This study examines textual analysis methodology as applied to mass communication studies. It focuses particularly on the theoretical basis of textual analysis, the analytical process, and congruent theoretical perspectives. Although the term "textual analysis" is often used generically, this study differentiates textual analysis as…

This paper presents an in-depth look at semantics and how it has been and continues to be studied in mass communication. The paper notes that modern communication scholars have largely ignored the importance of semantics to mass media research. The paper examines the historical roots of semantics, noting that the 1930s saw the intellectual…

A two-experiment study investigated the possible contribution of prose-relevant pictures to the recall and retention of information presented in written prose materials with older learners as subjects. In the first experiment subjects were 52 graduate students from a southeastern university. Recall of information presented in written prose…

A study was conducted to examine message evaluations of selected public service advertisements (PSAs) by a young adult population and to test whether local and nonlocal source attribution would influence those evaluations. In addition, the study investigated the extent to which audience characteristics such as fatalism (the degree to which a…

A study used disproportionate exemplar distributions to create a spiral of silence effect for a morally loaded issue. The effect of perception of public opinion on willingness to express an opinion was also examined. Three video news stories were created that would represent either a supporting, balanced, or opposing stance on the prayer in school…

Based on the premise that multimethod approaches that integrate quantitative and qualitative research methods are best suited to contextual studies of media audiences, two studies of mass media use and meaning were conducted with college undergraduates. Research grew out of a classroom assignment wherein students avoided all media products (films,…

A study quantitatively reviewed empirical studies of negative political advertising using a method that combined citation analysis and content analysis. The citation analysis examined each individual cited work in 20 selected studies with respect to its citation information, and the content analysis investigated the 20 selected studies (citing…

Noting that the theory of international development is a paradigm, a model by which researchers guide their studies, this paper reviews various concepts of international development theory and proposes a research study that would examine mass media use in Georgia, one of the new republics born out of the death of the Soviet Union. The paper begins…

This report reviews the 1984-86 projects of the University of Washington Center for Instructional Development and Research (CIDR), a central facility designed to assist instructors, teaching assistants, and departments in the continued improvement of learning and teaching. Following an overview of CIDR's funding, facilities, and staff resources,…

Discusses the satisfaction of participants with videoconferencing when improved eye contact is incorporated into a system design. The Gazecam system is described, a study of 60 undergraduate students using the system is reported, and the need for communication researchers' involvement in the design process is considered. (Author/LRW)

Describes a study which compared film and written material with regard to effects produced by order in which conflicting information is presented. Results indicate film is more influential and better recalled than conflicting written information: conflicting paragraphs produce a primacy effect, whereas analogous film segments produce no order…

Anticipating a possible future method of newspaper design (including multimedia content) and delivery, a study examined the interface among people, modality (paper, computer, multimedia), and three types of news story (news, sports, entertainment). The "primacy of print" theory (which predicts that information will be recalled better…

Noting that studies of media, culture, and consciousness assert wide-ranging connections among the three, this paper proposes a research program for investigating the media-consciousness-cultural link. Sections I and II provide a brief review of orality-literacy theories and communication theories. Section III proposes five areas of media…

In a study that was conducted to measure performance as a function of multimedia instructions, 360 college students in a University of Colorado introductory psychology course were taught to build a model helicopter from an assembly kit. Their instructions consisted of either viewing a narrated film (one or two viewings), or hands-on practice using…

Separate meta-analyses have been completed recently on the effectiveness of computer-based education (CBE) in elementary schools, high schools, colleges, and nontraditional postsecondary institutions. Several conclusions can be drawn from these meta-analyses. First, although CBA has not been uniformly successful in all its guises and at all…