“New Research Literacies for Contemporary Research into Literacy and New Media?” raises several questions important both to Nixon and the researchers looking into the literacies that surround various medias new to exploration. Nixon argues that with the controversy surrounding the term “literacy” and the use of new medias to gain literacy,scholars must not forfeit the traditional, socially respected literacies, but use these literacies as a basis for beginning research into new medias. Arguing that new medias are as important as the old medias of literacy learning, Nixon demonstrates the need for researchers to begin with the standards of old literacy learning and to build upon these methods by setting standards for their research that can transcend the new medias, thus aiding in these standards becoming more socially acceptable. Nixon’s article, with its detailed scholarship review, is aimed at new researchers in the literacy field who must begin their research by comprehending the research of the old literacies before beginning work in the new medias with haphazardly created standards. Her purpose in this article is two-fold; she strives to prepare researchers for the obstacles apparent in new media literacy while also providing valuable information about old literacies to aid in the new researcher’s developing a stronger ethos.

Margaret Hagood’s “New Media and Online Literacies” asserts that in order to understand the full benefit of literacy acquisition through new medias researchers must use a close examination of the texts they study in order to comprehend the use of new medias by various ages. Investigating the questions of who is affected by new media literacies, how these new medias affect both the researched and the researcher in conjunction with the methods of conceptualizing medias and crossing fields of medias for research, Hagood demonstrates that a focused age group in new media research will not demonstrate the true benefit of media literacies in today’s society. With her focus on methods of research, Hagood addresses fellow researchers delving into the world of new medias in their studies. Her purpose with this article is to demonstrate that a narrow focus on age groups interacting with new medias will not do justice to the extent to which these medias aid in increasing literacy broader than the traditional reading and writing literacy.

Particularly useful to my study is the idea of active audiencing she describes in her study. This concept posits that the audience member is not a passive receiver of messages and advertising, but an active participant in the conversation taking place in and around these messages (388).