Content analysis and case studies

Question 1

Content analysis

Answer 1

A kind of observational study where behaviour is observed indirectly in written or verbal material such as interviews, conversations, books, diaries and TV programs
- essentially the analysis of the content of something e.g a researcher studying the gender content of a magazine and they attempt to describe the content in a systematic way
- observing people through artefacts they produce

Question 2

How does content analysis work?

Answer 2

• the process is similar to any observational study the researcher has to make design decisions about which are:
  
  • sampling method : what material to sample and how frequently
  • behavioural categories used ;

Question 3

Examples of content analysis

Answer 3

-Manstead and McCulloch analysed adverts on British TV to look at gender stereotypes
- observed over 170 adverts over a one week period and focused on central adult figure and recorded frequencies in a table e.g if they were a male or a female, what the role of the central character was, type of product used by the central character

Question 4

Evaluation

Answer 4

• high ecological validity because it is based on observations of what people actually do
• findings can be replicated
• however observer bias reduces the objectivity and validity of findings because different observers may interpret the meaning of the behavioural categories differently