Methodological Approaches to Reception Analysis Research in Ghanaian Media Studies

Abstract

Reception Analysis audience research since its evolution from the German Reception Theory of the Constance School has been beset with varied methodological issues. This is stridently because reception analysis per se straddles both the humanities and the social sciences. This paper attempts to set off the methodological perspective that can enable audience researchers in the field of media studies in Africa conduct reliable and valid reception analysis research. This paper posits the qualitative method as a viable analytical tool for reception researchers. Additionally, this paper takes into consideration factors in the social systems in which media discourses are embedded. These factors enable the generation of interpretative strategies shared by individuals belonging to a specific audience group within a specified cultural context. In the light of this, these interpretative repertoires can thus serve as veritable texts that could be analyzed in reception analysis research.