Bertrand, I & Hughes. P 2004 Of elephants, definitions and models: the context of media research, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, pp.1-8.
Research is the main focus to analyze media. The article, Of elephants, definitions and models: the context of media research, by Bertrand and Hughes provide an overview and a clear guidance of several areas in conducting a media research. The article is divided into different sections: to explore various methodologies, to be exposed to paradigms of media research, to interpret the analysis of frameworks based on the data and to discuss its conclusion (p. 3). This article claims that research is challenging and may lead to great results when creating a strong foundation on its objective, following the Lincoln and Giba framework accordingly and respecting the ethical issues.
The conceptual argument is based on “media, culture, communication, research, and an introduction to some of the major intellectual frameworks that have shaped media research” (p. 19). In the opening paragraph, it is observed that meaning can be interpreted differently by illustrating the elephant, as the object, towards the blind men. Creating a mutual meaning require a medium that act as institutions to communicate between two people or more (p. 4). Culture plays essential parts in these mix messages. “All mass media operate within the multiple cultures that has significant sites of cultural activity” (p. 5). The linear communication model is then introduced by the authors’ to exemplify how it “operates by analogy to technology to telegraph (p. 5). This transmission model assumed that it is a one- way process in which a sender is sending a message to the receiver through a medium and is transmitted in a straightforward manner.
The authors’ observes Lincoln and Giba (2000: 168) model and “replicate the frameworks that are available in media research” (p. 11). To portray a media research, the authors’ implement the framework as a standard that concentrated on the ethical policies. The policy shall be used to protect the rights of the researcher participants, to avoid violation of applicable law, and any risk of harm of physical, emotionally or financial towards the main idea that are being researched (p. 15). Original images and documents should be acknowledged by the researcher to appreciate the work and to create credibility in the research. Moreover, considering other’s sensitivity shall cross the researcher’s mind to not offend any parties involved (p. 16). The authors’ believe that researchers are aware of the any misleading action in doing a qualitative or quantitative research (p. 17).
Research encompasses analytic work that is designed to produce outcome with wide applicability around the world. The authors’ directed toward the ethical policy and is focused on the long-term aspects of research to contribute the intellectual foundations in an academic sector. Moreover, the authors’ supported its term in a critical strategy based on the Lincoln and Giba framework, which includes any discipline. Bertrand and Hughes used textual analysis as the observation and with that, there are no critical comments regarding this article, as the evidence is concrete and the authors’ and I share the same believe to protect the rights of researcher’s work. Furthermore, the title is situated perfectly to the context of the article as it articulated the main idea.
