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2021/2022

Creation and Development of Research Projects Applied to Journalism

Code: 43965 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
4316493 Journalism and Digital Content Innovation OB 0 1
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Núria Simelio Solà
Email:
Nuria.Simelio.Sola@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
spanish (spa)

Teachers

Laura Cervi
Núria Simelio Solà

Prerequisites


Students must have previous training in techniques and processes of journalistic production, as well as in the basic language of information for media and research methodology in the field of social sciences.

Objectives and Contextualisation


The Unit aims to bring the student to the design, creation and development of basic and applied research projects in the area of journalism and innovation in digital content. The student will learn to apply the planning of scientific work for media research, as well as to use quantitative and qualitative research techniques for research in the area of media and digital communication. Within the development of the Unit, the student will participate in the development of a research project in which must apply the design of the scientific method properly, raise hypotheses and questions related to communication, validate, classify and verify ideas and concepts and review correctly the bibliographical sources

Competences

  • Apply tools of management, analysis, organisation and planning of information in accordance with objectives and specific information projects.
  • Be able to evaluate inequalities for reasons of sex or gender to design solutions.
  • Design, create and carry out projects of innovation and research in the area of journalism and digital communication.
  • Generate innovate and competitive proposals for applied research.
  • Know and evaluate the management and production processes for digital information content, proposing innovative solutions which involve the use of ICT.
  • Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
  • That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
  • Understand and analyse the trends and dynamics of change in the communicative, informative and regulatory ecosystem of the media company in the twenty-first century.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply interactive digital-narration formats to the analysis and study of different news-production systems.
  2. Apply technologies for producing and managing digital content in order to solve particular problems in the journalism profession.
  3. Conduct and present an applied research project.
  4. Identify the contributions of gender study to the research topic.
  5. Implement and evaluate a research project whose results propose solutions applied to the management and production of digital news content.
  6. Integrate the tools and processes acquired within a simulated production environment, shouldering new responsibilities.
  7. Integrate working groups within the news company by offering new solutions to specific problems and situations.
  8. Know and use the contributions of women and gender studies in the discipline.
  9. Know how to carry out a research project with a gender perspective.
  10. Know how to create and use qualitative and quantitative indicators including statistics to gain a better understanding of gender inequalities and differences in the needs, conditions, values and aspirations of women and men.
  11. Know how to distinguish in theoretical and empirical analyses the effects of sex and gender variables.
  12. Know how to identify the role of ICT in the transmission of gender stereotypes and apply measures to avoid them.
  13. Know how to make an inclusive and non-sexist use of language.
  14. Know the formats of digital content and narrative, and the types of cooperation in building news stories.
  15. Know the new consumer environments for journalistic content so as to propose alternatives for producing and positioning content.
  16. Produce, compile and interpret empirical data in a gender-sensitive manner.
  17. Propose alternative news-telling strategies that integrate the use of innovation in the management and production of digital content that targets a specific audience.
  18. Propose alternatives for using narrative cooperation in the production of news content.
  19. Recognise the evolution of digital narratives to propose creative solutions on the basis of technological possibilities and narrative cooperation.
  20. Recognise the role of the media, audio-visual productions and advertising in the construction of gender relations and sexual and gender identity.
  21. Use digital narration structures to communicate news stories effectively.
  22. Use knowledge, methods and different analyses to extract information, organise it, analyse it and use to solve a research problem.
  23. Use news-content positioning and digital-marketing tools to gather information for taking strategic decisions in a specific journalism environment.

Content


Theoretical and institutional context of research in media communication

The foundations of the scientific method

Research trends in journalism and digital content

Design and presentation of a research and innovation project

The research and innovation project

The presentation of the research project

Master's Thesis

Objectives of the research and choice of techniques

Conceptualization of research

Selection of technical research methodologies in digital journalism. The quantitative methodologies.

Selection of research methodologies and techniques in digital journalism. Qualitative techniques

Obtaining and presenting results

The calendar will be available on the first day of class. Students will find all information on the Virtual Campus: the description of the activities, teaching materials, and any necessary information for the proper follow-up of the subject. In case of a change in the teaching modality for health reasons, the same contents indicated in this guide will be taught.

Methodology

Training Activities

 

Directed

Supervised

Autonomous

Hours

45

30

75

% presence

100%

20 %

0%

Teaching methodologies

Teaching Expositions

Classroom Activities

Tutor sessions

Elaboració de treballs / informes

Reading (papers and reports)

Participation in exhibitions and debates


Gender Perspective

The Unit promotes sensitivity to the gender perspective in a transversal manner. It does so specifically in the following specific aspects:

Knowledge about the inclusion of the gender perspective in all processes of the design and application of research, including methodologies and research techniques with a gender perspective or feminists.

Reflection on the role of information and communication technologies in the transmission of gender stereotypes and in social transformation.

-Knowledge of the digital divide and the adequacy of ICTs to gender differences: barriers and opportunities.

-Recognition of the contributions of the scientists in the discipline.

Knowledge of the role of gender inequalities in science, both in scientific production and in its professional-academic side.

Knowledge of gender equity values in professional practice.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Classroom activities 15 0.6 1, 2, 14, 5, 3, 22, 17
Participation in exhibitions and debates 10 0.4 14, 15, 5, 3, 22
Teachings' expositions 15 0.6 14, 15, 3
Type: Supervised      
Realization of the research project 20 0.8 1, 2, 5, 3, 22
Tutor sessions 5 0.2 5, 3, 22
Type: Autonomous      
Reading 14 0.56 14, 15, 19
Realization of the research project 25 1 1, 2, 14, 15, 5, 3, 22
Search for information 15 0.6 14, 15, 5, 3, 22, 18, 17

Assessment

The subject consists of the following evaluation activities:

-Activity A, Realization of an individual research project supervised and guided by the teaching staff: 40% % on the final grade

-Activity B, Group practices in the classroom related to quantitative and qualitative research techniques 40 % on the final grade

-Activity C, Participation in presentations and face-to-face debates 20% on the final grade

To be able to pass the subject, it is necessary to obtain a minimum grade of 5 in each one of the activities A, B and C.

PLAGIARISM

The student who performs any irregularity (copy, plagiarism, identity theft...) that can lead to a significant variation of the qualification of an evaluation act, will be qualified with 0 this act of evaluation. In case there are several irregularities, the final grade of the subject will be 0. 

COVID-19

In the case of a change in teaching modality for health reasons, the evaluation system will be equivalent to that indicated in this guide.

 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
In-class activities 40% 10 0.4 1, 2, 14, 15, 22, 7, 6, 16, 20, 11, 12, 10, 23, 21
Participation in presentations and debates 20% 6 0.24 1, 2, 14, 15, 8, 5, 3, 22, 4, 20, 11, 13, 12
Research project 40% 15 0.6 1, 2, 14, 15, 5, 3, 22, 7, 16, 18, 17, 19, 9, 13

Bibliography

Bellotti, E. (2015) Qualitative Networks. Mixed methods in sociological research. New York: Routledge.

Berger, A.A. (2016). Media and Communication Research Methods: An Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Borgatti, S. P., Everett, M. G.; Johnson,J. C. (2013). Analyzing Social Networks. London: Sage.

Corbetta, Pierorgio. (2010) Metodologías y técnicas de investigación social. Madrid, McGraw Hill.

Fernández Manzano, E.; Neira, E; Clarés-Gavilán, J. (2016). Data management in audiovisual business: Netflix as a case study. El Profesional de la Información, 25 (4), 568-576.

Freixa, P.; Pérez-Montoro, M.; Codina, Ll. (2017). Interacción y visualización de datos en el periodismo estructurado. El Profesional de la Información, 26(6), 1076-1090.

Lis Gindin, Irene; Patricia Busso, Mariana.  (2018) Investigaciones en comunicación en tiempos de big data: sobre metodologías y temporalidades en el abordaje de redes sociales. AdComunica. Revista Científica de Estrategias, Tendencias e Innovación en Comunicación, 15, 25-43

Hine, C. (2004). Virtual Ethnography. London: Sage.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture. Where old and new media collide. New York University Press.

Molina Rodríguez-Navas, P.; Simelio, N. y Corcoy, M. (2017). Metodologías de evaluación de la transparencia: procedimientos y problemas. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 72, 818-831. 

Ruiz Olabuenaga, J. I., et al. (2002). Cómo elaborar un proyecto de investigación social. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto.

Simelio,N. et. al. (2019)  Journalism, transparency and citizen participation: a methodological tool to evaluate information published on municipal websites. Information, Communication & Society, 22 (3), 369.385

Vilches, L. (coord.) (2011). La investigación en comunicación. Métodos y técnicas en la era digital. Barcelona: Gedisa.

Software

PSPP 

Netlytic

NodeXL