Content analysis Flashcards
what is content analysis
Research method which systematically analyses different types of media e.g media images , television , newspapers and collects both quantitative and qualitative data
what are the approaches of content analysis
-Formal content analysis
- Thematic analysis
-Textual analysis
-Audience analysis
What is formal content analysis
this is a quantitative form of content analysis that quantifies (counts) the contents of a source.
it counts how often words , phrases and images appear.
What is thematic analysis
looks for the guiding themes of professionals e.g newspaper journalists. It focuses on the motives and intentions of the authors
e.g in a newspaper article about a war rather than reporting the events neutrally the others may take sides by describing one side as terrorists or guerrillas.
Strengths of content analysis
With formal content analysis the researcher works with a set of predetermined categories. This is a strength as the analysis can be replicated to check the reliability of the findings.
-Positivists favour formal content analysis
- Audience analysis allows researchers to discover the meanings that people give to media sources.
Weaknesses of content analysis
-Content analysis can be time consuming
-Formal content analysis says little about what a particular text or image means to an audience. It also involves subjective judgements which may create invalid data.
