Exploring media research: Theories, practice, and purpose [Book Review]

[Extract] Ruddock’s work is a must-have resource for both student and professional researchers of media. With the explicit goal of demystifying the research process, the book offers many examples that aim to guide readers in conducting their own research on how media influence society. Examples include cyber-bullying; Wikileaks and whistleblowing; broadcasting of the downing of passenger airplane MH17; the playing of violent video games; the relationship between media representations and social perceptions of mental illness; mourning on social media; celebrity and health communication; war reporting; pornography; media sports stars; big data, Twitter and the 2015–2016 US presidential election; alcohol advertising and marketing; and representations of the British royal family and Brexit.

In the introduction, Rudd explains that media research belongs to the humanities because it considers why we care about the media, how media touch us personally, and how media do things in society. Rudd states that research involves discovering ways in which media industries and practices help to produce political awareness. He presents the following general cycle for conducting research: (1) find a media story or case that has attracted attention and ask why it has done so; (2) use scholarly research to discover the deeper meaning or implications of the case; (3) select a method by which to study the case; and (4) from the single case, develop general conclusions about the power of media and generate more research questions that may apply to another case.