Chapter 12 - Textual Analysis Flashcards
Textual Analysis
The systematic examination of the messages and meanings conveyed by texts.
Text can be…
Written, visual, spoken, sung, etc.
4 Types of Texts of Interests in Political Science Research
Gov’t - documents
Political Parties - docs, ads, slogans
Media - cartoons, editorials, coverage
Social media - comments, fb pages
Structural Features of Texts (Definition)
The format of communication (e.g. type of story, length, etc.)
Substantive Features of Texts
What is said and what it means.
How works convey assumptions, meanings.
Manifest Content
Surface meaning
Latent Content
Underlying meaning
Content Analysis
Quantitative research technique used to analyze the message characteristics in any form of communication.
Discourse Analysis
Qualitative approach that focuses on the meanings reflected in, and created by, discourses.
Content Analysis is… (adjectives not definition)
Theory-testing
Descriptive, objective, positivist
Quantitative
Ex.: categorizing news coverage nominally.
Measures for Content Analysis
- Choose what to code and make a code book
- Go through the cases and code
- Enter and analyze data
Intercoder Reliability
Make sure all coders are coding in the same way.
Internal Validity and Content Analysis
Having dates can help with temporal order
Spurious relationships can be hard to determine
External Validity and Content Analysis
Is this content representative of the sample population?
Discourse Analysis (definition)
Seeks to understand what messages in texts reveal about the larger social, political, and cultural context
Subjective, interpretive, qualitative
