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V2V Hub
Design, execute, and communicate original research in mass media.
Your central workspace for MC 451 and MC 501. Textbook chapters, the R workbook, tools, and resources live in one place. Follow the sidebar to read in order.
How to use this site
The sidebar on the left follows the textbook (Vibes to Variables, 3rd Edition) chapter by chapter across five parts. Each entry links to either a Hub page with hands-on R walkthroughs or the corresponding textbook chapter.
Start here if you are new
Set up your workspace
Install R, VS Code, and GitHub, then clone the course workspace. One folder holds everything.
Read the textbook
Fourteen chapters from foundations to publication. Free and open access.
R workbook
Seven chapters with narrated video walkthroughs, from codebook to published White Paper.
Course workspace
Your VS Code workspace: journals, project folders, and templates in one Git repository.
The five parts
Over one semester you build a complete content analysis from scratch, moving from qualitative immersion through quantitative testing, using real media data.
Foundation
Planning
Operationalization
Execution
Inference & Publication
| Part | Chapters | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| I: Foundation | 1 to 3 | Storytelling as science, open tools, epistemology |
| II: Planning | 4 to 6 | Literature, theory, the research prospectus |
| III: Operationalization | 7 to 9 | Qualitative immersion, codebook, data collection |
| IV: Execution | 10 to 12 | Sampling, data wrangling, visualization |
| V: Inference and Publication | 13 to 14 | Statistical inference, the one-click report |
The ecosystem
Three tools work together throughout the course. Each serves a distinct role, and all three live inside one VS Code workspace.
| Tool | What it does | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Course Workspace | VS Code workspace for journals, notes, and project files | Every week, as your personal research archive |
| R Workbook | Hands-on R tutorials with narrated videos | Parts III to V, learning R for data analysis |
| Textbook | Vibes to Variables (3rd Edition, 14 chapters) | Every week, for the conceptual foundation of each part |
Course information
Instructor: Dr. Alex P. Leith Office: Dunham Hall 1017 Office Hours: TuTh 12:30 to 1:45 PM and 3:30 to 5:00 PM (or by appointment)