thestoryofjory.com

Some of my friends and family have been asking what exactly my thesis was about.  To answer that question, I’m posting the abstract I wrote for my paper.  An abstract is simply a 100-150 word summary of a research paper, designed to help other people get a quick understanding of what the research found and whether it is useful for their own research studies.

Burson, J. K. (2010). Measuring media literacy among collegiate journalism students. Proquest Thesis & Disstertations. p. 98.

Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to measure and compare media literacy knowledge structure scores and attitudes among collegiate journalism students with those of non-journalism students.  The study utilized quantitative data analysis.  Data were collected using an online survey as well as convenience sampling methods.

Findings and Conclusions:  The study found that collegiate journalism students scored higher on the media literacy survey than non-journalism students, but that overall media literacy knowledge among the sample was low. Scores and attitudes of journalism students and students in journalism-related majors were also compared.  The findings suggest that journalism majors may use the media for more specific purposes than students in other majors.  A potential third-person effect was identified among journalism students when comparing scores on the media literacy survey with attitudes about media literacy.  Potter’s (2004) cognitive theory of media literacy was utilized to provide explanation of the findings.

I heard it takes awhile for papers to officially be published, so a few months from now Proquest should have my paper available online through your local library.  If you want a copy in the meantime (yeah, right!) just email me!