Summary
Contents
Subject index
Arthur Asa Berger's essential guide to undertaking applied or practical research in media studies is designed to provide introductory techniques that allow students to engage immediately in their own research projects. In so doing, students learn various ways of conducting communication research both in theory and practice. In response to suggestions from users of the First Edition, Berger has added new chapters in each of the following areas: experimentation, historical research, comparative research and participant observation.
Participant Observation: Video Game Players
Participant Observation: Video Game Players
Participant observation means just what it says. The researcher participates (to varying degrees) in some activity in order to observe and better understand those involved in the activity. Participant observation thus is a kind of fieldwork an investigator does to gain insight into some subculture or organization or activity of interest. For example, participant observation studies have been made of hospital emergency rooms, jails, drug addicts, and medical schools. The investigators’ purposes in conducting these observations are to find out what goes on in the subcultures or organizations being studied and to gain some insight into their operations (especially hidden aspects not easily recognized) and how they function. As Brewer and Hunter (1989) note:
Fieldwork promises realistic ...
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