Course:EDUC500/2014/001/Group 1

Group 1

Group Members

• Diana
• Rebecca
• Benila
• Judith
• Jonas

Case Studies - Ch 14 - Cohen

The case study can best be explained as “the study of an instance in action” for example a child, a clique, a class, a school, a community. Rich descriptions and details are often a feature of a good case study as it must set the case within its context. A case study is used to provide a unique example of real people in real situations, enabling readings to understand ideas more clearly than simply by presenting them with abstract theories or principles. The goal is to distinguish how abstract ideas or principles fit together. One of the case studies biggest strengths is that they observe effects in real contexts, which is a powerful way to establish both causes and effects.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages: 1.Case study data is paradoxically strong in reality, but difficult to organize, whereas other research data can be weak in reality - the case study is often in harmony with the reader’s own experience, and thus provide a ‘natural’ basis for generalization. 2.Case studies allow generalization - their peculiar strength lies in their attention to the subtlety and complexity of the case in its own right. 3.recognize the complexity and embeddedness of social truths - they catch unique features that may otherwise be lost in larger scale data 4.They may form an archive of descriptive material sufficiently rich to admit subsequent reinterpretation. 5.They are a ‘step to action’ their insights may be directly interpreted and put to use 6.They are a more publicly accessible form and can serve multiple audiences, including non-academics 7.They provide insights into other similar situations or cases 8.They can be undertaken by a single researcher without needing a full research team 9.They can embrace and build in unanticipated events and uncontrolled variables.

Disadvantages 1.often lack a high degree of control - renders it difficult to make inferences to draw cause and effect conclusions 2.there is potential for bias in some case studies as the therapist is both the observer and the participant - may overstate or understate the case 3.they are not easily open to cross-checking - hence the selective bias

Generalization in case studies

"It is often heard that case studies, being ideographic have limited generalizability"

Definition: (a written character symbolizing the idea of a thing without indicating the sounds used to say it). What does the class think this means for the case study?

The case study can help researchers to understand other similar cases, phenomena or situations i.e., there is a logical, rather than statistical connection between the case and hte wider theory.

Simons (1996) has argued that case study needs to address six paradoxes; it needs to: reject the subject-object dichotomy, regarding all participants equally; recognize the contribution that a genuine creative encounter can make to new forms of understanding education; regard different ways of seeing as new ways of knowing; approximate the ways of the artist; free the mind of traditional analysis; embrace these paradoxes, with an overriding interest in people

LOVE THESE FINAL SUGGESTIONS:

Macpherson et al., (2000) suggest: •with regard to purpose they suggest a collaborative approach between participants and researcher in order to address… •contextuality, with regard to place they suggest sensitivity to the place •with regard to purpose and process, they suggest authenticity and applicability (thinking larger but starting small), and growth (ensuring development and social transformation) •With regard to product they suggest communicability of the findings through networking Yin suggests that an exemplary case study must be significant, complete, consideration of alternative perspectives, careful to include sufficient evidence and engaging.

Article 2: Ch. 4 Creswell

EDUC 500 summary notes JONAS

-All forms represent an attempt to construct the history of life

A.	Biographical Study

- Life story of an individual, written by someone other than the individual being studied - Uses archival documents and records (Denzin, 1989) - Subjects may be living or deceased

         B.	Autobiography

- Life story written by the persons about themselves (Angrosino, 1989a). (not often found in graduate student research) C. Life History - Researcher reports on an individual’s life and how it reflects cultural themes of the society, personal themes, institutional themes, and social histories (Cole 1994). - Data collected primarily through interviews and conversations with the individual (Bailey, 1978, Geiger, 1986)…Plummer (1983), from a sociological perspective, “life history is the full length book’s account of one person’s life in his or her own words. - It is gathered over a number o years with the subject writing down episodes of life or taping them…also used are interviews with friends, perusals of letters and photographs

D.   Oral History

- Researcher gathers personal recollections of events, their causes, and their effects from an individual or several individuals - Information gathered through tape recordings or written works of individual who have died or who are still living -specific biographies may be writing a.“Objectively”: with little of researcher’s interpretation b.” Scholarly”: strong historical background of the subject and chronological organization c. “Artistically”: from the perspective of presenting details in a lively and interesting manner d. “Narrative” form: a fictionalized account of scenes and characters (Smith, 1994) -One also needs to decide if their biographical approach will be “classical” or “interpretive”

       	a. “Classical biography”: uses statements about theory, concerns with validity and criticism of documents and materials, and the formulation of a distinct hypotheses, all drawn from the researcher’s perspective (Denzin, 1989a.)
       	b. “Interpretive biography”: (Creswell’s preferred approach): challenges traditional approaches and asks that biographers be cognizant of how studies are both read and written

- A Phenomelogical Study (p. 51) -describes the meaning of lived experiences…explores the consciousness in human experiences (Polkinghome, 1989). - (p.52) researchers search for essential, invariant structure (or essence) of central underlying meaning of the experience -emphasize intentionality of consciousness, where experiences contain outward appearance and inward consciousness based on memory, image and meaning -Phenomenological data analysis uses reduction, analysis of specific statements and search for all possible meaning

       	-researcher sets aside pre judgements, brackets his/her experiences, relies on intuition, imaginations to obtain a picture of the experience

Data Analysis Process: 1. Open Coding is used: initial categories of information are formed.

-The investigator finds several properties or subcategories and looks for data to dimensionalize, or show extreme possibilities on a continuum of the property
2.    Axial Coding: investigator assembles data in new ways after open coding.
-central phenomenon is identified

-causal conditions identified -specific strategies identified -context and intervening conditions (narrow and broad conditions influencing the strategy) identified -delineates the consequences for this phenomenon

3.     	Selective Coding

-researcher identifies a “story line” -integrates categories in axial coding model -propositions or hypotheses are presented 4. Conditional Matrix

       	-elucidates social, historical and economic conditions influencing central phenomenon *not frequently found in grounded theory*

-result of this process of data collection and analysis is a theory, a substantive-level theory, written by researchers close to a specific problem or population of people An Ethnography (p. 58, Creswell): -description and interpretation of a cultural or social group or system -observable and learned patterns of behavior, customs, ways of life are examined (Harris, 1968) -is a product of research, found in book length form -involves prolonged observation of the group -through participant observation, researcher is immersed in day-to-day lives of people, or through one-on-one interviews with members of the group -behaviour, language and interactions observed -1920’s cultural anthropologists, Park, Dewey and Mead used such methods of ethnography -Creswell uses procedures found in the sociological approach of Hammersley and Atkinson (1995) and Wolcott (1994b) and Fetterman (1989)…through these texts, ethnographers study life cycles, events and cultural themes

EDUC 500

Jonas Salzberg’s notes

pp. 48 to 59

Notes on Chapter 4: Creswell: Five Qualitative Traditions of Inquiry

First Qualitative tradition of Inquiry

· A Biography (p.47, Creswell):

-individual biographies, autobiographies, life histories, and oral histories (Smith 1994)

-biographical study is the study of an individual and his/her experiences told by the researcher

-Denzin (1989): “…studied use and collection of life documents that describe turning-point moments in an individual’s life.” (p.69)

-interpretive biography: involves the stories of others…”We create the persons we write about, just as they create themselves when they engage in storytelling practices.” (Denzin, p. 82)\

-“Intellectual Strands” of biographical writing are: literary, historical, anthropological, psychological, sociological and interdisciplinary views from feminist and cultural thinking.

-Crewell’s interest is sociological perspective

· relies on writers such as Plummer (1983) and Denzin (1989)

· Plummer (1983) evokes =”baseline” from humanities, discusses the evolution of “documents of life” research from Dostoevski, Dickens, Balzac and Austen, focusing on human-centered approach

-Procededurally, a qualitative researcher must first select the type of biographical study to be used (p. 48, Creswell)

-All forms represent an attempt to construct the history of life

A. Biographical Study

- Life story of an individual, written by someone other than the individual being studied

- Uses archival documents and records (Denzin, 1989)

- Subjects may be living or deceased

B. Autobiography

- Life story written by the persons about themselves (Angrosino, 1989a). (not often found in graduate student research)

C. Life History

- Researcher reports on an individual’s life and how it reflects cultural themes of the society, personal themes, institutional themes, and social histories (Cole 1994).

- Data collected primarily through interviews and conversations with the individual (Bailey, 1978, Geiger, 1986)…Plummer (1983), from a sociological perspective, “life history is the full length book’s account of one person’s life in his or her own words.

- It is gathered over a number o years with the subject writing down episodes of life or taping them…also used are interviews with friends, perusals of letters and photographs

D. Oral History

- Researcher gathers personal recollections of events, their causes, and their effects from an individual or several individuals

- Information gathered through tape recordings or written works of individual who have died or who are still living

-specific biographies may be writing

a.“Objectively”: with little of researcher’s interpretation

b.” Scholarly”: strong historical background of the subject and chronological organization

c. “Artistically”: from the perspective of presenting details in a lively and interesting manner

d. “Narrative” form: a fictionalized account of scenes and characters (Smith, 1994)

-One also needs to decide if their biographical approach will be “classical” or “interpretive”

          a. “Classical biography”: uses statements about theory, concerns with validity and criticism of documents and materials, and the formulation of a distinct hypotheses, all drawn from the researcher’s perspective (Denzin, 1989a.)

           b. “Interpretive biography”: (Creswell’s preferred approach): challenges traditional approaches and asks that biographers be cognizant of how studies are both read and written

- In interpretive view, biographies are written autobiographies of the writers, blurring the line between fact and fiction, leading author’s to “create” the subject in text

- Biographers become gendered class productions reflecting the lives of the writers

Denzin’s procedural steps:

· Investigator begins with objective set of experiences in subject’s life = life course stages and experiences…stages are childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, old age…written chronologically

·

1. Gathering stories:

· Using interviews

2. Epiphanies (p.49, Creswell)):

· Stories organized around pivotal events

3. Stories:

· Explanations given and multiple meanings sorted

4. Historical content:

· Social interactions between groups, cultural issues, ideologies, provides interpretation for life experiences

-Challenges:

a. researcher needs to collect extensive information

b. investigator needs clear understanding of historical, contextual material

c. a keen eye is needed to determine stories, slant, or angle that “works” in writing a biography to uncover the “figure under the carpet” (Edel, 1984)

d. writer uses an interpretive approach, bringing self into the narrative to acknowledge his/her standpoint

- A Phenomelogical Study (p. 51)

-describes the meaning of lived experiences…explores the consciousness in human experiences (Polkinghome, 1989).

- (p.52) researchers search for essential, invariant structure (or essence) of central underlying meaning of the experience

-emphasize intentionality of consciousness, where experiences contain outward appearance and inward consciousness based on memory, image and meaning

-Phenomenological data analysis uses reduction, analysis of specific statements and search for all possible meaning

           -researcher sets aside pre judgements, brackets his/her experiences, relies on intuition, imaginations to obtain a picture of the experience

           -4 Themes emerge from this:

i. A return to the traditional tasks of philosophy:

           -search for wisdom vs. empirical science

ii. A philosophy without presuppositions:

           -suspend all judgments about what is real – “the natural attitude”- until they are founded on more of a certain basis. Husserl calls this the “epoche”.

iii. (p. 53, Creswell) Intentionality of consciousness:

           -reality of an object is related to one’s conscious ness of it…it’s the meaning of an object that appears in consciousness

iv. The refusal of the subject-object dichotomy:

           -reality of an object is only perceived within meaning of the experience of an individual

Major procedural issues in using Phenomenology (p. 54, Creswell):

a. The researcher needs to understand the philosophical perspectives behind the approach, especially how people experience a phenomenon

b. The concept of epoche is central, where the researcher brackets his or her own preconceived ideas about the phenomenon to understand it through the voices of the informants (Field and Morse, 1985)

c. Investigator writes research questions exploring meaning of experience in their everyday lived experiences

d. Investigator collects data from individuals who have experienced the phenomenon under investigation

e. Steps include: horizonalization to cluster of meaning, to textual description (what they experienced and structural description, or how is was experienced

f. The phenomenological report ends with the reader understanding better the essential, invariant structure of the experience

Phenomnenological studies are challenging because (p.55, Creswell):

1. Researcher requires solid grounding in philosophical precepts of phenomenology

2. Participants need to be carefully chosen who have experienced the phenomenon

3. Bracketing personal experiences by the researcher may be difficult

4. Researcher needs to decide who they fit into the study with their own experiences

A Grounded Theory Study:

-vs. Phenomenological study (meaning of an experience for individuals), grounded theory study is to generate or discover a theory related to a particular situation.

-where individuals interact, take action or engage in a process to a phenomenon

-uses data, multiple visits to the field, tried to create visual picture of the theory

-Grounded theory was first articulated by Glaser and Strauss in 1967…believe that theories should be “grounded” in data from the field, particularly through actions, interactions and social processes of people

-very popular mostly in sociology, nursing, education and other social science fields

-the centerpiece of the grounded research theory is the creation of a theory closely related to the context of the phenomenon being studied…this theory is put at the end of a study through a narrative statement, a visual picture or a series of hypotheses or propositions.

-20-30 interviews are conducted until interview data is saturated (no more can be found)

-categories are developed as a unit of information representing an event, happening and instances

-data collection is like a zig zag process; out to the field to gather info, analyze the date, back to the field for more information, then back to analyze

-theoretical sampling is used to choose the participants interviewed

-constant comparative is the method data analysis used when taking information from data collection and comparing to emerging categories

Data Analysis Process:

1. Open Coding is used: initial categories of information are formed.

-The investigator finds several properties or subcategories and looks for data to dimensionalize, or show extreme possibilities on a continuum of the property

2. Axial Coding: investigator assembles data in new ways after open coding.

-central phenomenon is identified

-causal conditions identified

-specific strategies identified

-context and intervening conditions (narrow and broad conditions influencing the strategy) identified

-delineates the consequences for this phenomenon

3. Selective Coding

-researcher identifies a “story line”

-integrates categories in axial coding model

-propositions or hypotheses are presented

4. Conditional Matrix

           -elucidates social, historical and economic conditions influencing central phenomenon *not frequently found in grounded theory*

-result of this process of data collection and analysis is a theor, a substantive-level theory, written by researchers close to a specific problem or population of people

A Grounded Theory’s challenges for a researcher (p. 58):

· Investigator needs to set aside, as much as possible, theoretical ideas or notions so that the analytic, substantive theory can emerge

· Researcher must recognize that this is a systematic approach to research with specific steps in data analysis

· There may be difficulty determining when categories are saturated or when the theory is sufficiently detailed

· Researcher needs a primary outcome with specific components: 1.central phenomenon, 2. Causal conditions, 3. Strategies, 4. Conditions and context, 5. Consequences

An Ethnography (p. 58, Creswell):

-description and interpretation of a cultural or social group or system

-observable and learned patterns of behavior, customs, ways of life are examined (Harris, 1968)

-is a product of research, found in book length form

-involves prolonged observation of the group

-through participant observation, researcher is immersed in day-to-day lives of people, or through one-on-one interviews with members of the group

-behaviour, language and interactions observed

-1920’s cultural anthropologists, Park, Dewey and Mead used such methods of ethnography

-Creswell uses procedures found in the sociological approach of Hammersley and Atkinson (1995) and Wolcott (1994b) and Fetterman (1989)…through these texts, ethnographers study life cycles, events and cultural themes

-Culture: something the researcher attributes to a group as he or she looks for patterns of daily living

           -it consists of behaviors, languages and what they use, artifacts…artifacts are gathered, as well as stories, rituals, myths and cultural themes

-Structure (p. 59, Creswell): social structure or configuration of the group…political, kinship

-Function: patterns of social relations among members of the group regulating behavior

-Fieldwork: gathering information through observations, interviews…determining cultural rules

           -ethnographer must gather information through gatekeepers, individuals who can provide entrance to a research site

-Key informants: individuals who provide useful insights into a group

-Reciprocity is also important between researcher and people being studied…also, reactivity, the impact of the researcher on the site and people being studied

-the researcher must use ethical standards to avoid deception about the purpose and intent of the study being practiced accordingly

-a detailed description of the culture-sharing group or individual is required

-also, an analysis of the culture sharing group and interpretation of them as well

-final product is a holistic cultural portrait of the social group that incorporates both the views of the “actors” in the group (emic) and the researcher’s interpretation of the views about human life in a social perspective (etic)

-“holistic”: ethnographer trieds to describe as much as possible about cultural system or social groups including group’s history, religion, politics, economy and environment.

Judy Cresswell (60)

(Page 60)

Challenges of Ethnography

· Researcher needs a grounding in cultural anthropology and the meaning f a social-cultural system as well as the concepts typically explored by ethnographers

· Time to collect data is extensive , prolonged time in the field

· Narratives are written in a literary, storytelling approach: challenging for the authors

· Researchers “go native” and unable to complete the study

A case study

Definition: an exploration of a bounded system or a case over time through detailed in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information rich in context.

It is BOUNDED by time and place as it is the CASE being studied: a program, an event, an activity or individuals

Sources of information include: observations, interviews, audiovisual material, documents and reports, archival records, physical artefacts

Context of the case – situating the case within its setting- may be a physical, historical, and or economic setting

If more than one case is studied-. Collective case study

If a case is studied because of its uniqueness: intrinsic case study

If the case is used to illustrate an issue: instrumental case study

Recommendation to first consider what type of study is most promising and useful

Then consider from the array of possibilities for purposeful sampling . Next consider an holistic or embedded analysis.

Through the data collection the

· description

· analysis of themes

· interpretations or assertions

of the case emerges

This analysis is rich in context of the case or setting

When multiple cases are chosen – typical format to first provide a detailed description of each case (within-case analysis) then followed by a cross-case analysis

Type of analysis can be holistic analysis of the data or embedded analysis of a specific aspect of the case

Through the data a description emerges and an analysis of themes or issues and an interpretation about t the case

Challenges of the case study: : the researcher must...

1) identify the case

2) consider whether to study single case or multiple case

3) establish a rationale for sampling strategy for selecting and for gathering information

4) have enough information to present an in-depth picture of the case

5) decide on boundaries of the case (establishing beginning and end)

Dimensions for comparing FIVE RESEARCH traditions in Qualitative Research

Next page: Table : Dimensions for comparing five research traditions in Qualitative research (p.65)

Table : Dimensions for comparing five research traditions in Qualitative research (p.65)

Matrix of Dimension

Biography

Phenomenology

Grounded Theory

Ethnography

Case Study

Focus

Exploring the life of an individual

Understanding the essence of experiences about a phenomenon

Developing a theory grounded in a data from the field

describing and interpreting a cultural and social group

Developing an in-depth analysis of a single case or multiple cases

Discipline Origin

Anthropology, literature, history, psychology, sociology

Philosophy, sociology, psychology

Sociology

Cultural anthropology, sociology

Political science, sociology, evaluation, urban studies, other social sciences

Data Collection

Interviews and documents

Long interviews with up to 10 people

Interviews with up to 20-30 individuals to saturate categories and detail theory

Observations and interviews with additional artefacts during extended time in the field(6-12 months)

Multiple sources, documents, archival records, interviews, observations, physical artefacts

Data Analysis

Stories, epiphanies, historical content

Statements, meanings, meaning themes, description of experiences

Open coding, axial coding, selective coding, conditional matrix

Description, analysis, interpretation

Description, themes, assertions

Narrative form

Detailed picture of an individual's life

Description of the essence of the life experience

Theory or theoretical model

Description of the cultural behaviour of a group or individual

In-depth study of a case of cases

Reporting approaches for each tradition: (page 67)

Reporting Approaches

Biography

Phenomenology

Grounded theory

Ethnography

Case study

General structure of study

· introduction (problem, questions)

· research procedures (biography, significance of individual, data collection, analysis outcome)

· report of objective experiences

· individuals theorize about their lives

· narrative segments identified

· patterns of meaning identified

· summary

(adopted from Denzin 1989)

· introduction (problem, questions)

· research procedures (phenomenology and philosophical assumptions, data collection, analysis, outcomes)

· significant statements

· meanings of statements

· themes of meanings

· exhaustive description of phenomenon

(adopted form Moustakas, 1994)

· introduction (problem, questions)

· research procedures (grounded theory, data collection, analysis, outcomes)

· open coding

· axial coding

· selective coding and theoretical propositions and models

· discussion of theory and contrasts with an extant literature

(adopted from Strauss and Corbin 1990)

· introduction (problem, questions)

· research procedures (ethnography, data collection, analysis, outcomes

· Description of culture

· Analysis of cultural themes

· Interpretation, lessons learned, questions raised

(adopted from Walcott 1994)

· Entry vignette

· Introduction (problem, questions, case study, data collection, analysis, outcome)

· Description of the case and its context

· Development of issues

· Detail about selected issues

· Assertations

· Closing vignette

(adapted from Stake, 1995)

In comparison: 2 issues overlap exists that need clarification:

First issue that overlaps:

Ethnography we study a cultural system. An entire cultural or social system is the focus, researcher studies a culture sharing group using anthropological concepts (/myths, stories, rituals, social structure)

Case studies we study a bounded system, smaller system not people. (program, event, activity or individuals and a range of topics only and of which may be cultural behaviour, language or artefacts

Second issue that overlaps:

When we study individuals:

Biography- research an individual

Case study: individual or number of individuals may be studied, more accepted: several individuals, 3 or 4 to obtain depth in the study

==Article 3: CONTENT ANALYSIS (Social Research Methods) --- BENILA

Author: Bryman

•Most content analysis of the media is likely to entail several research questions, generally revolving around ◦WHO ◦WHAT ◦WHERE ◦WHY ◦And WHEN •But researchers are also interested in omissions in coverage •Change in the coverage of an issue over time •Researchers try to create transparency in the coding procedures so that personal biases intrude as little as possible. •Content analysis can be applied to unstructured information, such as transcripts of semi and unstructured interviews, and even qualitative case studies of organizations. Other sort of materials may also be analyzed. (examples) ◦Gender roles in animated cartoons ◦Lyrics of popular songs to look for changes in the representation of women

'WHAT THINGS ARE TO BE COUNTED?

•In quantitative studies of this kind, what is to be counted is usually specified in advance to guide both the selection of the media to be analyzed and the coding schedule to be used.

•The following are frequently a focus of attention: ◦Words: ◾ frequency, emphasis, style ◾ pairing of key words ◦Subjects and Themes: ◾ask deeper questions about what is happening. •Ex. In reports on crime – who is blamed for incident? Accused? Or Victim? Is occupation of victim stated? Is it implied in pics? ◾could develop into a qualitative study. ◦Value Positions: ◾Another level of interpretation - when researcher seeks to demonstrate that a certain value position has been taken in the texts being analyzed. •Ex. Is focus on social conditions and thus less blame placed on the criminal?

CODING: •Coding is a crucial part of content analysis •2 main elements to a coding scheme: ◦DESIGNING a coding schedule and CREATING a coding manual

Coding Schedule: •Is a form onto which the data are entered •Each column is a dimension to be coded •The codes can then be transferred to a computer data file for analysis (like SPSS)

Coding Manual: •Is a set of instructions to coders that includes all possible categories for each dimensions being coded. •It provides: ◦A list of all the dimensions ◦The different categories subsumed under each dimension ◦The numbers (the codes) that correspond to each category ◦And guidance to coders on what should be taken into account in coding a particular dimension

Potential pitfalls in devising coding schemes:

•Mutually exclusive categories (there should be no overlap) •Exhaustive – every possible dimension should have a category •Clear instructions •Advisable to conduct a pilot study

QUALITATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS

•Comprises a search for underlying themes in the materials analyzed •“Ethnographic Content Analysis” (ECA) – typical of qualitative content analysis ◦The aim is to be systematic and analytic but not rigid. Categories and variables initially guide the study, but others are allowed and expected to emerge during the study, including an orientation to constant discovery and constant comparison of relevant situations, settings, styles, images, meanings and nuances •ECA allows a greater refinement of predefined categories and the generation of new ones

Semiotics:

•The science of signs ◦The SIGN is something that stands for something else (yellow traffic light) – made up of a signifier and the signified ◦The SIGNIFIER is the thing (yellow light) that points to an underlying meaning ◦The SIGNIFIED is the meaning to which the signifier points (Caution: stop if possible) ◦A DENOTATIVE meaning is the manifest or more obvious meaning of a signifier and as such, indicates its function (to regulate traffic) ◦A CONNOTATIVE meaning is a meaning that can arise in addition to its denotative meaning (speed up to beat the coming red light) ◦And POLYSEMY refers to the notion that signs can be interpreted in many different ways •Semiotics seeks to uncover the hidden meanings that reside in texts, broadly defined

Hermeneutics: •Is an approach that has been used in understanding and interpreting the Bible, but it has also been employed in the analysis of other texts •Central idea: the analyst of a text must seek its meanings from the perspective of its author. This entails considering the social and historical context within which the text was produced

READERS AND AUDIENCES – ACTIVE OR PASSIVE?

•Are audiences/readers active interpreters of what they see or hear? Do they passively derive the meanings that authors or designers infuse into their texts? • audiences frequently come up with readings different from those intended by authors •Close scrutiny and critical thinking are required when reading renditions of any text