Content Analysis

1. Content Analysis

2. 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

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

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

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

6. Content Analysis • 2. Content Analysis • Sampling • You must specifically define the sampling frame • Authors… English? 20th century? Fiction? Horror? • TV shows… Channel(s)? Days of the week? Hours of the day? • Use EPSEM unless it is necessary to use NPS • 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

7. Content Analysis • Sampling • Use EPSEM unless it is necessary to use NPS • 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 • You can use these techniques to sub-sample • Selected chapters in selected books by an author

8. Content Analysis • Sampling • You can use these techniques to sub-sample • Selected chapters in selected books by an author • 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

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

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

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

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

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

15. 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

17. 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 • If the units of observation and analysis differ, this must be justified • Codes refer to units observed; measures refer to units analyzed

18. Content Analysis Coding in Content Analysis • Record Keeping • 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 • For qualitative analysis in content analysis, see the QLA notes

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

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