Study on Method of Mass Communication Research 传播研究方法 （12） Dr Study on Method of Mass Communication Research 传播研究方法 （12） Dr. Yi Mou 牟怡

Content Analysis

Example: Durkheim’s analysis of suicide Types of Unobtrusive Research Unobtrusive Research – Methods of studying social behavior without affecting it. Example: Durkheim’s analysis of suicide Types of Unobtrusive Research Content Analysis Analysis of Existing Statistics Comparative and Historical Analysis

“Who says what, to whom, why, how, and with what effect?” Content Analysis Content Analysis – The study of recorded human communications (i.e., books, websites, paintings, laws). Appropriate Topics “Who says what, to whom, why, how, and with what effect?”

Sampling in Content Analysis Units of Analysis

Identify the unit of analysis: You are interested in how children’s literature portrays gender roles. You are interested in popular film’s use of drugs and alcohol. You are interested in sociology textbook’s definition of race. You are interested in the content of Internet Blogs.

Sampling Techniques Any conventional sampling technique may be used for content analysis.

Coding in Content Analysis Coding – The process whereby raw data are transformed into standardized form suitable for machine processing and analysis. Coder Training: Reliability

Manifest Content – The concrete terms contained in a communication. Latent Content – The underlying meaning of communication.

Conceptualization and the Creation of Code Categories Operational Definition Levels of Measurement Counting and Record Keeping The end product of coding must be numerical. Record keeping must distinguish between units of analysis and units of observation. Record from the base from which the counting is done.

Example: Microblog posts by scholars Develop operational definitions Decide what to observe Decide how to code/analyze data

暴力的人是否會更加暴力地打電遊？ Peng, W., Liu, M., & Mou, Y. (2008). Do aggressive people play violent computer games in a more aggressive way? Individual difference and idiosyncratic game-playing experience. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(2), 157-161.

Major steps in executing a content analysis study 1. Propose and test research hypotheses and/or research questions 2. Define the sampling population and select a sample 3. Secure the access to the sampled content 4. Operationally define the coding categories and the unit of analysis 5. Coding instrument development 6. Coding training and coding protocol 7. Ensure the pilot inter-coder reliability 8. Implement the actual coding procedure 9. Compute the final inter-coder reliability

Strengths of Content Analysis Economy of time and money Allowing for the correction of errors Permits the study of processes occurring over time Research has little (if any) effect on subjects Reliability Weaknesses of Content Analysis Time and energy consuming in ensuring reliability and validity Limited to recorded communications Validity: Generalizability concern: different operational definitions across studies