Essay on Media Content Analysis

Introduction

Content analysis refers to a research method adopted to interpret and code certain words or concepts within textual material. The American Behavioral scientist Bernard Berelson proposed a definition of content analysis, which is defined as a research technique for the objective, systematic, and quantitative description of clear content of communication. This method has been adopted in the social sciences frequently and has been used by social scientists to analyze inferences in a systematic and replicable way. However, it has become more well-known in recent years through organizational scholars.

Content analysis has developed greatly since 1952, At the early development of content analysis, according to Berelson (1952), content analysis is concentrated on quantitative. Later, the researchers Berger and Luckman (1966) in their classic text, The Social Construction of Reality, criticize the definition of Berelson, by raising a different perspective that the word” objective” cannot be objective. In addition, some critics mentioned that the definition is limited, illustrating that latent as well as manifest content can be analyzed. However, this method is frequently adopted in social science, It has been used and applied in journalism studies and relevant fields such as media studies only recently.

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Differences:

Qualitative research is a method that is adopted to develop a profound understanding of human and social sciences, providing insights into human intentions and attitudes. It is an unstructured research in which the researchers rely more on observation to analyze people’s thoughts and attitudes. The researchers of qualitative research concentrate on typical small groups and individuals, aiming to discover and then explore ideas in the processes. (Surbhi S, 2018)

Quantitative research is an empirical method relying on numerical and statistical investigations such as surveys and questionnaires. (Susan E, 2011) By analyzing numerical data, the quantitative research method has been used by researchers to quantify the problems and examine results from groups of people in social sciences and other fields such as journalism and media studies recently. It is a form of research that is empirical as it can be examined accurately and precisely. (Susan E, 2011)

However, qualitative research is distinctive from quantitative research in several aspects. First of all, data collection for qualitative and quantitative research is different from a methodological perspective. Qualitative research produces non-numerical data, it is based on observations that are not able to be measured such as language. On the contrary, quantitative research relies on numerical data which data can be transformed into numbers. Data are collected in large and representative samples. (Bryn,2019)

Second, the purpose of adopting two methods qualitative research and quantitative research respectively is different. Adopting the qualitative research method aims to seek a deep understanding of social interactions instead of staying on the surface of samples. The purpose of qualitative research is to explore the social reality based on individuals and groups. (Mc Leod S, 2019) The researchers who adopted the qualitative method initially concentrated on the phenomenon to produce a solid theory as a result. Although both qualitative and quantitative researchers concentrate on the construction of solid theory as a result, however, their methods are slightly different. The qualitative method focuses on the construction of the theory, whereas the quantitative research concentrates on the testing of the theory. (Morse, J, Field, P)

The strengths and weaknesses

There are several advantages of content analysis methodology that can be highly adopted and recommended for journalism studies.

First of all, it is important to note the flexibility of content analysis which has been widely adopted in social sciences. For example, evaluating components of conflict-sensitive journalism. In addition, it is direct, and systematic and also reflects the user’s perspective.

However, there are some weaknesses in content analysis. One of the notable weaknesses is that not everything can be evaluated through content analysis. It is very restrictive as content analysis can only evaluate quality criteria that are observable in the journalistic product. For example, during the process of assessing research and writing, the problems that occur cannot be solved therefore other methods need to be taken into consideration. For another example, on the premise of media development such as editorial decisions from external disturbance or credibility of media outlets. These need to be figured out by another method as as surveys with media owners or expert evaluation.

Second, content analysis needs time and resources, thus it is time-consuming. the limitations of the method, in particular about journalism research; and how the method might be applied to produce data relevant to the student’s chosen question for the final research essay.

Limitations:

2 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly do not meet design standards, reporting standards, or both: Lovejoy et al. (2014) stated in their study of three flagship journals, “However, even in 2010, the final year of this study period, many articles did not meet reporting standards necessary for evaluation and replication” (p. 220).

The failure to meet standards may reflect a lack of knowledge, changes in content analysis methods as a result of technological developments, or the fact that agreement on some standards is in flux. For example, there is disagreement in the literature about which coefficients should be used in evaluating reliability. At the same time, digital technology has increased the use of computers for accessing, storing, and coding content, but the best use of those approaches continues to be explored. Though scholars continue to innovate data collection and content-coding, the fundamental elements of content analysis are captured in the definition proffered by Riffe, Lacy, and Fico (2014):

The systematic and replicable examination of symbols of communication, which have been assigned numeric values according to valid measurement rules, and the analysis of relationships involving those values using statistical methods, to describe the communication, draw inferences about its meaning, or infer from the communication to its context, both of production and consumption. (p. 19)

This essay addresses some of the important issues concerning content analysis sampling, reliability, and computer coding. Sampling merits discussion because it is at the heart of the research process and determines the generalizability of results. Lovejoy et al. (2014) found “a majority of the articles did not use a census or probability reliability sample and were not transparent about the sample selection process” (p. 220). Reliability is addressed because of the continuing debate about the appropriate reliability coefficient (Feng, 2014; Gwet, 2008; Krippendorff, 2012; Potter & Levine- Donnerstein, 1999; Zhao, Liu, & Deng, 2012). Finally, the use of computer-based content analysis, which includes algorithmic coding, to save time has raised several issues.

Following the discussion, the essay summarizes current best practices for conducting and reporting content analysis to help scholars and students use the content analysis method, to help reviewers evaluate such research, and to stimulate further methodological research.

Sampling

Random Sampling

Today’s content analysts face significant challenges analyzing digital media content in “Internet time” (Karpf, 2012). Traditional content analyses have long featured practical reliance on well-archived and indexed content, for example, newspapers or broad-cast news captured by Vanderbilt’s television news archive service. Internet content, however, is more challenging given its sheer volume and the fact that its population is unknowable. It is ephemeral, public data are limited, and there is “noise” Today’s content analysts face significant challenges analyzing digital media content in “Internet time” (Karpf, 2012). Traditional content analyses have long featured practice- cal reliance on well-archived and indexed content, for example, newspapers or broad-cast news captured by Vanderbilt’s television news archive service. Internet content, however, is more challenging given its sheer volume and the fact that its population is unknowable. It is ephemeral, public data are limited, and there is “noise

There are several limitations of content analysis in journalism research such as challenges of relevancy to the research, time-consuming and not affordable, and sometimes the researchers can be frustrated as the work is often laborious. However, one of the significant limitations of content analysis today is the samples chosen in the challenge of digital time. it is important to notice the significant challenges content analysis faces today such as social media and issues of analyzing digital media content (Karpf, 2012). With the development of the internet and globalization, the ways of communication between people have changed beyond our wildest expectations. Traditional content analyses are more reliable as they have well-archived content. For instance, newspapers and broadcast news are captured by Vanderbilt’s television news archive service. However, Internet content sometimes can be less reliable as its people might not be reliable, for example, spammers and fake accounts might be involved in the process. For another example, Riffe et al noted that online posts and tweets sometimes can be unlimited unknowable, and inherently unstable over time. Therefore, the random samples chosen by researchers are not reliable and scientific. Content analysis is limited in journalism research as the random samples cannot be excluded. (Lacy, S, 2015)

Content analysis can be applied to produce data about my research. Data it produced can be divided into qualitative data such as gaining information through interviews, questionnaires, and observations, and quantitative data such as participants may be subject to psychological testing which produces this type of data.

References:

1. https://amecorg.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Media-Content-Analysis-Paper.pdf
2. http://www.differencebetween.net/science/difference-between-qualitative-analysis-and-quantitative-analysis/
3. https://web.csulb.edu/~msaintg/ppa696/696quali.htm
4. https://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html
5. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-4899-4471-9_1
6. https://www.dw.com/downloads/29253966/content-analysis-measuring-the-success-of-journalism-capacity-building.pdf
7. https://www.dw.com/downloads/29253966/content-analysis-measuring-the-success-of-journalism-capacity-building.pdf
8. https://wecommunication.blogspot.com/2016/08/content-analysisuses-limitations_31.html
9. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282307144_Issues_and_Best_Practices_in_Content_Analysis