This version of the course guide is provisional until the period for editing the new course guides ends.

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Research Methods and Sources in Communication

Code: 105014 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Audiovisual Communication OB 1

Contact

Name:
Ňscar Coromina Rodríguez
Email:
oscar.coromina@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

No comments 


Objectives and Contextualisation

  • Analyze communication research as a process embedded in social and technological contexts, identifying the interactions between communicative practices, technologies, and cultural environments.
  • Develop the ability to formulate relevant research questions and design communication research projects with a coherent and methodologically sound structure.
  • Apply quantitative techniques for data collection and analysis in communication research, evaluating their potential and limitations according to the project’s objectives.
  • Master key qualitative methodologies for studying communicative phenomena, such as interviews, observation, and content analysis.
  • Explore and apply digital methods for researching communication in online environments, including the use of digital tools for data collection, visualization, and analysis.

Learning Outcomes

  1. SM01 (Skill) To assess any kind of source or document that is useful for creating media products considering content and the use of non-sexist and non-discriminatory language.
  2. SM01 (Skill) To assess any kind of source or document that is useful for creating media products considering content and the use of non-sexist and non-discriminatory language.

Content

  1. Communication research as a sociotechnical practice
  2. Design and planning of a communication research project
  3. Quantitative methods in communication research
  4. Qualitative methods in communication research
  5. Digital methods: research using digital media

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Master Classes 15 0.6 SM01, SM01
Practical exercises 15 0.6 SM01, SM01
Seminars 18 0.72 SM01, SM01
Type: Supervised      
Custom tracking 5 0.2 SM01, SM01
Type: Autonomous      
Lecturas y visionados de documentos audiovisuales 41 1.64 SM01, SM01
Seminars and exercise preparation 20 0.8 SM01, SM01

The course Research Methods and Sources in Communication is structured around three main teaching methodologies: lectures, theoretical-practical seminars, and practical exercises focused on learning and applying research techniques.

Lectures aim to provide a solid theoretical foundation on different methodological approaches and the main information sources used in communication research.

Theoretical-practical seminars are designed to connect theoretical concepts with their practical application through case analysis, group discussion, and critical reflection on research designs and analysis strategies.

Practical exercises will allow students to apply the knowledge acquired to real or simulated research situations, working with data, sources, and both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

A detailed schedule and the content of each session will be presented on the first day of class and made available on the virtual campus. There, students will also find instructions for practical exercises, teaching materials, and all the necessary information for proper course follow-up.

Attendance and active participation in seminars and practical sessions are mandatory and form part of the continuous assessment.

The course content will be sensitive to gender perspectives and will promote the use of inclusive language, encouraging a critical and diverse approach to communication processes and practices.

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.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Practical exercises 30% 15 0.6 SM01
Seminars 30% 18 0.72 SM01
Written exam 40% 3 0.12 SM01

This course follows a continuous assessment model only.

Assessment is based on four components:

  • Theoretical Exam I (20% of the final grade)

  • Theoretical Exam II (20% of the final grade)

  • Practical Exercises (30% of the final grade)

  • Theoretical-Practical Seminars (30% of the final grade)

The final grade will be the sum of the scores obtained in each of these components.

To pass the course, students must pass or obtain a minimum average of 4 out of 10 in the combined theoretical exams.

The final grade will be the total sum of the scores obtained in each component.

Optional resit system:

Students will have the right to resit the course only if they have been assessed in both theoretical exams and in two-thirds of the seminars and practical exercises.

Only the theoretical exam may be retaken. Seminars and exercises are not resit-eligible, except in cases of duly justified force majeure.

If the average score of thetwo theoretical exams is below 3, the student will not be eligible for resit.

The maximum grade for a resat theoretical exam will be 6 out of 10.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technologies:

In this course, the use of AI technologies is permitted only for specific tasks, such as information or bibliography searches, text proofreading, or translations.

Students must clearly identify which parts of their work have been generated using AI, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these technologies influenced both the process and the final outcome of the activity.

Lack of transparency in the use of AI in any graded activity will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty to the activity grade, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.

PLAGIARISM

Should a student engage in any form of misconduct could significantly affect the outcome of an assessment. In that case, they will receive a grade of zero for that particular assessment, regardless of any disciplinary actions that may follow. If multiple instances of misconduct are detected across differentassessment components of the same course, the student will receive a final grade of zero for the entire subject.

Non-Assessable

Following point 9 of Article 266 of the UAB Academic Regulations, if it is determined that the student has not provided sufficient evidence to be evaluated, the subject will be classified as non-assessable.

 


Bibliography

 

  • Coromina, Òscar, Alexei Tsinovoi, i Anders Kristian Munk. “Digital Marketing as Digital Methods: Repurposing Google Ads for Controversy Mapping.” Big Data & Society 10, no. 2 (juliol 2023): 20539517231216955. SAGE Publications.

  • Domínguez, Marius, i Montserrat Solsona. Tècniques d’investigació social quantitatives. Barcelona: Edicions Universitat de Barcelona, 2003.

  • Eiroa, Matilde, i Alejandro Barranquero. Métodos de investigación en la comunicación y sus medios. Madrid: Editorial Síntesis, 2017.

  • Escobar Fuentes, Sílvia, i Manuel Francisco Montalbán Peregrín. La práctica de la metodología cualitativa. Madrid: Dykinson, 2024. https://www.dykinson.com/libros/la-practica-de-la-metodologia-cualitativa/9788410707276/

  • Medina, Alfons, i Jordi Busquet. La recerca en comunicació. Barcelona: Editorial UOC, 2019.

  • Rogers, Richard. Digital Methods. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2013.

  • Soriano, Jaume. L'ofici de comunicòleg: Mètodes per investigar la comunicació. Barcelona: Eumo, 2007.

  • Vilches, Lorenzo. La investigación en comunicación: Métodos y técnicas en la era digital. Barcelona: Gedisa Editorial, 2020.


Software

No prior knowledge of any specific software is required to follow this course. However, students will work with various tools for data analysis and visualization, which will be gradually introduced. Basic understanding of how these tools work and how they are applied in communication research contexts will be developed throughout the course.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 41 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 42 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 43 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 41 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 42 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 43 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 4 Catalan first semester morning-mixed