Methods for Global Media and Communication Governance Research

Abstract

This chapter focuses on trusted and emerging research methods for the empirical analysis of global media and communication governance. The chapter starts by discussing what constitutes media and communication policy research and briefly discusses the characteristics of global media and communication governance that affect research methods. Next, it explains the steps and challenges of doing (global) media and communication policy research before turning to the methods relevant for investigating governance at a global level. It discusses both tried and tested tools of media policy research, such as document analysis and interviews, and emerging methods that may enjoy popularity in other research fields but have become crucial additions to the toolbox of the researcher of global media governance, including observations, experiments and network analysis.