CDM 401 | Course Introduction and Application Information - Department of Cinema and Digital Media

Course Name

Research Methods for Media Studies and Production

Code	Semester	Theory (hour/week)	Application/Lab (hour/week)	Local Credits	ECTS
CDM 401	Fall	3	0	3	4

Prerequisites	None
Course Language	English
Course Type	Required
Course Level	First Cycle
Mode of Delivery	face to face
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course	Discussion Case Study Q&A Critical feedback Field trip / Observation Lecture / Presentation
National Occupation Classification	-
Course Coordinator	-
Course Lecturer(s)	Dr.Öğretim Üyesi DENİZ CAN TAŞÇI
Assistant(s)	-

Course Objectives	This course introduces students to research methods and practices for producing research-based creative content and for analyzing media audiences. It is delivered as a workshop: the class functions as a single research team applying a different method each week to one shared, real field site.
Learning Outcomes	The students who succeeded in this course; identify and distinguish the methodologies used in media and social science research; design a scientifically rigorous and feasible social research project; conduct surveys, in-depth interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation, discourse analysis and archival research; explain and apply research ethics, including informed consent and personal data protection, in a real field setting; analyze qualitative and quantitative data and findings; critically assess the quality, reliability and limitations of research data — including their own.
Course Description	Creative media production, whether documentary or fiction, requires rigorous research. Using a workshop model, the class investigates ONE shared research question across the semester: “The effects of the Darağaç Collective as an art hub on Umurbey District and its vicinity.” Students work in five standing research strands (Artists & the Collective; Craftsmen & Residents; Visitors & Audiences; Space & Memory; Media & Discourse). Each week introduces a method, which the class first practises in the room and then applies to the shared site. Data collection takes place in Umurbey during scheduled field days. The semester concludes with a public symposium at which findings are presented and returned to the community studied.
Related Sustainable Development Goals

Course Category	Core Courses
	Major Area Courses	X
	Supportive Courses
	Media and Management Skills Courses
	Transferable Skill Courses

Week	Subjects	Related Preparation
1	Introduction to the course · the semester project · forming the research question	Review of course syllabus
2	Media Production and Research Methods — An Overview · worldviews and research design · strands and charters · Assignment 1 announced	Creswell, Research Design, Part 1.1
3	Quantitative and Qualitative Research Techniques · conceptualization, operationalization, units of analysis	Babbie, The Practice of Social Research, ch. 5–6–7
4	Quantitative Techniques · survey design, question wording, scales, sampling	Babbie, ch. 10
5	Discourse Analysis · four real texts on the field site · Assignment 1 due	Van Dijk (1993), Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis; Gill (1996), Discourse Analysis: Practical Implementation
6	Literature Search and Research Design · research ethics, informed consent and KVKK · consent role-play	Creswell, Part 1.2 & Part 2; Blaxter, Hughes & Tight, How to Research, ch. 4
7	Presentation of Project Proposals · peer review · master research design	Creswell, Part 1.4
8	Ethnographic Research · thick description · fieldnote technique	Creswell, Part 2.9; Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures, ch. 1 and ch. 15
9	Interview Techniques · interview guides · mock interviews · Assignment 2 announced	Course materials
10	Participant Observation — FIELD DAY I in Umurbey	Spradley, Participant Observation, Part II (pp. 37–159)
11	Archival Research · archives, maps, records and rights	Bernard & Rabin, Archival Storytelling
12	Fieldwork — Archival Findings · FIELD DAY II · Assignment 2 due	Course materials
13	Fieldwork — Interim Report · data clinic: coding, cleaning, first analysis	Course materials
14	Audience Research and Media Outreach · cross-strand synthesis and triangulation	Kanter & Fine, The Networked Nonprofit
15	Final Symposium — presentation of the integrated study, open to the community studied	Course materials
16	Review of the Semester

Course Notes/Textbooks

Creswell, J. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 4th ed., SAGE, 2013. · Spradley, J. Participant Observation, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980. · Bernard, S.C. & Rabin, K. Archival Storytelling, Focal Press, 2008. · Kanter, B. & Fine, A. The Networked Nonprofit, Jossey-Bass, 2010. · Babbie, E. The Practice of Social Research, 12th ed., Wadsworth.

Suggested Readings/Materials

A curated set of twenty Turkish-language sources on the field site, arts-led urban change in Turkey, and İzmir cultural policy is distributed in Week 6 and forms the basis of the class’s shared annotated bibliography.

Semester Activities	Number	Weigthing
Participation	1	40
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments	1	30
Presentation / Jury	1	30
Project
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exams
Midterm
Final Exam
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade	2	70
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade	1	30
Total

Semester Activities	Number	Duration (Hours)	Workload
Theoretical Course Hours (Including exam week: 16 x total hours)	16	3	48
Laboratory / Application Hours	16		0
Study Hours Out of Class	11	2	22
Field Work	1	14	14
Quizzes / Studio Critiques			0
Portfolio			0
Homework / Assignments	4	4	16
Presentation / Jury	1	20	20
Project			0
Seminar / Workshop			0
Oral Exam			0
Midterms			0
Final Exam			0
		Total	120

#	Program Competencies/Outcomes	* Contribution Level
#	Program Competencies/Outcomes	1	2	3	4	5
1	To be able to have fundamental knowledge about narrative forms in cinema, digital and interactive media, and the foundational concepts relevant to these forms.	-	-	-	-	-
2	To be able to create narratives based on creative and critical thinking skills, by using the forms and tools of expression specific to cinema and digital media arts.	X	-	-	-	-
3	To be able to use the technical equipment and software required for becoming a specialist/expert in cinema and digital media.	-	-	-	-	-
4	To be able to perform skills such as scriptwriting, production planning, use of the camera, sound recording, lighting and editing, at the basic level necessary for pre-production, production and post-production phases of an audio-visual work; and to perform at least one of them at an advanced level.	-	-	-	-	-
5	To be able to discuss how meaning is made in cinema and digital media; how economy, politics and culture affect regimes of representation; and how processes of production, consumption, distribution and meaning-making shape narratives.	-	X	-	-	-
6	To be able to perform the special technical and aesthetic skills at the basic level necessary to create digital media narratives in the fields of interactive film, video installation, experimental cinema and virtual reality.	-	-	-	-	-
7	To be able to critically analyze a film or digital media artwork from technical, intellectual and artistic perspectives.	-	-	-	-	-
8	To be able to participate in the production of a film or digital media artwork as a member or leader of a team, following the principles of work safety and norms of ethical behavior.	X	-	-	-	-
9	To be able to stay informed about global scientific, social, economic, cultural, political, institutional and industrial developments.	-	X	-	-	-
10	To be able to develop solutions to legal, scientific and professional problems surrounding the field of cinema and digital media.	-	X	-	-	-
11	To be able to use a foreign language to communicate with colleagues and collect data in the field of cinema and digital media. ("European Language Portfolio Global Scale", Level B1).	-	-	-	-	-
12	To be able to use a second foreign language at the medium level.	-	-	-	-	-
13	To be able to connect the knowledge accumulated throughout human history to the field of expertise.	-	X	-	-	-