Need help with this final paper. I am doing this research on how families have changed on television over the years. I use prime examples of the brady bunch and modern family. I also have uploaded an example of a codebook that the Professor wants this paper to be somewhat about. This is a huge part of my grade and need a good score. Thanks!

Need help with this final paper. I am doing this research on how families have changed on television over the years. I use prime examples of the brady bunch and modern family. I also have uploaded an example of a codebook that the Professor wants this paper to be somewhat about. This is a huge part of my grade and need a good score. Thanks!

Media Analysis Project

OVERVIEW

Overall, each student is expected to produce and submit an 8-12-page, double-space media analysis report that is based on systematic observation, analysis, and synthesis of a selected set of mass media content. 

In your paper, use examples from the media content as evidence to support your arguments and state all your claims and premises explicitly. For example, if you wish to say that an ad for Levi’s reinforces traditional gender roles (and hence the dominant ideology), you need to describe what you saw in the ad, and explicitly tell us why and how it does that. 

The focus of this assignment is to analyze media content. Thus, in your papers, there should be very little detailed and elaborate recounting of what you saw. Instead, you should spend most of your time analyzing the content. In grading this type of analysis, the emphasis is on your insight, appropriate application of course concepts, and depth and sophistication of the arguments presented (a separate grading rubric will be distributed later). 

PROJECT GUIDELINES

One of the best ways to “see” media at work is to analyze in it firsthand. For this paper, you will understand media representations through content analysis and using examples in the media to find evidence to a research inquiry that is both empirically and socially valuable. 

Choose one form of media from the following list for your research. You may select from:

TV shows

at least   5 episodes (1 hour) or 10 episodes of 30 minutes

In about 8-12 pages, address the following sections. Use these headings.

I. Introduction (about 2page)

§ Introduce your research topic and why you chose it. 

§ Explicitly state your research question(s). 

§ What makes this topic sociologically important? 

II. Methods (about 2-3 page): Content Analysis

§ Introduce the titles of the sources you analyzed and provide rationales (be specific; for example, if three different magazines, which ones, which month/year and why?) What criteria did you use to select your sample? How did you decide on which movies to watch?

§ How did you collect the data? (i.e., how did you record your observations?) What specifically did you look at? What were the categories on your codebook?

§ How did you then organize your data?

§ Did you run into difficulties in your data collection? What are the limitations of doing this kind of research? What are the limitations to this study specifically?

III. Findings and Analysis (about 6-7 pages)

Findings = description of patterns found; Analysis = what do the patterns mean?

This section should be the main part of your paper.

§ Discuss any patterns you found and/or relationships between aspects with regards to your research inquiry (eg. messages, assumptions, representations of race, class, gender, etc.)

§ Organize this section according to the themes or patterns you found (using subheadings). Use some specific examples from your data to support the themes.

§ Connect to communication. How might your findings relate to a media/mass comm theory discussed in class? 

§ So what? What do these patterns tell you about society? What local and global consequences do they have? What message or dominant ideology is being promoted?

IV. Conclusion (about 1 page)

§ This should summarize the major points of your paper. What conclusions can you draw from your research? 

§ What further questions about your research inquiry need to be explored? (If someone else was to do a similar study, what should they look at?)

V. APPENDIX (separate page)

• Include a list of the movies      watched, magazine      ads or song lyrics with      details of dates, year, artist etc., and your codebook.

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT YOUR PAPER:

▪ Papers must be typed, double spaced with 12 pt. font and one-inch margins. Please page number your paper. 

▪ Attach your completed/filled out coding sheets to the back of your paper. (Note: even if you are analyzing song lyrics or magazine advertisements, you should be constructing a coding sheet about themes/patterns you are seeing).

“DOING SOCIOLOGY” FINAL PROJECT CHECKLIST

Please check:

q My margins, font size and spacing are correct

q I numbered my pages

q I used headings and sub-headings

q I included an appendix with a list of the media I used

q I included my codebook in an appendix

q I included a bibliography (if sources referenced)

q I reviewed my paper for spelling and grammatical errors

Grading Rubric for the Paper

Grading Components

Expectations

Points 

Research topic and research questions 

• The research topic is clearly      stated with articulation of the             purpose and scope (5)
• There is explicit statement of      the sociocultural impact of the             issue (5)
• The research topic is further      operationalized through more             concrete and specific research      questions. (5)
• The research questions are      suitable to be answered via content             analysis of media materials. (5)

20

Content analysis and codebook 

• Selection of media materials      reflects strategic thinking based             on research topic and research      questions (5)
• The codebook is relevant to the      research topic and includes             effective coding labels for the      exploring research inquiries (10)
• The coding labels and coding      categories reflect layered and             in-depth analysis of media      content (15)
• The write-up of the method part      is clear, concise,        to-the-point,      and explicit (10) 

40

Results and findings 

• The results are reported      logically and clearly with concrete             evidence and specific examples      backing them up (10)
• The results entail responses to      the research questions (10) 
• The results are synthesized      into themes and patterns that             facilitate more holistic      understanding toward the research inquiries             (10) 
• The results and findings shed      light for further understanding             and explanation of mass media      content (10) 

40

Discussion and conclusion 

• The key      points/conclusions/arguments of the media analysis             study are recapped (6) 
• There is discussion about the      implications and significance of             your study (8) 
• State how future research,      based on your analysis, can further             explore this range of media      analysis (8) 

20

Language and writing 

• Typos and grammatical errors      are reduced to the minimum 
• Language is thoughtfully and      clearly written that facilitates             readability and comprehension

20

Organization and Logics

· Logical flow exists between sentences, points, and   paragraphs 

· Overall structure reflects careful and purposeful   formatting, with headings assisting navigation 

10

Appendix A 

A list of media materials coded and analyzed 

-5 if absent 

Appendix B

Complete codebook 

-10 if absent