Quick questions on The case study investigation method: QCE Film, Television and New Media

Film, Television and New Media uses an inquiry learning model. Inquiry means solving problems through questions that have more than one defensible answer. A case study investigation applies this model to a single product, practice or phenomenon, examining it in depth rather than surveying many examples shallowly.

A strong investigation reads as an argument, not a description. State your position early, organise body sections around your concepts or sub-questions, support every claim with specific evidence, and evaluate effectiveness throughout. Markers reward synthesis, where you connect concepts, over isolated paragraphs that treat each concept separately.

The single biggest lift from a competent investigation to a strong one is synthesis: connecting the key concepts rather than treating each in a separate paragraph. A siloed investigation has one paragraph on audiences, one on technologies, one on institutions, with no relationship drawn between them. A synthesised investigation argues, for example, that a platform's voting affordance (technologies) hands agency to the audience (audiences), which pressures the small production company to alter its plans (institutions), all in service of one claim. The concepts interrelate in the product, so your analysis should interrelate them too.

A rigorous investigation rests on two kinds of evidence. Primary evidence comes from the product itself: a named shot, a specific edit, an interface feature, a visible platform metric. Secondary evidence comes from around the product: creator interviews, reviews, industry reporting and platform documentation that establish the contexts of production and use. Primary evidence proves your reading of how the product works; secondary evidence grounds your account of why it was made and how it is received.