COMM 308 notecards Flashcards
When coding, how many must agree?
70%
Unobtrusive Research
Methods of studying social behavior without affecting it. (Research in which the participants are not aware of being observed.)
Content Analysis
The study of recorded human communications (i.e. books, websites, paintings, laws).
The Verbal Model
“Who says what, to whom, why, how, and with what effect?” -Lasswell
Common coding categories:
Who (medium, media outlet, sources)What (domains)How (frames)
Identify who this is from:1.) Which data are analyzed?2.) How are they defined?3.) What is the population from which they are drawn?4.) What is the context relative to which the data are analyzed?5.) What are the boundaries of the analysis?6.) What is the target of the inferences?
Krippendorff (1980)
Appeals that work the best in advertisements
Wealth/prestige/successSexHumorSports/adventureHolidaysTraditionTaste/quality
Manifest Content
The visible, surface content
Latent Content
Underlying meaning
If the only goal is causation, what is the best research method?
Experiment
When you want to draw inferences but make sure findings are generalizable to population, what is the best research method?
Panel survey
“I know when I see it.”
Justice Potter Stewart
What term is pornography?
Lay term; not all is illegal
What term is obscenity?
Legal term; common (based on the Miller Test)
What things define obscenity?
i. Average person would find the work appeals to prurient interest
ii. Whether the work depicts sexual conduct in an offensive way
iii. Lacks artistic, political, scientific, literary value
What was the Rimm Report?
Made the cover of Time Magazine in 1995. He concluded that 53% of online sites are used for recreational pornographic activity.
What were critiques of the Rimm Report?
-Only one author (undergrad at Carnegie-Mellon)-Article published in a non-peer reviewed journal-Generalization to the Web not correct-Says a marketing paper, but no reference to marketing literature-Driven by political agenda (to regulate porn)-Makes unsubstantiated statements-Lacked objectivity
5 major issues when examining web content
1.) How to identify the units to be sampled2.) How to collect data for cross-coder tests when the web changes rapidly3.) How to solve copyright issues if researchers download web pages from analysis4.) How to standardize units of analysis given the multimedia features of the web5.) How to check inter-coder reliability
Strengths of content analysis
i. Economy of time and money
ii. Allowing for the correction of errors
iii. Permits the study of processes occurring over time
iv. Research has little (if any) effect on subjects
v. Reliability
Weaknesses of content analysis
i. Limited to recorded communications
ii. Validity
Quantitative Analysis
The numerical representation and manipulation of observations for the purpose of describing and explaining the phenomenon that those observations reflect.
Levels of Measurement
Nominal: Gender, hair color, ethnicityOrdinal: SES, conservationInterval: Temperature (F), IQ scoresRatio: Temperature (kelvin), age, GPA
Dispersion
The distribution of values around some central value such as an average.
Standard Deviation
A measure of dispersion around the mean.
Continuous Variable
A variable whose attributes form a steady progression, such as age or income. (Ordinal, Interval, Ratio)
Discrete Variable
A variable whose attributes are separate from one another, such as gender or political affiliation. (Dichotomous, Categorical)