content analysis - A-Level

Question 1

content analysis definition

Answer 1

a research technique that enables the indirect study of behvaiour by examining communications that people produce, for example, texts, emails, films and other media

Question 2

coding definition

Answer 2

the stage of a content analysis in which the communication to be studied is analysed by identifying each instance of the chosen categories) which may be words, sentences, phrases)

Question 3

thematic analysis definition

Answer 3

an inductive and qualitative approach to analysis that involves identifying implicit or explicit ideas within the data. themes will often emerge once the data has been coded

Question 4

what is content analysis

Answer 4

type of observational research in which people are studies indirectly via the communications they have produced

Question 5

forms of communication in content analysis

Answer 5

wide-ranging and may include spoken interaction (such as a conversation or speech/presentation), written forms (such as email or text) or broader examples from the media (such as books, magazines, TV programmes or films)

Question 6

aim of content analysis

Answer 6

summarise and describe this communication in a systematic way so overall conclusions can be drawn

Question 7

initial stage of content analysis

Answer 7

coding

Question 8

why do some data sets need to be categorised into meaningful units

Answer 8

may be extremely large - such as the transcripts of several dozen lengthy interviews

Question 9

what can coding involve

Answer 9

counting up the number of times a particular word or phrase appears in the text to produce a form of qualitative data

Question 10

example of coding- newspaper

Answer 10

newspaper reports may be analysed for the number of times derogatory terms for people with mental health issues are used, such as crazy or mad.

Question 11

example of coding - TV adverts

Answer 11

TV adverts are examined to see how often men and women are depicted in professional roles (at work) or familial roles (at home) –> this is similar to a study carried out by Furnham and Farragher (2000)

Question 12

what is thematic analysis

Answer 12

form of content analysis but the outcome is qualitative

Question 13

main process in thematic analysis

Answer 13

identification of themes

Question 14

what does a theme in content analysis refer to

Answer 14

any idea, explicit or implicit that is recurrent

Question 15

difference between thematic analysis and coding

Answer 15

thematic is more likely to be descriptive

Question 16

example of thematic analysis - NHS

Answer 16

people with mental health issues may be misrepresented in the newspapers as ‘ a threat to the well-being of our children’ or as ‘a drain on the resources of the NHS’

Question 17

how can such themes may be developed into the broader categories (example of thematic analysis - NHS)

Answer 17

developed into broader categories such as ‘control’, ‘stereotyping’ or ‘treatment’ of people with mental health issues

Question 18

what does the researcher do in thematic analysis

Answer 18

once they are satisfies with the themes they have developed cover most aspects of the data they are analysing, they may collect a new set of data to test the validity of themes and categories. assuming these explain the new data adequately, the researcher will write up the final report, typically using direct quotes from the data to illustrate each theme

Question 19

strengths of content analysis

Answer 19

-can circumnavigate many ethical issues associated with psychological research. much of the material the analyst may use such as TV ads and films and newspapers are already on the internet and therefore already exist in the public domain, so no permission needed
-high external validity and may access data of a sensitive nature provided the ‘authors’ consent to use
-flexible as can produce both qualitative and quantitative data depending on research aims

Question 20

limitations of content analysis

Answer 20

-people tend to be studied indirectly so the communications they produce are usually analysed outside of the context within which it occurred. there is a danger that the researcher may attribute opinions and motivations to the speaker or writer that were not intended originally
-although many modern analysts are aware of their own biases and preconceptions and reference this as part of the final report . still suffer from a lack of objectivity, especially when more descriptive forms of thematic analysis are employed