Purposes and alternative forms of mass communications research are explored in this four-part presentation. Part One examines the origins of, and the differences between, two conflicting types of research: administrative research, in which the mass media are perceived as neutral tools, capable of serving a wide range of purposes; and critical research, in which the media are studied in relation to current social trends and human values. Part Two notes that European mass communications research has developed along critical lines and explores its major features. Part Three reports the results of an examination of articles in "Journalism Quarterly," which revealed that there are numerous dilemmas, gaps, and areas of weak definition in journalism research in the United States and that much of the research published is virtually unclassifiable in purposive terms. Part Four suggests the need for a new research model that would stand between the categories of administrative and critical research and offers guidelines for the development of such a model. (GW)