ABSTRACT
The above text is quoted by way of acknowledging the problems of method that remain unresolved in this work. As is evident, we are committed to a position that insists on the necessity of the ‘empirical dialogue’, rather than the attempt to deduce audience positions or decodings from the text in an a priori fashion (see E.P.Thompson (1978) p. 196, on the confusion of empirical with empiricist). However, serious problems remain in the attempt to develop an adequate methodology for the investigation of these issues-problems which have only been dealt with here in a provisional fashion. What follows is an outline of the makeshift strategies which have been adopted in the course of this project in an attempt to pursue these problems. Bearing these points in mind, the overall plan of the research project can be seen to have been adapted from that proposed by Umberto Eco (1972).
