Media Research & Audience Intelligence - Part 2 (B)

Session 2: Group Formation & Topic Brainstorming

Today's Session Plan

Welcome back! Today, we transition from individual interests to collaborative research. Our session is structured as a hands-on workshop to form your teams, brainstorm initial topics, and equip you with the tools for the critical first phase of your project: the literature review.

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Activity: Form Your Research Tribes

We'll start with a dynamic in-class activity to finalize your project groups for the semester.

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Workshop: Initial Topic Pitches

In your new groups, you will brainstorm and present 1-2 initial ideas for your research project.

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Live Demo & Toolkit

I'll walk you through the practical steps of starting a literature review and introduce the key databases and organizational tools.

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Next Steps & Homework

We'll conclude by clarifying your group's task for the next two weeks: the in-depth topic study.

Activity: Form Your Research Tribes

Your Task (10-15 Minutes)

It's time to make it official! Please stand up, move around the room, and finalize your project groups of 3-4 members. Connect with peers who share your research interests or who you collaborated with in last week's "Tribe Finder" game. My role is to help facilitate, so please let me know if you need assistance finding a team.

Interactive Group Manager

Ready

Workshop: Initial Topic Pitches

Your First Group Task (20 Minutes)

In your newly formed groups, discuss your shared interests in the world of podcasts. Your goal is to brainstorm and select 1-3 initial project ideas that you find exciting. Use the guiding questions below to prepare for a brief, informal presentation of your ideas to the class.

Workshop Format

  • 🗣️ No Slides Needed: This is a conversation, not a formal presentation.
  • ⏱️ 2-3 Minutes per Idea: A brief, informal pitch from one group spokesperson.
  • 💬 Goal is Feedback: The aim is to share your initial thoughts and get constructive feedback to guide your next steps.

Guiding Questions for Your Pitch

  • What is your general topic idea?
  • What makes this topic interesting or relevant to you?
  • What is a potential, very rough research question you could imagine?
  • What are some initial keywords you would use to search for literature on this topic?

💡 Example Pitch

"Our group is interested in parasocial relationships in podcasts. We've all noticed how attached we get to certain hosts. A rough research question might be: 'How do different podcast formats, like solo shows versus interviews, affect the intensity of parasocial relationships listeners form with hosts?' Our initial keywords for searching would be: 'parasocial interaction', 'podcast host', 'audience engagement', and 'listening habits'."

Live Topic Board

Live Demo: From Topic to Research Gap

A great research project is built on the foundation of existing knowledge. Let's bridge the gap between your topic idea and a formal research question with a practical look at how to begin a literature review.

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In-Class Walkthrough: Using Google Scholar

We will take one of the topic ideas pitched today and perform a live search together. I will demonstrate how to:

  • Refine keywords for effective searching.
  • Quickly scan abstracts to identify relevant articles.
  • Use one good article to "snowball" and find other key sources.
  • Begin thinking about where the "research gap" might be.
  • Show you how to use AI for preliminary research filtering.

🤖 Pro Tip: Using AI as Your Research Assistant

Modern AI tools can be incredibly powerful for accelerating research, but they must be used responsibly and critically. Here’s a guide to leveraging them effectively.

What AI is Great For ✅

  • Summarization: Quickly get the gist of a dense academic paper. Paste in the text and ask for the key arguments, methods, and findings.
  • Clarification: Simplify complex concepts or jargon. Ask, "Explain 'parasocial interaction' in simple terms."
  • Proofreading & Formalities: Check your writing for grammar, style, and formatting errors. It's excellent for polishing your final report.
  • Coding Assistance: When you reach the analysis phase, AI can help write or debug code for statistical software like R or Python.

Where to Be Cautious ⚠️

  • Initial Research & "Hallucinations": AI can invent sources or misrepresent facts. NEVER trust an AI's claims or citations without verifying them yourself in a proper database.
  • Open-Access Bias: AI models are primarily trained on freely available web data. They often miss crucial research from paywalled academic journals. Relying solely on AI will give you an incomplete and biased view of the literature.
  • Critical Thinking: Do not let the AI do your thinking. Use it to process information, but the analysis, interpretation, and arguments in your paper must be your own.
  • Writing Your Paper: Submitting AI-generated text as your own is academic misconduct. Use it as a tool, not a ghostwriter. We have tools to spot AI-Writing!
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Your Responsibility: You are 100% accountable for every word, fact, and citation in your submitted work. Use AI as a calculator, not as the mathematician. Always verify, always question, and always be the author of your own work.

Recommended Tools:

Explore powerful models like Google's AI Studio (with Gemini 2.5 Pro) or DeepSeek for advanced reasoning and text processing capabilities.

Your Research Expedition Toolkit

To conduct a thorough review, you'll need access to scientific databases and a system for organizing your work. Here are the essential resources and best practices.

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Important Reminder: To access most of these databases from off-campus, you must be logged into the university's VPN client.

  • Shared Workspace: Immediately create a shared folder (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) to store all articles, notes, and drafts.
  • Task Allocation: Clearly define who is responsible for what. (e.g., "Anna searches EBSCO, Ben searches Scopus for the first 5 keywords.")
  • Literature Matrix: Start a shared spreadsheet to track your readings. Columns should include: Author/Year, Title, Theory, Method, Key Findings, and Your Notes/Relevance.
  • Regular Check-ins: Schedule brief, regular meetings (even 15 minutes) to sync your findings and discuss next steps.
  • Document Decisions: Keep a simple running log of key decisions or open questions. This will be a lifesaver for your final report.

Live Literature Matrix

Author(s) & Year Title Theory/Framework Method Key Findings Your Notes & Relevance Actions

💡 Prefer working offline? Just copy the row headers to Excel.

Scaffolding: Anatomy of a Research Question

Developing a strong research question is a process of transformation, moving from a broad area of curiosity to a specific, testable inquiry. Below is a breakdown of this process.

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Broad Topic Idea

"Podcast Advertising"

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Focused Research Question

"To what extent does the perceived authenticity of host-read ads influence listeners' purchase intent in the context of German comedy podcasts?"

The Core Components:

  • Independent Variable (IV): The factor you manipulate or observe as the cause. (e.g., perceived authenticity).
  • Dependent Variable (DV): The outcome you measure. (e.g., listeners' purchase intent).
  • Scope/Context: The specific population, medium, or setting of your study. (e.g., German comedy podcasts).

Your Quality Checklist: The FINER Framework

Use these criteria to evaluate and refine your draft research question:

  • F
    Feasible: Can you realistically answer this question with the resources (time, skills, access to data) you have?
  • I
    Interesting: Is the question intriguing to you, your peers, and the research community?
  • N
    Novel: Does it confirm or refute previous findings, or does it explore a new area (fill a "research gap")?
  • E
    Ethical: Can you conduct the research without causing harm to participants?
  • R
    Relevant: Is the question relevant to scientific knowledge, practical application, or policy?

Workflow: Putting It All Together

Here’s how the tools and tasks from today’s session connect to form the start of your research journey.

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1. Brainstorm Ideas

Use the Live Topic Board during the workshop to capture and refine your group's initial ideas and keywords.

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2. Search Databases

Take your keywords to the Key Research Databases (Google Scholar, EBSCO, etc.) to find relevant academic articles.

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3. Log Your Findings

As you read, systematically document your findings in the Live Literature Matrix. This is your evidence base.

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4. Formulate Your Question

Use the insights from your matrix and the Anatomy of a Research Question guide to craft a focused, FINER question.

Homework & Next Steps

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Your Mission: In-depth Topic Study (Units 3 & 4)

Your task for the next two weeks is to dive deep into the scientific literature surrounding your chosen topic. This foundational work is the most critical part of the research process.

  1. Conduct Literature Research: Begin systematically searching the databases for articles related to your topic. Aim to find and scan at least 10-15 relevant articles as a group.
  2. Create a "State of Research" Overview: Start populating your Literature Matrix. This will help you synthesize findings and identify patterns in the existing research.
  3. Identify a Research Gap: Based on your reading, start to formulate where your project could fit in. What questions are left unanswered? What are the limitations of previous studies?
  4. Develop a Draft Research Question: Formulate a preliminary, focused research question that you aim to answer with your project.
  5. Document Everything: Bring your literature matrix, draft research question, and any unresolved questions to our next session for feedback. PowerPoint Slides are warmly welcomed.