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Journalism · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Media Research & Public Opinion

“Data is the new oil.” This course equips students with the scientific tools to understand what the public thinks and why. Moving beyond intuition, students will learn Quantitative (Surveys/Polls) and Qualitative (Focus Groups) research methods. The curriculum covers the psychology of public opinion, the “Spiral of Silence,” and the modern use of social listening and analytics to gauge sentiment.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Understand the theories of Public Opinion (Agenda Setting, Spiral of Silence)
  2. Design valid and reliable research instruments (Surveys/Questionnaires)
  3. Conduct Focus Groups and Content Analysis
  4. Analyze data using statistical software (SPSS or Excel basics)
  5. Critique polling data and understand margin of error and sampling bias
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01Introduction to Research: Scientific Method
  2. 02Theories of Public Opinion Formation
  3. 03Research Ethics & Informed Consent
  4. 04Qualitative Method I: Focus Groups
  5. 05Qualitative Method II: In-Depth Interviews
  6. 06Content Analysis: Quantifying Media Messages
  7. 07Quantitative Method: The Survey
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09Survey Design: Writing Good Questions
  10. 10Sampling Theory: Random vs. Convenience
  11. 11Data Analysis I: Descriptive Statistics
  12. 12Data Analysis II: Correlation vs. Causation
  13. 13Audience Measurement (Nielsen/Ratings)
  14. 14Social Media Listening & Sentiment Analysis
  15. 15Presenting Data: Visualization
  16. 16Final Project: The Public Opinion Research Report

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

§ 03 Final project

Final Project: The Public Opinion Research Report

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. Mass Media Research: An Introduction by Wimmer and Dominick
  2. The Practice of Social Research by Earl Babbie
  3. Public Opinion by Walter Lippmann
  4. Analyzing Media Messages by Daniel Riffe
  5. Public Opinion Polling: A Handbook by Celinda Lake
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