This module will provide you with an insight into some of the current and salient themes of research trends in Media and Communication Studies. The module also includes activities and assessments, which will help you to develop essential study skills and introduce you to the analysis of media texts and forms.

This module will introduce you to the field of public relations, exploring its origins, history and definitions. The module provides a theoretical framework for analysing public relations and seeks to contextualise public relations as an academic discipline; this in turn will help you to better understand the structures of public relations in practice, and public relations as a social or cultural phenomenon. The module explores critical approaches to public relations management and organisation, and assesses how public relations function in media contexts, while examining its wider impact on democracy.

This module explores the theory and practice of strategic communications management within organisational settings and campaigns management more generally. You’ll be looking at specialist areas of public relations practice such as public affairs, corporate social responsibility and crisis communication. The module will allow you to gain knowledge of how applied research methods are used in the evaluation of organisational reputation and relationships, as well as in assisting the development and design of campaign strategies. This knowledge will be applied in assignments that will allow you to conduct strategic analysis of real-world campaigns, and use public relations scholarship to critically reflect on the social and cultural impacts of the professionalisation of communications management.

This module introduces you to the basic principles of research theory, design and ethics as well as to a range of individual quantitative and qualitative research methods commonly used in media and communications research. In addition to each week’s presentations and key readings the module’s e-tivities provide opportunities to reflect on particular methodological issues, and to try out some of the research methods involved through small-scale exercises.

Your dissertation provides you with the opportunity to undertake a major piece of independent research on a topic that interests you and research it in depth. You will be supported to help you identify a specific research ‘problem’ or question that you want to explore, which will help you select an appropriate methodology or methodologies in order to undertake this. You will be supported in organising and executing your research and also in writing up your findings and conclusions in a clear and effective manner.