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Teaching Different Research Methods Through the Use of Video Analysis Software for Media Students: A case study
Paolo Parmeggiani
Department of Economic Sciences, Sociology and Geography, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
Abstract
The aim of this research was to test Transana, a Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS), for teaching different research methods. We used semiotics, ethnographic analysis, and visual sociology to evaluate a TV commercial with a class of media studies students.
We developed a specific combination of video-recording, editing tools, and software to record, analyse, and present audiovisual data using Transana, which was used to study the video and interviews. The use of this software helped with transcribing, coding, and retrieving visual and audio data, and generally facilitated the collective analysis of the subject and benefited the accuracy of investigation.
We believe that CAQDAS could be used for instructional purposes and that its visual interface could improve the teaching process for semiotics and visual sociology for students in media studies; however, it requires the availability of proper video-recorded data.
Keywords
teaching, CAQDAS, Transana, semiotics, visual sociology, ethnography
Article Text
This paper is about teaching semiotics, ethnography, and visual sociology to students in media studies using two pieces of software for qualitative data analysis.
At the University of (deleted for anonymity) (MA course in ‘Languages and Technology of New Media') we are experimenting with the use of multimedia and audiovisual tools (video cameras, editing hardware and software) for analysing communication in various contexts.
This research has been led by two teachers and 10 students newly graduated in the sciences and technologies of new media. In our course, we used an integrated, multiple methodological approach with Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) (Lewins & Silver 2007) for interpreting a commercial. We used three different qualitative methods and a specific combination of video-recording, editing tools, and the CAQDAS software. To record, transcribe, analyze, and present audiovisual data, we used Transana, a software which facilitates the analyses of the video and interviews.
For the students, the objective of this work was to focus on the reasons why the ad was so successful, and for the researchers and teachers the purpose was to determine if CAQDAS could be useful for analyzing video and the teaching of three different methodologies used in media studies.
The first section of this paper will introduce the 60 second TV commercial of Pasta Barilla, which was chosen as the subject of analysis. This short television advertisement enjoyed wide success in Italy. The next section is about the three methods used. We wanted to make clear for the students that it is possible to integrate different points of view: We choose to take into account the video itself (the audiovisual text), the reception of the advertisement in a daily-life setting, and the reactions of the viewers during oral interviews in a lab setting. The teaching strategy was to do a collective analysis (teacher and students) of the video advertisement, using three different methodologies. The first step was a semiotic analysis, followed by an ethnographic analysis which considered the real context in which the advertisement was viewed, to explore its use and reception (Moores 1993). Finally, the third method was visual sociology, useful for analysing some videotaped interviews during and after people watched the advertisement.
In the fourth section of this paper, the CAQDAS tool is introduced together with the way in which it can be used for teaching. This is followed by a description of how the Transana software package was used to perform complex ‘coding and retrieval' techniques in the semiotic and in visual sociological phases. Finally we will summarise the advantages and drawbacks to using Transana when teaching qualitative methods to students in media studies.
The use of digital video methods such as CAQDAS is likely to become increasingly important for generations to come in researching video analysis methods. Therefore the teaching will also be affected. Overall, we agree with (Jackson 2003) when he argues CAQDAS can be seen as an instructional tool, rather than only a research tool.
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