content analysis Flashcards
what is content analysis?
used by sociologists to investigate the mass media by analysing documents created by the mass media. this can be both qualitative or quantitative e.g can be quantitative by counting how many times something is mentioned in each category.
what are the strengths of content analysis?
*practical-
- time and access - it is relitavley easy to gain access to the broadcast or publication and therefore is easy to build a representative sample
*ethical - issues like informed consent and deception are not involved it is secondary data
*theoretical-
-objectivity- complex forms of social interaction can be quantified using standardised framework, able to present objective results
-reliability- highly reliable data and easy to replicate
-unobtrusive- therefore researcher cannot influence the behaviour of the people being studied.
-can be possible to make generalisations
-positivists favour
what are the weaknesses of content analysis?
*ethical- protection from harm-results from research could reinforce negative stereotypes of a particular group
*theoretical-
may not be as objective as it claims since the researcher must select and record data accurately.
- validity by attempting to quantify behaviour, it may not tell us in depth about the quality
-describes rather than explains
-can be more difficult to make generalisations e.g many different types on each media
what are the examples of content analysis?
*Cohen mods and rockers- uncover how the media represented the mods and rockers in the 60s. he found that the media distorted events, causing a deviance amplification spiral from an initial minor conflict due to an absence of other stories
*Lobban and Tuchman- analyse gender roles in children’s reading schemes and televisions portrayal of women finding that women are stereotyped and shown in domestic roles
