Power and the Media: A Literature Review Assignment

Task A: Write a Harvard-style Reference List of Three Journal Articles Related to Power and the Media

A) Write a Harvard-style reference list of three journal articles related to the issue of “power and the media”. (30 marks)

B) Write a literature review of the three journal articles that you have selected. (standard essay - 70 marks) 

Power is a central theme of this module and this first assignment will expand your knowledge of the topic beyond the material contained within the Units. Although the concept of power is introduced in the first unit, the aim of this first assignment is to require you to conduct independent research using online search tools to locate additional appropriate academic sources that will be used for a brief review of literature related to sociological understandings of power and its relationship to all forms of contemporary media.

•Reading and understanding sociological literature

•Planning an essay or report

•Researching (finding and assessing) relevant information, data and theories

•Combining ideas into a coherent piece of work

•Summarising, using and critiquing the views of other writers

•Offering critical evaluation of material

•Writing concisely and using correct referencing

•Demonstrated that you can use the databases of the DCU online library to locate appropriate journal articles

•Demonstrated that you can adhere to the DCU guidelines of Harvard-style referencing by providing bibliographic details in a reference list.

•Demonstrated that you can read wider sociological material that goes beyond the core module texts

•Demonstrated that you can conduct a literature review of scholarly journal articles 

You are required to produce a reference list after utilising the online databases of the DCU Library to search and locate three journal articles that relate to sociological understandings of power and the media but were not listed in the references, further reading or recommended reading lists of the module text.

There are many useful databases that you can access through DCU’s online library services but, in particular, you may find that the Web of Science database is useful in locating sociological journal articles. Within this system, there are several ways that you can change the limits of your search and the results that you generate.

In selecting your chosen three articles, it may be helpful to consider how you will structure your review. For example, you may choose to review three articles that focus on similar/ different topics related to power and the media, similar/ different theoretical and empirical approaches or from a particular time frame or journal title.

You may also wish to restrict your search to only those articles that have an abstract that is available to view as these summaries may prove invaluable in preparing your review. Once you have reached a final decision on what articles you will include in your review, you can produce your reference list. It is vital that you consult with the DCU Library guidelines when preparing your reference list. Although many computer programmes allow you to automatically create a reference list, you should ensure that the format adheres to the guidelines amend to conform with the DCU guide where necessary.

You need to review the three journal articles that you have selected. Although it is sufficient to outline the three articles for this part of the assignment, it is hoped that students will offer some analysis that extends beyond mere description or a summary of content.

This may involve comparing the articles, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments that they put forth, and/ or offering a critical evaluation and analysis of the conclusions that they present. The literature review should follow a standard essay format (approx. 1500 words) of introduction, structured paragraphs, conclusion and bibliography.