Themes and subject areas of mass communication research - a study of undergraduate research projects in two selected universities

The purpose of this study was to identify the subject areas and themes of Mass Communication studies in Nigerian universities in the last five years with focus on undergraduate research projects in two selected universities: University of Lagos and Babcock University; both selected on the basis of ownership and period of existence.

The following research questions were raised: (1) What are the themes of Mass Communication research in Nigerian Universities? (2) Which subject areas of Mass Communication receive more focus in Mass Communication undergraduate research projects? (3) Do the themes and subject areas of Mass Communication research in private and public universities in Nigeria vary?

A content analysis of 662 available research projects (430 and 232 from the University of Lagos and Babcock University, respectively) covering a period of five academic session (06/07 – 10/11) were analyzed. The outcome of the study showed that research projects in broadcasting and advertising dominated Mass Communication undergraduate studies in the period under examination, while studies in film and cinematography, new media and book publishing were relatively rare.

On the other hand, the themes of the Mass Communication research projects in the two selected universities were mainly on Media effects and popular culture, giving less focus to other themes.