How to Do Media and Cultural Studies

Jane Stokes is currently Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at the University of East London and has taught at the University of Kent at Canterbury, London South Bank University and London Metropolitan University. Jane’s interest in the media can be traced back to her days working on the student television station while studying English Literature at Sussex University. She has an MA in Film and Television Studies from the University of Westminster where Jane began teaching Media Studies in 1984. She moved to Los Angeles in 1989 to study for a PhD in Communication Theory and Research at the Annenberg School of Communication, USC. Jane has made research methods a teaching specialism, blending American and European approaches to communication, media and cultural studies.

This no nonsense, up-to-the-moment text cuts-to the-chase about how to conduct a research study. Jane Stokes effortlessly and expertly takes the reader by the hand and walks them through the principles, methods and practices of executing ′good′ media and cultural studies. If any book can relieve anxieties about actually doing research this is it. Accessible, informed, incredibly useful.

• Part I: Thinking: Theory and practiceChapter 1: Addressing epistemology: How do we know anything about anything?Chapter 2: Why do we do media and cultural studies?Part II: Practicalities: Managing your researchChapter 3: Getting startedChapter 4: Managing the research processChapter 5: Getting finishedPart III: Methods and approaches to researchChapter 6: Researching texts: Approaches to analysing media and cultural contentChapter 7: Researching the creative industries: Studying organisations, institutions and producersChapter 8: Researching audiences: Who uses media and culture? How and Why?Chapter 9: Research in context: Exploring mixed methods and research practiceChapter 10: Conclusion