Advancing Media Scholarship in the Big Data Era

• In Event: Exposure, Engagement, Creation, and Interaction: Measuring Young People’s Media Behaviors in the Digital Era

Abstract

The growth of big data has introduced a wealth of opportunities for researchers, including new sources of data produced by the media industry, massively larger amounts of information, and a spectrum of analytical software applications. But these advances are also challenging many of the traditional theories and methods in the field of mass communication. In addition, the changing nature of media research raises a number of new ethical issues for academic researchers. This paper will: provide an overview of the major trends that are transforming the children’s media environment as well as their engagement with it; provide a conceptual framework for challenging traditional methods of research in children’s media; and offer several promising approaches for media scholarship in the Big Data era.

Author

• Kathryn C. Montgomery, American U