Television Studies: An Overview (Discussion)

Empirical methods vs. critical methods

To understand the difference between empirical and critical methods, we need to look at their basic principles and presumptions. The class will be divided into empiricists and critical-study theorists for this first exercise.

Group 1

1. Explain presumptions 4-6 of the empirical method. Provide examples to illustrate your points.

Group 2

1. Explain presumptions 1-3 of the empirical method. Provide examples to illustrate your points.

Group 3

1. Explain point-by-point how a critical method differs from presumptions 4-6 of the empirical method. Provide examples to illustrate your points.

Group 4

1. Explain point-by-point how a critical method differs from presumptions 1-3 of the empirical method. Provide examples to illustrate your points.

Criteria for evaluating critical work

All groups will discuss Vande Berg, Wenner and Gronbeck's criteria for evaluating critical work--looking at one specific criterion.

Group 1

1. Explain what Vande Berg, Wenner and Gronbeck mean by reasonableness for a critical interpretation.

Group 2

1. Explain what Vande Berg, Wenner and Gronbeck mean by evidence.

Group 3

1. Explain what Vande Berg, Wenner and Gronbeck mean by internal consistency.

Group 4

1. Explain what Vande Berg, Wenner and Gronbeck mean by cultural, critical, theoretical and practical significance.

Bibliography

1. Butler, Jeremy G. Television: Critical Methods and Applications. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.
2. Robert C. Allen, Channels of Discourse, Reassembled, second edition (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992).

External links

• Chapter 13 illustrations