Research methods

Question 1

CONTENT ANALYSIS

Answer 1

• a way of analysing qualitative data
• turns qual. data into quan. data –> through coding/catogerising
• indirect observation of media that people produce (e.g. interview, diary entries)
• the number of times a ‘word/phrase/theme’ is repeated can be tallied/counted

Question 2

How do you carry out content analysis on a piece of data?

Answer 2

1. Research (x2) need to establish aim & hypothesis
2. Familiarise themselves with the content
3. Decide on (OPERATIONALISED ensures reliability) coding categories
4. Re-analyse the data, and create tallies
5. Compare tallies (with 2nd researcher) and find the correlation accept correlation of +0.8 or above - data collected by both was exactly/nearly the same
   (Both researchers should analyse and choose the categories/themes SEPERATELY)

Question 3

How do you asses reliability of content analysis (inter-rater reliability)?

Answer 3

• USE A SECOND RESEARCHER
• Researchers should read/listen to the data SEPERATELY and choose the behavioural categories
• Tally the occurences of each category (also done alone)
• Compare tallies
• Look for a correlation of +0.8 or above (correlation co-efficient)

Question 4

STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS of Content Analysis

Answer 4

STRENGTHS
+ offers a method to analyse a variety of forms of data
+ The material is already in the public domain, no issue with consent - no ethical issues
LIMITATIONS
- Themes and codes are subjective (decided by researcher), conclusions may lack objectivity. IMPLICATION: could misrepresent matierial
- Lose the rich detail of Qual. data.
- Lose emotional impact (dismissing other information)
- Researcher may attribute motivations to the speaker that are no intended. Both of these reduce the validity of the conclusions drawn.

Question 5

THEMATIC ANALYSIS

Answer 5

• TA is a method for identifying and analysing patterns in qual. data
• Once data is gathered, it is studied/analysed MULTIPLE times in order to spot emerging patterns, themes, sub-themes etc.
• Researches get immersed in the data, as they read/listen to the data multiple times, before finalising the themes.
• Once themes are identified, it can be used to support or challenge exesting theories (by using quotes/examples)

Question 6

STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS of Thematic Analysis

Answer 6

STRENGTHS
* The rich detail is kept (in the form of qual. data) - peoples experience can still be understood
* TA has no pre-determined categories, themes come naturally from the material
LIMITATIONS
* Questions of reliability
* If there is too much subjectivity, it can lead to lack of validity