Significance of Quantitative Methods in Media Research

Abstract

This paper discusses what contributions quantitative methods （roughly

equal to statistical methods） have made to media research, especially to traditional

mass communication research. Keeping in mind that statistical methods

and case-study methods are not mutually exclusive, this paper points out a

threefold merit of the former. First, statistical methods enable researchers to

infer how widely various uses and effects of the media are distributed in the

population（ e.g., the uses and gratifications study from the 1970s onward）. Second,

easier replicability of theoretical hypotheses has made for cumulative

advancement of a specific research area （e.g., the agenda-setting effect

research）. Third, counterintuitive findings sometimes found in empirical data

would bring an opportunity for coming up with a new theory（ e.g., the two-step

flow of communication model）. Conceptual models （or hypotheses） that the

empirical studies of mass communication have advanced and cumulated so far

are defined as middle-range theories Sociologist Robert K. Merton once advocated.

These models are common properties for media researchers. Even if

some of the models might become less relevant in a new media landscape in

the 21st century, we should seek to make the best use of these properties to

“see further on the shoulders of giants.”