Estudios cualitativos en comunicación: ver lo macrosocial desde lo micro

Abstract

The qualitative research on social communication has a long and fruitful tradition in Latin America, and particularly that branch related to the cultural consumptions of mass media and new communication technologies in specific communities. The results of such studies have not only produced significant knowledge about its specific audience behavior but also a helpful insight into the social and historical complexity of Latin American societies. By the contrary, the Spanish media audience research has been more inclined through other traditions, apart from some exceptions as Callejo’s (1995) and Sampedro’s (2003) works. The focus of this article deals with the salience benefits of qualitative methodologies and of the micro social communication scope in the study of media consumption, as a contribution to a broader understanding of the macro level of social reality.