Research

Putting the focus on media research

Whether our faculty and students are conducting a study, writing a book or producing a film, they’re adding to a rich tradition of groundbreaking research that extends over 100 years.

Student research opportunities

We foster a collaborative research atmosphere, making it possible for students at every level to get involved.

You might find yourself conducting interviews, observing test subjects, performing content and textual analysis, conducting experiments and surveys, or utilizing legal and historical methods.

Explore research opportunities

IU's communication program ranks among the top 15 worldwide in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, a study based largely on faculty research.

Media School research podcast

In The Media School's research podcast, “I’m No Expert,” we sit down with Media School faculty to discuss their area of expertise. Not an expert in media research? Good! Neither is our host, undergrad student Avi Forrest. This podcast allows any listener to better understand the media’s impact on the social, physical, and psychological aspects of our lives.

Each episode features a different topic and guest, so follow us on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts to hear new episodes released every month.

Faculty bookshelf

“Beyond the Movie Theater” by Greg Waller details the early history of where films were shown outside of traditional movie theaters. (University of California Press, 2023)
“Everything Is Sampled: Digital and Print Mediations in African Arts and Letters” by Akinwumi Adesokan examines the shifting modes of production and circulation of African artistic forms since the 1980s. (Indiana University Press, 2023)
“Universal Access and Its Asymmetries: The Untold Story of the Last 200 Years” by Harmeet Sawhney explores the inequities in access to technology in the United States. (MIT Press, 2022)
"From AIDS to Population Health" by James Kelly explores the strength of cross-cultural collaboration in health care. (Indiana University Press, 2022)
“School and Suicide,” written by Joan Hawkins, is a collection of short memoir works covering events in Hawkins’ life from age 9 to 22. (Alien Buddha, 2022)
"Feeling Leeds: Notes on Loving a Football Club from Afar” by Raiford Guins explores Guins’ experiences as a dedicated Leeds United fan living in the United States. (Pitch Publishing, 2022)
"Filmmaking with Intention: A Comprehensive Guide to Creating Engaging Motion Pictures" by Craig Erpelding dives into the ins and outs of directing and filmmaking. (Cognella Publishing, 2022)
"Some Versions of Cary Grant" by James Naremore offers an analysis of Grant’s work in a curated list of 11 famous films. (Oxford University Press, 2022)
“Batman’s Batman: A Memoir from Hollywood, Land of Bilk and Money” by Michael Uslan tells the story of the Indiana University graduate’s journey in revolutionizing the way the film industry saw superheroes. (Red Lightning Books, 2022)  
"Writing for Public Relations and Strategic Communication" by Nicholas Browning combines communication theory and interactive practice. (Cognella, 2021)
"A Companion to Documentary Film History" by Joshua Malitsky examines the way documentary film history is written through commissioned essays on five topics: geographies, authorship, films and movements, media archaeologies and audiences. (Wiley Blackwell, 2021)
“Communication and Contradiction in the NCAA” co-edited by Lauren Smith explores the need for reform in college sports. (Peter Lang, 2020)
"Social Media and Sports" by Galen Clavio is a guide to using social media to communicate about sports. The book is for both sports journalists and those working for teams and organizations. (Human Kinetics, 2020)
"Media Effects: A Narrative Perspective" by James Shanahan examines the effects of media through the lens of narrative, which requires the selection of what will and will not be included. (Polity Press, 2020)
“Life is a Game: What Game Design Says about the Human Condition” by Edward Castronova applies the theories of game design and development to life. (Bloomsbury Academic, 2020)
“From Street to Screen: Charles Burnett’s ‘Killer of Sheep,’” edited by Michael Martin, examines “Killer of Sheep,” one of the foundational works of Black American cinema. (IU Press, 2020)
"Contested Ground: 'The Tunnel' and the Struggle over Television News in Cold War America" by Mike Conway analyzes the tension between newspaper reporting and television broadcasting during the Cold War era through a case study of NBC's controversial documentary "The Tunnel." (University of Massachusetts Press, 2019)
"Coming Together: The Cinematic Elaboration of Gay Male Life, 1945-1979" by Ryan Powell traces the history of queer cinema and looks at the growth of the first films featuring gay men. (University of Chicago Press, 2019)
"Power Button" by Rachel Plotnick investigates the origins of today’s push-button society and the emphasis on command from a distance. (MIT Press, 2018)
"Advanced Game Design: A Systems Approach" by Mike Sellers is a textbook that applies systems thinking to game design. (Addison-Wesley, 2017)
"The American Journalist in the Digital Age: A Half-Century Perspective," by David Weaver and Cleve Wilhoit, and Lars Willnat of Syracuse University, is the latest in a multi-decade series of studies by IU Media School researchers. It finds that U.S. journalists, although their numbers are dwindling, appear to believe in their watchdog role as strongly as ever. (Peter Lang Inc., 2017)
"Minitel: Welcome to the Internet" by Julien Mailland and Kevin Driscoll of the University of Virginia describes the rise of Minitel, a French government-run computer network available to every telephone subscriber via a free terminal during the 1980s. (MIT Press, 2017)
"Unfinished Work: The Struggle to Build an Aging American Workforce" by Joe Coleman investigates how the aging workforces of countries like Sweden and Japan differ from that of the United States, and how each nation is dealing with the fact that the population will have to work longer as life expectancy improves. (Oxford University Press, 2015)
"International Public Relations and Public Diplomacy: Communication and Engagement," co-edited by Sung-Un Yang, discusses the conceptual and practical interconnections between international public relations and public diplomacy. (Peter Lang, 2014)
"Social Media and Participatory Democracy: Public Notice and the World Wide Web" by Shannon Martin addresses the internet's impact on government notifications and public records. (Peter Lang, 2014)
"Envisioning Freedom: Cinema and the Building of Modern Black Life" by Cara Caddoo analyzes African-American history through the lens of cinema. (Harvard University Press, 2014)
"Coproducing Asia: Locating Japanese-Chinese Regional Film and Media" by Stephanie DeBoer provides compelling frames for understanding the significance of film and media coproduction in East Asia. (University of Minnesota Press, 2014)
"Audience and Interpretation," edited by Radhika Parameswaran, is volume 4 of The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies. (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013)
"Psychophysiological Measurement and Meaning: Cognitive and Emotional Process of Media," co-authored by Rob Potter, is a comprehensive resource for psychophysiological research on media responses. (Routledge, 2011)
"Postcolonial Artists and Global Aesthetics" by Akinwumi Adesokan explores the forces at work in the production and circulation of culture in a globalized world, including social and political processes. (IU Press, 2011)
"Image Bite Politics: News and the Visual Framing of Elections," co-authored by Betsi Grabe, systematically assesses the visual presentation of presidential candidates in network news coverage of elections and connects the visual images with shifts in public opinion. (Oxford University Press, 2009)
"The Crisis in Telecommunications Carrier Liability: Historical Regulatory Flaws and Recommended Reform" by Barbara Cherry offers recommendations on the public policy issues underlying liability rules for telephone companies as common carriers. (Springer, 1999)

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