This exciting new text provides an excellent introduction for students of mass media effects. Through an engaging, narrative style, the author presents the fascinating research findings of media impacts and the connected mass media theories in the context of those research findings. Students are provided with a clear perspective of the relationship between science, methods, and the practical questions of the effects of mass media…. More >>
Media Effects Research: A Basic Approach
Sparks (2009) on media is an excellent author to recount what has been said in New Media. Sparks just published a book that I just got. I am 100% thumbed through and am almost 50% read word by word. Sparks established in his text the foundation of any science (prediction, explanation, understanding, control) as a necessary background to study the effects of media; then Sparks spent the bulk of the text on explaining the scientifically studied effects (e.g., violence, sexual, emotions, persuasion). He indicated that his effort is dedicated to being scientific and still Sparks has to make room for McLuhan who was too correct to be ignored, regardless of being just a thinker and not a scientist. Sparks’s text Media Effects Research: A Basic Overview was divided into
* 10% scientific approach
* 80% science about media (methods, history, topics)
* 10% McLuhan as a guru and ideas that we cannot afford to ignore
Sparks (2009) is the missing piece of my puzzle, because he puts the entire media scene in perspective from the research point of view. Additionally, this text has recent references on every single topic pointing to the research or the academic groups behind the research.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a good book on media effects. It is easy to read and gives a good general background on the subject. It is appropriate as an undergraduate text.
Rating: 5 / 5