in East Enders. You could trace popular criminal fictional characters over time to look at typical characteristics that encourage us to love a villain - The Mitchell Brothers for eg.
• You could compare and contrast within the soap or crime series genres. You could explore audience responses to fictional representations with a focus on the notion of realism.
• Representation of serial killers in dramas like Prime Suspect (series 6 about to start – high quality drama with Helen Mirren) and Cracker (Robbie Coltrane as Fitz the police psychologist)
• In factual TV, you could explore the area of criminal behaviour packaged for primetime entertainment: ‘The Cook Report’; reporters who infiltrate underworlds and then make a documentary about it (cowboy rip-off builders make for great TV! ; Crimewatch – Public Service TV that has us on the edge of our seats.
• You could explore ‘deviance amplification’ – a sociological theory that suggests that the more media attention a criminal activity gets, the worse the problem gets ie black on black gun crime.
• You could explore the issue of public attitudes to crime, and the possibility of being a victim of crime – do programmes like Crimewatch make us feel more or less secure?
• You could look at criminal representations on the news – how news stories need a baddie, whether the news shapes our attitudes to so-called baddies, even if found innocent in a court of law. This could be the same in the press.
• You could explore the notion that the media can provoke criminal behaviour, with specific case studies such as the linking of the killing of Jamie Bulger in 1993 with the film Childsplay 3.
• In Music Videos, you could look at the representation of criminals and their behaviour in particular genres and MV’s.

Pros
Great topic, fascinating, masses of stimulus material
New to the syllabus so if you tackle it well, the rewards could be very high

Cons
Essential to have your secondary source material before you launch into this. This must have a secure theoretical perspective, and a clear sense of comparison with other research studies on this topic. This can be tricky with this topic, so it depends on the way you approach it.

Useful references

Murphy and Chibnall British Crime Cinema Routledge
Murphy British Cinema Book BFI 2001
(2 chapters on British crime cinema, post war and the 90’ gangster boom)
Arthur Asa Berger: produced a study that ‘proved’ audiences were more afraid of being victims of crime than was actually necessary, because of watching too many reality TV shows and documentaries about crime.
Dr Kevin Browne: Has undertaken studies into criminal behaviour and whether the media can be blamed for influencing or triggering violence. ‘Proved’ that violent films were a major factor.

See your folder for further ideas.

TOPIC AREA 2 - CHILDREN AND THE MEDIA

Children and Television - suggestions

• How, where and when do kids watch tv
• Children’s viewing habits – what do they watch and why?
• Is TV the dominant medium in children’s lives?
• Is there such thing as family viewing?
• Do children watch children’s TV?
• The watershed – does it work?
• Children and interactive TV – what are the pleasures
• Who controls and influences children’s viewing
• How advertising targets children
• Reality TV – what do kids think
• What annoys kids about TV
• What do kids think about the attitude of the adult world towards TV
• Specific audience reception study of specific group and specific genre, channel, or series
• Children and the news - how they perceive the news (can they separate fact from fiction), how it ‘affects’ them and what news items they remember and are interested in;
• Perceptions of the influence of TV on children – what do parents and teachers and children believe and why
• The censorship debate could be tackled from various angles, e.g. violence and fear - what frightens children on tv and should censorship be tighter in the light of this?
• Very young children – does TV shape their development in any way? What do they understand about TV?
• What would happen if a child had the TV taken away for a week? What would they do differently?
• Or what is the existing censorship of children's tv and what do children, parents and teachers think of it (all set in the context of research into media effects on children and work such as Martin Barker's on censorship)
• Representation in children's tv: after surveying the viewing habits of a group of children, there could be some analysis of representations of, for example, the family, class, race, childhood in those texts alongside a study of how those children perceive those representations of social groups in those texts.

TIP: Small scale focus group and 1 to 1 interviews will work best. Viewing diaries are a good idea. Can use family and friends. Lots of available research studies for comparison and reference. Keep it simple.

Potential resources:

Emulation, Fears and Understanding, an ITC research publication (1998). It is a review of recent research on children, and tv advertising.
Bovill, M. & Livingstone, S. (1999), Young People, New Media funded by various bodies including ITV, BSC, BBC
Gunter, B. and McAleer, J. (1997), Children and Television, Second Edition, pub. Routledge. Covers all sorts of areas including lots about effects of tv, including advertising.
Buckingham, D.(1996) Moving Images, pub. Manchester University Press. Through small-group, focused interviews the book investigates children's own perspectives on what they find frightening, moving and upsetting
Buckingham, D. et al (1999) Children's TV in Britain, pub. BFI. Examines in detail children's programming (historical perspective and changes) and how to define child audience as well as audience research.
Buckingham D and Bazalgette C (eds) In Front of the Children BFI 1995
Buckingham D Children Talking Television Falmer Press 1993
Barker, Martin, Video Nasties Written in mid or late 1980s and deals with people's fears about video violence, taking anti-censorship stance.
Barker and Petley (eds) Ill Effects Routledge 1997
Buckingham, D. (1990), Watching Media Learning, pub. The Falmer Press. Chapter Six, called 'Reading Representations' is particularly interesting, including a study of the attitudes of children in a London comprehensive to the Cosby Show.
Bovill M and Livingstone S Young People, New Media funded by various bodies including ITV, BSC,BBc 1999
Gunter B and McAleer J Children and Television Routledge 1997
Hagell A and Newburn T Young Offenders and the Media PSI 1994
Messenger-Davies M TV is Good For Your Kids Hilary Shipman 1989
Hodge B and Tripp D Children and Television Polity 1986
MacBeth T (ed) Tuning in to Young Viewers Sage 1996
Emulation, Fears and Understanding an ITC research publication 1998

See your folder for further ideas.

TOPIC AREA 1 - ADVERTISING

See your media folder for detailed guidance.

GUIDANCE ON EXAM NOTES

1. Students are able to take in 4 sides of A4 research notes into the exam; these must be submitted with the candidate’s exam script.
   
2. The purpose of the notes is to serve as a memory aid in the exam.
   
3. The notes must be hand written by the candidate.
   
4. They should cover primary and secondary sources, statistics, brief quotations, diagrams and note form summaries.
   
5. It is recommended that students collect research findings carefully during the course of the Critical Study Unit. These should then be selected and edited carefully at a reasonable period before the exam, and presented as the 4 final sides of research notes.

Note: The notes will not be marked, but they will be checked. Where there is doubt about a particular students’ grade, the notes could be crucial at Grade review in decision-making.

Rules regarding taking in notes

• No essay plans or continuous prose (paragraphs) allowed.
• No additional sheets or materials allowed.
• No word processed, printed, photocopied material allowed.
• Students should take careful note of the rules, as failure to follow them will result in heavy penalties being imposed. This could result in disqualification from the exam.
• Turn up to the exam in plenty of time so your teachers can do a final check of your notes before you go in.

GRADE THRESHOLDS FOR MARKING PRACTICE ESSAYS

Overall total

72+ = A 80%

63+ = B 70%

54+ = C 60%

45+ = D 50%

36+ = E 40%

Below 36 is a fail

Per question

45 marks available for each question

36 – 45 = A

31 – 35 = B

27 – 30 = C

22 – 26 = D

18 – 21 = E

These are approximate.

ESSAY TIPS - Q2

Q.2 is harder than Q.1 and involves placing your close study within the wider context of the overall topic area, thus considering in what ways what you have looked at typifies the issues around the overall topic. Again it needs planning in order to read as a systematic project rather than a random set of quotes. Answers to Q2 tend to lack reference to material from the research, so you must make sure you back up every point with an example to show where you got it.

How to answer question 2

Where q.1 is about METHODS and paragraphs should be organised by method and research route, q.2 is about FINDINGS and paragraphs should perhaps be organised by concepts so that there is clear distinction between the two.

A structure something like this should work

Section 1: Intro- what are the key issues in relation to your area of study ?

For example you might consider:

World Cinema: funding/distribution (Inst) how they reach audiences and how audiences receive/interpret/watch the films (aud) how they represent the culture (rep) how they are similar to/differ from western films (forms/conv)TV Drama: budgets/scheduling/distribution in other formats e.g. DVD, competition with other genres, extra-textual life e.g. spin-off progs (Inst) issues covered and how they represent social groups (Rep) conventions e.g. genre, innovation or not (F and C) audience pleasures (Aud)

Crime: conventions of the crime genre – on TV, fiction and non-fiction, how crime may be represented (nationalism, gender etc) dominance of particular social groups and particular forms of criminality (Rep) conventions of coverage (F/C) importance of crime to media and in particular to TV schedules, ratings etc (inst), audience reception of crime in media, including popularity (aud)

Children: concerns about what is represented to children/how they are represented (Rep) what kids understand/the impact of media texts upon them/their pleasures (aud) importance of child audiences to media institutions (Inst) the forms and convs of children’s media texts (F/C)

Section 2: How does your specific focus relate to the issues in the topic as a whole ?

Section 3: Break down into many paras/ mini-sections; one on each conceptual area: Institution, Representation, Forms and Conventions, Audience as they relate to your topic.

Maybe more than one paragraph on some areas but throughout referring to method, sources, references, quotes, ideas etc

Section 4: Solid conclusion that draws it all together and summarises what you have learnt. The key is how to cross reference concepts with your research, and tie it all in. In your conclusion think about making points that relate to both the MACRO as well as the MICRO aspects of your study (in other words think about answering the exam question, not just your own question).

ESSAY TIPS - Q1

When you have collected material from a range of sources and used a variety of methods, your next step will be to start to shape it for the exam itself. In the first lesson for this, we will help you to see how you might organise your material effectively; in the meantime, if you look at the examples on the M drive, you will have a good idea of how to do it.

Q1: Overall you will need: an introduction, a paragraph or two on each method, including proper referencing and examples as well as a consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the method itself. The whole thing needs to be sequenced logically so that there is a sense of your research being a journey. You will need to reflect on the way you conducted and processed your research not just the methods and sources themselves. You will need to demonstrate links between your stages and show how one thing led to another.

There are well known advantages and disadvantages to the popular methods which you will need to reflect on. You will need to talk about how you anticipated these and adapted accordingly or how these were usfeul/problematic to you and why. It is important to be extremely humble about your research, and to recognise that there are things you would do differently in hindsight, with more experience behind you. There are many experienced academics conducting similar types of research and they would always conduct a thorough evaluation of their work before it was published. This enables interested parties to see what the limitations of the research were and how these limitations impacted on the outcomes and final results.

How to answer Q1:
On the whole this needs a lot of references to actual examples from the research methods, with full referencing such as author, title, publisher, date (for a book), plus a full explanation of what was in the source and a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the method. You need a brief introduction which sets out which area you are investigating and what your specific focus is.

1. You then need a paragraph (or two) on each of your methods, which should include at least four secondary and at least two primary.
2. Each paragraph needs to include an account of the method, which will involve some explanation, examples (for secondary) of two sources, fully referenced and their content briefly explained, at least one specific detail from each source (e.g. a quote) and an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the method overall.
3. You should end with a conclusion, which again should be brief and just sum up your main points.

Your FINDINGS can be left to Q.2

Extra tips: leave a line between each paragraph, don't make your paragraph last more than a page, highlight key points if you want.

AT A GLANCE - WHAT TO DO

The following applies to any critical research study, regardless of the topic area

Undertake Primary Research:

• Audience reception eg questionnaires, focus groups, interviews
• Textual analysis and your own critical responses (to texts which could include films, children’s TV, pop videos, radio broadcasts, for example

Undertake Secondary Research:

• Text books, factual books, and other library resources, ie newspapers, magazines and video/ DVD/ TV resources
• Industry, academic and related internet sites
• Actual research studies in a similar field as your own

Discuss the different types of research you have undertaken on the following:

• Audience reception including your own views and analysis of texts
• Popular criticism (ie media reviews)
• Academic criticism (ie quotations from media theory/ text books)
• The institutions, industry or media producers

Provide analysis of:

• The investigative process
• The findings of your research
• Your argument or thesis, with reference to your research and textual evidence
• Conclusions reached at the end of your research

Remember: This project is preparation for a 2 hour exam, in which you will answer 2 questions. One will be about your methods of research, the other will require you to analyse your findings

A WORKED EXAMPLE OF A CRITICAL RESEARCH STUDY - FROM START TO GRADE A

25 STEPS TO SUCCESS!
1.Checked out all the topic areas. Keen to do something with children as the focus.
2.Decided on Children & the Media as my topic and Children and TV as a focus.
2.Proposed to look at educational value of children’s TV programmes.
3. Researched around my proposed focus area to make sure it was viable - I needed to make sure there was plenty of material available (don't want to make life too difficult!)
4. Wrote a list of the possible materials I could use - made sure I had a range of sources (media texts such as kids TV progs, institutional info such as viewing figures + stats, academic books, popular articles from newspapers)
5. Worked out my own action plan for the next couple of months, using the department framework as a guide. Made sure I allocated enough time for writing up my findings, learning everything in time for the exam, preparing my cover sheet and exam notes.
6. Created linked lists on my blog to all the websites I have found so far that I am planning to use.
7. Created a list of books + chapters I want to read as background and context.
8. Wrote my 1st 'research diary' post, outlining what I had done so far
9. Kicked off my research by looking at pre-school children’s programmes featured on BBC1 and ITV on one day. Analysed the content, and themes/skills learnt/taught.
10. Looked at websites for programmes analysed to research the theories and ideas behind them. Teletubbies and CITV were very good at explaining what children learn at different ages, and how the programmes cater for them.
11. Started my research record and evaluated the websites visited so far.
12. Realised that I only have info from what’s being broadcast, rather than any effect it has on the children. Put together questionnaire to find out parents’ and children’s opinions of the TV and whether they learn anything.
13. Evaluated method + results. Questionnaire is good from parents, but doesn’t work so well for children as the answers are too vague. Interview 2 children to get more specific answers. Also need to work out how to measure how much children have learned and whether they learned it from the TV or from elsewhere.
14. Looked for theorists and critics’ ideas. Found Barry Gunter book, and lots of quotes to prove a negative effect on behaviour, but positive effect on learning. This was backed up by questionnaires.
15. Found research completed at Aberystwyth University to see how widespread the ‘problem’ was. Also found statistics on internet on children’s viewing habits to show how much viewing has increased in pre-school children. OFCOM really useful here.
16. Some research from internet suggests reasons for behaviour problems. Decided to complete observation of children watching telly for myself to check if it’s true.
17. Observation fairly successful, but some limitations. Interviewed a couple of parents to discuss ideas.
18. Found a couple more news articles and chapters from books which disagree with other research, but make sense with some of the questionnaires/observations, etc.
19. Came to conclusion that Children’s TV is educational and helps teach spelling, numbers, time telling and some social skills, but too much telly leads to short attention span which is detrimental to learning effectively in other situations. Recommendation that it’s used in conjunction with other teaching methods, and that time spent watching is limited and monitored carefully. Tried to compare my points to issues with other children's media as a wider focus to make sure I was dealing with the Macro as well as the Micro aspects of the topic.
20. Checked back through my research records and prepared the draft cover sheet ready for the teacher check. Got it checked and rewrote it following feedback.
21. Prepared my 4 sides of notes, tried to use colour coding and headings as much as possible to make them easy to use when under pressure. Checked the guidance to make sure I hadn't included anything illegal. Got them teacher checked, just a few changes to make later on. Found that writing the cover sheet and the notes for the 1st time really helped with revision - I knew most of my material by now.
21. Revised everything I'd done on methods + sources, and all the pros and cons and drafted an answer to Q1. Used the essay guide to help me with this. Developed this ready to hand in for marking. Met with media teacher to go through my feedback.
22. Revised all my knowledge, analysis and outcomes and drafted an answer to Q2, again using the guide. Met with media teacher to go through my feedback.
23. Rewrote my essays taking into account the comments I got. Made sure I really thought about answering the actual exam questions this time, rather than just pouring out everything I knew.
24. Got the actual exam cover sheet from the teachers, re-did my notes and cover sheet ready for the final exam. Understood now what I really needed and how to present them! Got them signed, took a photocopy, and kept them safe.
24. Tried to learn my essays off by heart, then practiced them against the clock. Cut out some stuff as I couldn't get it all down in the time available. Broke it all down into section headings and key words to help me learn it properly.
25. Turned up to the exam on time, with my cover sheet and notes, did brilliantly and got an A! Hurray!

FURTHER DETAIL ON THE SET TOPICS

Assessment Objective Six highlights the emphasis on investigative techniques and independent research and analysis in their chosen topic. It should be clear from the
candidates’ examination script that there is ample evidence of individual study and
independent research, rather than of answers coached by the teacher. As such, this unit
offers the candidate an excellent opportunity for learning progression to higher education
degree-level study.

It is important that candidates understand that the nature of this unit is one of active research rather than media text-based analysis.

The content below represents a range of possible investigations within the scope of each
topic.

Topic 1
Advertising
Research into advertising, marketing and sponsorship.

Issues such as the nature and purpose of advertising - selling image and lifestyle. Issues of ideologies, values, messages and meanings. Consumer cultures. Product placement. Niche and mass markets. Audience targeting. Social demographics and product mapping. Marketing strategies. Case studies of particular campaigns. Audience reception of advertising. Relationship between media institutions and advertising.

Topic 2
Children and the Media
Research into the relationship between children and the media as subjects of media
representations and/or as consumers of the media. [“Children” to mean up to and including
age 15].

Targeting and use of children in media products. Representations of childhood and gender. Academic perspectives. The media as educative. Research into effects theories in relation to children and the media. Children as participants in media productions. Views of parents, teachers and children on the media and childhood. Children’s reception of media texts. Media to include television, film, radio, magazines, comics, newspapers, video games and
internet.

Topic 3
Community Radio
The relationships between radio stations and their communities.
[local radio stations, commercial and publicly funded or niche radio programmes].

Functions and roles of community radio, including public service broadcasting and local radio (public and/or commercial). The needs of community/community identity. Public access. Community radio as balance for London-centric broadcasting hegemony. Candidates are encouraged to use a specific example of community radio as a case study.

Topic 4
Crime and the Media
The representation of crime in/across a range of media.

Crime films; televisions crime series. True crime magazines. Press representations of crime and criminality. News reporting of crime; radio and internet crime coverage. Moral panics. Show case trials; crime and news values. Trial by the media. The media and public perceptions of crime.

Topic 7
Television Drama
Research into the significance of television drama.

Place of television drama in the schedules. The changing face of television drama. Issues of “quality”/dumbing down. Drama documentaries/”faction”. Representations of social groups. Drama series and serials. Soap operas. Comedy drama, costume drama. Literary adaptations. High culture v low culture debate. Audience reception of TV drama. Historical development. Notions of authorship in television drama. Relationships of genre to television institutions.

Topic 8
Women and Film
Research into the relationships between female filmmakers and the industry as well as between their films and their spectators and/or female spectatorship of film.

[Filmmaker is defined here as director, actor, producer, screenwriter or other personnel for example editor, production designer, director of photography].

Gender issues such as equality of opportunity for women filmmakers in the industry. Issues of gender representation in films. Feminist critical perspectives. Popular criticism. Audience reception. Candidates may draw on examples of films classed as ‘feminist films. Films made for female audiences and films made by women as well as female responses to other films.

Topic 9
World Cinema
Research into the cinema of countries other than US or the UK.

Differences of context, audience and genre. Cinematic hybrids. Media imperialism. Cultural independence. Issues of representation. World cinema and politics. Cinema as agent of social and political change. Audience reception. Popular and art cinemas’, relationship with other media. Influence upon US and UK cinema.

10 TOP TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME

To do well in this project you must...

1. Use six different methods, some secondary and some primary
2. Use at least two different sources for each method
3. Fully reference all your sources
4. Be able to detail advantages and disadvantages of each method and source
5. Produce both quantitative and qualitative data
5. Show how the material you have used links together and forms a trail of research
6. Back up all your points with examples and explanation
7. Write for an hour each on your methods and your findings, relating the latter to the broader topic itself
8. Do the work yourself !
9. Be completely ready for the exam in June
10.Take our advice throughout !

RESEARCH TIPS - THE IDEAL PROJECT

An ideal project would use:

• one or two books, properly referenced, with notes to summarise key points you have extracted plus quotes from each.
• two journals, academic papers or magazines, similar notes
• four websites of a variety of kinds- institutional, fan sites, critical, theoretical, academic etc
• at least one item from a news search engine, newspaper or similar
• some textual analysis of relevant texts- films, tv programmes, etc
• some primary research such as interview, focus group, questionnaires, forum interviews from the web

FURTHER DETAIL ON THE EXAM PAPER

The examination consists of a two hour paper. There are two questions for each of the topic areas. Candidates should answer both questions on their chosen topic area. In the case of each topic area, question 1 will address the candidate’s research (45 marks) and question two will require students to present and analyse the research undertaken (45 marks).

Question 1 Research

• You will need to account for the kind of research undertaken including:
• The producers, institution or industry concerned
• Academic criticism (books, papers, research studies)
• Popular criticism (magazine and newspaper articles
• Audience reception (audience responses to texts).

You will need to evaluate the methods used in order to achieve the above, including:

• Primary and secondary research
• Quantitative and qualitative data gathering

Question 2 Analysis and Presentation

• You will need to present and analyse your research including:
• Your specific findings
• The creation and development of an argument or thesis
• The provision of a clear academic context for your research, with reference to, and analysis of similar work.
• Conclusions.

Quite simply, students are being asked to write about what they found out, and what they learnt from their research. You need to:

• Make clear the focus of your study
• Offer reflection on your methods
• Be thorough in your referencing
• Be explicit about how you are addressing the question.

HOW THIS UNIT WILL BE MANAGED

Managing the Paper

• This is an individual and independent research project - not a taught paper
• Students must have ownership of their research by developing an individual brief
• The project needs a time limitation and regular monitoring and support
• Class time is for support and monitoring - not for teaching the topic content.

Initial Support for Students

• Revision and extension of students' grasp of key concepts and medium specific terminology
• Teaching of research skills and methods - primary and secondary
• Guidance on sources of research to get you started

Ongoing Support for Students

• Class and individual discussion time to draft and finalise initial proposals
• Tutorials to check on progress – ongoing progress monitored on progress record chart
• Provision of a schedule with interim deadlines and occasions to check on satisfactory progress
• Essay and Exam practice - self review and target setting.

GOING ABOUT YOUR RESEARCH

Aim to use the following libraries to supplement your internet research:

Latymer Media Reference Library - single copies of relevant books organised under Film, Music, TV, Popular Culture etc. Books cannot be taken out of the Media Dept. You should take notes in class or in study periods, and may arrange with the Media teachers for specific pages to be photocopied if this is essential. Books must always be returned to the shelves in PA6 after use.

Latymer Reference Library - there is a media section where you may find some relevant books. The best service offered by this libraby however is the cuttings service - see the Librarian to discuss your topic area and she will start a folder for relevant newspaper cuttings. She may already have a folder of relevant stuff from the last couple of years.

BFI Film and TV library - we will be making a visit to this library on Tottenham Court Road. It is an incredible facility and once we have been, you will be able to make appointments to go back individually if you would like to. It has a world famous collection of material, much of which is not available anywhere else. Details of our trip to follow.

Try to be polite and responsible when borrowing books or asking for help - you are much more likely to get a positive response if you demonstrate you can communicate well and can be trusted to return materials promptly.

A WORD OF ADVICE

1. Stick to the model outlined on the previous page and you will give yourself every chance to do well. Deviate from framework and approach developed by your teachers and you are putting yourself at serious risk of under-performance in January.

2. Do not expect it to be easy, it won’t be. This will be the hardest unit you will do for Media Studies. This is NOT a taught unit. We will advise and guide you, but we can't force you to do the research if you're not interested.

3. This unit is in the syllabus in order to test you in ways that the other units don’t. You are being tested on your ability to independently sustain and nurture a research study over a period of several months, as well as your ability to tackle and apply a range of theoretical concepts. How you do that will determine what you have to write about in the exam. The examiners will be looking to differentiate between you. Not all of you will consolidate your A grades in August – it may be possible but unlikely. You should be very realistic about your chance of an A grade on this unit – this is very different to what has gone before in Media.

4. Some of you may work really hard, do everything right and still not achieve the highest grades – this is either because academically you may struggle to understand and explore the theory needed to achieve the highest level or because you find it difficult to meet the criteria expected on the mark scheme. However if you are following the correct approach and working closely with your teachers, you are giving yourself the best chance to achive the score you need.

BUT: If you struggle with the theory/ academic side, and your approach is a mess as well, you will fail.

HOW TO GET STARTED

1.Familiarise yourself thoroughly with the unit blog, the folder, the exam and the process you are about to go through.

2.Spend some time reading and researching around the topic area you are interested in. Use the Media Library, the School Library, the Internet, and your family, friends and teachers to help inspire you.

3.Choose a topic area and a specific focus that:

• you find accessible
• you can be objective about
• has plenty of relevant material available
• is similar to/ connects with actual studies that have already been undertaken by media
  theorists
• is possible to place within a theoretical framework that you can understand
• is manageable/ practical in the time available
• is not too narrow
• is not too broad
• comes under the areas listed in the breakdown for each Topic in your folder
  provides an opportunity to learn something new/ find something out

4. After lots of brainstorming and reading, come up with no more than 3 and no less than 2 final proposals and discuss them with other students. Present them on your blog as INITIAL PROPOSALS and discuss them with other students and your Media teachers. Use the questions listed on the blog to help you prepare your initial proposals.

5. Narrow down the focus to 1 proposal, and after discussions with the teachers, develop a research strategy – this is your DETAILED PROPOSAL. Use the questions on the blog to help you. Don’t start this if you’re not sure about the focus. If you struggling to complete the questions for this, it could mean one of two things: either you need to spend more time delving into the focus area and exploring it more thoroughly OR it’s not a suitable focus area to continue with.

6. The whole point of these questions is to weed out any ‘dodgy’ research titles, to ensure you know what you are getting yourself into and that you really understand your focus area, to make sure there is a wide range of source materials available so your research is not unnecessarily limited and to ensure there are no nasty surprises a few weeks on, when its too late.

7. Get feedback at this point, adapt or start again, with the aim to achieve final teacher authorisation in order to start research.

8. At this point, prepare your personalised ACTION PLAN. Look at the framework provided, think about your own commitments and create a week by week plan accordingly.

9. Organise your blog and your hard copy folder, check all your systems are in place and working. Make sure you prepare to keep the following records:

• Secondary Sources Record - a list of all references relating to articles, books, chapters
  and extracts, web-sites read, used or visited (useful and non-useful – you’ll need a range)
• Research Methods used, with evaluation.

10. Keep these records up to date as you go along. They will form the basis of your answer to Q1 on the exam paper. It is crucial that you keep your notes, your questionnaires, findings etc carefully, and well organised on your blog and in your folder.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO DEMONSTRATE FOR A LEVEL 4 RESPONSE

QUESTION 1: RESEARCH
Level 4 Excellent 35-45 marks

The ability to use a range of primary and secondary research resources will be clearly evident, as will the ability to select appropriate resources from those available. The ability to discriminate between relevant and irrelevant information will be clearly evident. There will be thorough and accurate referencing of resources. The research findings will be extensive and will demonstrate confidence, skill and independence in the investigation and understanding of the topic chosen (AO6).

Quality of language is very high; complex information is expressed accurately, concisely and fluently, using detail and complex structures with ease.

QUESTION 2: ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION
Level 4 Excellent 35-45 marks

Analysis and presentation will be sophisticated and assured, embracing precise references to theoretical concepts relevant to the investigation findings. There should be a fresh, personal and discriminating response to the aims of the study. The response will offer skilful comparisons of texts and issues with judicious use of specific examples to support argument (AO6).

Quality of language is very high; complex information is expressed accurately, concisely and fluently, using detail and complex structures with ease.

2734 SAMPLE PAPER AND KEY FEATURES OF THE MARK SCHEME

YOU SHOULD MAKE DETAILED REFERENCE TO SPECIFIC EXAMPLES FROM YOUR INVESTIGATION IN EACH ANSWER.

1. Give an account of, and evaluate the research methods you used to investigate the chosen aspects of your topic.

THE EXAMINERS ARE LOOKING FOR:

• Range of primary and secondary resources used
• Evidence of appropriate selection
• Thorough and accurate referencing
• Reflection upon the usefulness of the methods employed
• Ability to select between the resources available
• Ability to discriminate between relevant and irrelevant information
• Thorough and accurate referencing
• Extensive findings
• Confidence, skill and independence in investigation and understanding

2. With close reference to your findings, discuss the key issues involved in this topic

THE EXAMINERS ARE LOOKING FOR:

• Sophistication of analysis and presentation
• Reference to relevant theoretical concepts
• Personal response to aims of study
• Skilful comparison of texts and issues
• Judicious use of specific examples to support argument

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU:

• Credit for reflecting on own work
• Theoretical concepts= going from ‘what’ into ‘why’?
• Showing genuine investigation
• Trying to link what found with wider concepts
• Being ‘serious’ and systematic about research

POPULAR MISTAKES STUDENTS MAKE

• Not enough referencing
• Not enough reflection on methods
• Not clear enough on precise focus
• Need to structure answers
• Need to employ greater range of sources
• Need to relate research to wider topic/ context/ issues
• Need to present an argument
• Need to show knowledge of topic
  
  

INTRO TO THE EXAM + THE TOPIC AREAS

THE CRITICAL RESEARCH EXAM

· 7 broad topics to choose from

· Each student selects a focus of study within their chosen topic area

· 2 hour paper, 2 compulsory questions

· Each question worth 45 marks

· 4 A4 sides of research data can be taken into the exam

Same questions every year:

Question 1 – analysis of, and reflection upon research methods
Question 2 – analysis of research findings

The topics are:
o Advertising
o Children and the Media
o Community Radio
o Crime and the Media
o Television Drama
o Women and Film
o World Cinema

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

Well done for surviving the exam period everyone, and good luck with your results, which will come out Thursday March 12th.

For Media you will get your Debates result as well as confirmation of your coursework mark. From there you will be able to see the mark you will need to score on your final exam in order to achieve the grade you are hoping for.

At that point, the Media Dept will produce a list of priority students - these will be the people who are at risk of dropping a grade if they underperform in the final exam. We will be working very closely with you to ensure this doesn't happen. A normal level of support will be provided for the rest of you.

Your final exam is called 2734: Critical Research. This blog is devoted to this paper and will contain all the information, teaching notes, dates and deadlines and anything else you might need. This blog complements your course folder, where we have printed anything else you will need that cannot be blogged. You own individual research blogs are linked to the main one, and all your work will be recorded and published here.

You will need to post your work regularly as evidence that it has been completed. Please avoid the following excuses about lack of work:

1. I've got it saved as a word document and haven't posted it yet
2. The internet is down at home and I can't access blogger.
3. I posted my work but now it's disappeared.

Your blogs should contain the following:

1. An explanation of the topic area you are interested in, and what you are doing to research around it
2. An explanation of your choice of focus area and why you have chosen it
3. Your weekly action plan structured around the framework provided.
3. An ongoing diary of what you have been doing for your research
4. A record of research sources (both really useful ones and not so useful ones)
5. A record of research methods you have used/ are using.
6. Links to specific articles, papers, video clips and other relevant links, organised into linked lists
7. Analysis of key documents/ links to show their relevance to your focus area
8. Questionnaires, surveys or results of these, again identifying what and why.
8. Sections of your final essays, as specified by your teachers.

Please avoid:
1. Copying huge chunks of text into your blog from a website
2. Links, videos, imagery, text of any kind without any explanation or analysis.

Please remember to name each post and use labels - this will make your exam prep really easy to manage.