Using primarily quantitative methodology alongside a critical media effects driven philosophy, Courtney examines the way media, elites, and audiences negotiate power, democracy, and opportunity through political communication. In exploring these relationships, Courtney has primarily focused on local politics and local journalism as avenues for political engagement and knowledge building.

Courtney is proficient in quantitative research, using primarily survey design, experiments, and content analyses in her research. She has experience with numerous statistical processing softwares including R, SPSS, Stata, and AMOS. She also has some experience with qualitative research, primarily in document and discourse analysis.