By taking this paper students will gain a critical appreciation of the contribution of research to the understanding of cultural systems and media landscapes.

The paper is designed to develop an understanding of research purposes and methods employed in the devising, production and interpretations of social topics for various media formats.

Students will be exposed to the complexities (and versatility) of research processes, their reliance on cultural values, and the various problems that researchers have to pre-empt.

Three aspects of research and media will be examined:

• research for the media: the work done by media professionals should be accurate, their ideas are unbiased, and the research process ethical.

• research about the media, especially research that investigates individuals' and populations' engagement with the media.

• research through various media: that relates to the ability that various media have to record and provide data about society and cultural practices.

The paper will outline different kinds of conceptual frameworks and research methodologies and methods to collect and interpret data.
Students will develop a deeper understanding of various research strategies and will also explore ways to engage prospective participants in potential research.

Students will experience individual and collaborative aspects of research practice.
Group tasks and assessments are designed to allow for remote online collaborations. Students’ research skills will be developed in preparation for devising media research projects.
If necessary, applicable and ethical, these projects could involve other students or people who are physically on campus. This possibility has to be discussed with the lecturer prior to starting the group research proposal (assessment 2).

Students are encouraged to explore topics of research with curiosity and are expected to read widely, as well as actively participate to lectures and tutorials.

• About the lecturer.

Isabelle was born in Europe and has lived in several countries; she has a particular interest in the ways media represent diseases and how the representations of illnesses are perceived by individuals and by social groups.
We all come from a variety of backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexualities, abilities, cultures, religions, and further identities. Isabelle hopes that as a group we can create a teaching and learning environment that is inclusive, and promotes equitable participation in content and discussion, in class or online. If you have concerns about aspects of physical or online access to classrooms and learning material please notify her, and/or the accessibility services, and/or your class representative.
Isabelle would appreciate that students and/or class representative contact her in a timely fashion if questions arise.
Note: do not use the Moodle message function to contact the lecturer; email her directly. delmotte@waikato.ac.nz
Please include your name, student number and paper code in the title of your emails.
Emails without a title will not be opened at for security reasons.

You will be attending a weekly lecture and a weekly tutorial. The tutorials will not be recorded.
Please notify me as soon as possible if you are studying from abroad.

• The collaborative assessments using online platform (Google site) are designed to allow everyone to participate, regardless of their location. This online platform ensures a good work flow between team members.

• All material produced by myself will be accessible online through Moodle (including lectures within a day or two of their scheduled delivery, reading list, various resources, assessment guidelines, etc… .)

• Students will upload their assessments on Moodle so that they can be checked for potential plagiarism or similitude to others’ work. The Google site http/web address will be considered an assessment upload and will have to be entered for assessments 2,3,4.

Assessments sent via email to the lecturer will not be looked at, commented on, and/or marked.

Please check Moodle announcements regularly.
Ensure you check your UoW student address email regularly, or redirect it to another email address.Email lecturer directly (not via Moodle): delmotte@waikato.ac.nz.

The lecturer will not be able to answer your emails between 5pm on Friday and 9am on Monday.

Do not hesitate to use Studiosity prior to submitting assessments. (the link is on your Moodle page).

There is an online Moodle community for this course. Moodle can be accessed via iWaikato, or use the URL http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz/. Lecture notes, tutorial exercises, assignment details, and the paper outline will become available on this site.

As a 15-point paper, MEDIA 201 requires a consistent commitment from you (approximately 10 hours per week)

Three of these hours are the timetabled classes (lecture + tutorial). You will be attending a weekly lecture and ONE

weekly tutorial. So you are expected to devote approximately 7 hours per week to independent study for this paper,

This paper is core for the Screen and Media Studies major in the BA. It is intended to provide a foundation for students to design and conduct their own supervised research projects (such as directed studies, or research at graduate level).