Content Analysis Content Analysis One type of unobtrusive

Content Analysis

Content Analysis ¨ One type of unobtrusive research ¨ The analysis of social artifacts, usually communications media ¨ Books, magazines, advertising, TV shows, movies, URLs, legal statutes, paintings, photos, architecture, etc. ¨ Most appropriate for theories about communications, norms, values

Content Analysis Sampling in Content Analysis n Units of Analysis n Great flexibility in selecting units of observation and analysis n Literature: Books, chapters, pages, lines, or words

Content Analysis ¨ Units of Analysis Great flexibility in selecting units of observation and analysis n Literature: Books, chapters, pages, lines, or words ¨ Or, themes, plot, characters, tone, connotation, etc. n Magazines: editions, articles, pages, text, photos, captions, etc. n URLs: pages, frames, sections, etc. n TV shows: days, hours, segments, scenes, etc. n People: authors, journalists, editors, publishers, artists, etc. n

Content Analysis n Sampling n You must specifically define the sampling frame ¨ Authors… English? 20 th century? Fiction? Horror? ¨ TV shows… Channel(s)? Days of the week? Hours of the day?

n Content Analysis 2. Content Analysis ¨ Sampling You must specifically define the sampling frame ¨ Authors… English? 20 th century? Fiction? Horror? ¨ TV shows… Channel(s)? Days of the week? Hours of the day? n Use EPSEM unless it is necessary to use NPS n It is very helpful to stratify and cluster sample; ¨ Stratify books by year; magazines by frequency of publication ¨ Cluster sample books by authors, magazines by publishers n

Content Analysis n Sampling Use EPSEM unless it is necessary to use NPS n It is very helpful to stratify and cluster sample; ¨ Stratify books by year; magazines by frequency of publication ¨ Cluster sample books by authors, magazines by publishers n You can use these techniques to sub-sample ¨ Selected chapters in selected books by an author n

Content Analysis n Sampling You can use these techniques to sub-sample ¨ Selected chapters in selected books by an author n You can also sample multiple units of analysis ¨ Sample segments of TV shows AND commercials ¨ This allows one to link analysis of shows to commercials n

Content Analysis Coding in Content Analysis ¨ Coding – classification or quantification of content Code editorials ordinally as “very liberal”. . . to “very conservative” n “Manifest” and/or “latent” content may be coded… n … content may be coded quantitatively or qualitatively n

Content Analysis Coding in Content Analysis ¨ Coding – classification or quantification of content Code editorials ordinally as “very liberal”. . . to “very conservative” n “Manifest” and/or “latent” content may be coded… n … content may be coded quantitatively or qualitatively ¨ Manifest Content n

Content Analysis Coding in Content Analysis ¨ Manifest Content Explicit or stated content n Lends itself to quantitative coding and reliable measures n Code quantitatively by counting the times a word or phrase is used n You can also conduct qualitative manifest coding n Use nominal codes to categorize the connotation of words or phrases n

Content Analysis Coding in Content Analysis ¨ Latent Content Implicit content; unstated but underlying meaning n Lends itself to qualitative coding and valid measures n Code qualitatively by categorizing the meaning of passages n You can also code quantitatively n Use subjective scores to rate the degree of some quality in a passage (1=lowest, 10=highest) n

Content Analysis Coding in Content Analysis ¨ Revising Codes Coding in content analysis allows for dialogue between theory & data n You can use both deductive and inductive logics n Begin with a theoretical question and key concepts… n … but be ready to revise them as you code data n

Content Analysis Coding in Content Analysis ¨ Record Keeping n You must have a clear, consistent, justifiable coding system ¨ When counting, state what you’re including and excluding ¨ When categorizing, state the criteria for making your distinctions ¨ Keep a codesheet with all of your codes

Content Analysis Coding in Content Analysis ¨ Record Keeping You must have a clear, consistent, justifiable coding system ¨ When counting, state what you’re including and excluding ¨ When categorizing, state the criteria for making your distinctions ¨ Keep a codesheet with all of your codes n If the units of observation and analysis differ, this must be justified ¨ Codes refer to units observed; measures refer to units analyzed n

Content Analysis Coding in Content Analysis ¨ Record Keeping n For counts, count the total units sample to derive a rate base ¨ If you count usage of a specific word, count the total words sampled ¨ This allows calculation of rates (keywords / 1000 total words) ¨ Rates facilitate comparisons to test theory n For qualitative analysis in content analysis, see the QLA notes

Content Analysis Strengths and Weaknesses of Content Analysis ¨ Strengths Very flexible units of analysis; lends itself to comparative analysis n Most media are cheap and easy to access n Content analysis is easy to replicate n

Content Analysis Strengths and Weaknesses of Content Analysis ¨ Strengths Very flexible units of analysis; lends itself to comparative analysis n Most media are cheap and easy to access n Content analysis is easy to replicate ¨ Weaknesses n Media must be recorded somehow to be subject to analysis n Some social artifacts may be hard to review n