Audience Research Unit
Study with us
For prospective graduate students keen to develop their research skills, the ARU offers opportunities for expert supervision across a wide range of topic areas and drawing on a wide range of methodologies. For those undertaking audience research as part of graduate projects based in other disciplines, we may be able to provide specialist advice or co-supervision. We have recently supervised the following Masters and PhD projects containing substantial audience research components:
Darren Elliot (PhD - current): Are people what they post to be? A comparative study of social networking sites in relation to gendered identity.
Sujittra Kaweensual (PhD - current): Digital literacy: Enhancement regarding Thai children's use, safety from risk and opportunities in online and digital media.
Arezou Zalipour (PhD, 2015, Second Doctorate): The Asian diaspora in New Zealand film: Conceptualising Asian New Zealand cinema.
Ernesta Mosha (PhD, 2013): Discourse analysis of gender-based violence in contemporary Kiswahili fiction: a case study of selected novels of the past three decades (1975-2004) and young Tanzanians’ interpretations (Women’s and Gender Studies).
Susan Chapman (PhD, 2012): The gendering of sports news: an investigation into the production, content and reception of sports photographs of athletes in New Zealand newspapers (Sport and Leisure Studies).
Darren Elliot (Masters, 2015): The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - A new era of realism?
Graduate research opportunities
We also provide opportunities to become actively involved in national and international research projects led by our faculty members. If you are interested in undertaking graduate study but don’t have a specific project in mind, ARU faculty members are currently seeking enthusiastic students to work alongside them in exploring the following topics:
- Locating ‘nature’ in the soundscapes of popular wildlife documentaries ~ Isabelle Delmotte
- Cinemas of New Zealand ~ Geoff Lealand
- The Avatar Audience Project ~ Carolyn Michelle