Content
Analysis
Dr. Ami Divatia
Content Analysis
Study of a recorded human communication
Typically, the coding of communication for the presence of
certain traits, categories, or meanings
Analysis can relate the occurrence of coded content with
other factors, such as features of the producer, effects on the
receiver, etc.
Applied to the study of books, magazines, papers,
transcripts, web pages, songs, speeches, postings,
correspondence, statements, utterances, etc.
Topics of Content Analysis
Particularly well suited for communication research
Critical for answering the classic question…
Who says what, to whom, why, how, and with what effect?
However, content differences do not equal effects
Must move beyond simple content studies to relate coded features
to antecedents or consequences
Relating content features to one another is also meaningful
Units of analysis
Words
Phrases
Sentences
Paragraphs
Blog entries
Video segments
Picture…
Smile…
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Sample topics
Researching the “demonetization" event
Assessing feeling of helplessness or independence while
deciding careers
Emoticons
Gujarati Urban Movie Analysis
Analysis of web series
Use of colors in hotel brochures
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Content Analysis
SHOULD BE
- connected with what is being discussed in the
messages
- exact wording used in the statement
SHOULD NOT BE
- based on personal opinions
- irrelevant to the messages
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QUANTITATIVE vs. QUALITATIVE
- Quantitative : objective, systematic,
procedures of analysis
arbitrary limitation, relevant categories
- Qualitative : definitions, symbols, detailed
explanations, etc
no absolute truth, but context-bound
MANIFEST vs. LATENT CONTENT ANALYSIS
- manifest content (visible/surface structure):
perceptible, clear, comprehensible message
- latent content (underlying meaning/deep
structure): implied, unstated message
- How big a leap between observation and inference
- The more manifest, the more reliable - ex. counting
words
- The more latent, the more interesting - ex.
assessing meaning
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COMMUNICATION COMPONENTS
1. message
↓
2. Sender (participants)
↓
3. Audience (interviews)
- in vivo codes: wording that participants use
in interview
- constructed codes: coded data from in
vivo codes, created by researcher,
academic terms
Sampling in Content Analysis
Since you can rarely observe all content, must
sample from available content for coding pool
Units of analysis may differ from units of observation
Observe story content to analyze newspaper differences
Sample selection depends largely on unit of analysis
Example, if studying differences between authors, the unit of
observation may be books, pages, paragraphs, or sentences
Need to be clear about unit of analysis before planning sampling
strategy to avoid problems later
Questions in Sample Generation
Must establish the universe to be sampled from
Ex - Content analysis of violence on television
Which TV stations should you observe?
How many days will you observe them?
During which hours will you observe television?
You always make assumptions; be upfront about them
We will code the six major networks — India TV, CNBC, Times
Now, ABP News, NDTV, Aaj Tak — for a “random week” during
the month of December from 7 PM to 10 PM, each day.
May be Random, Systematic, Stratified, etc.
Coding in Content Analysis
Coding is the heart of content analysis
Process of converting raw data into a standardized form
Classify content in relation to a conceptual framework
Ex. Effect, Use, Actions, Theme, Personality, Character, etc.
Must carefully conceptualize coding categories
Relevant concepts and relevant categories within concepts
Quantitative Data Management
End product of coding in numerical
Distinguish units of analysis and observation
Establish the base for coding, (i.e., proportion)
Understand the coding system
Nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio…
Use appropriate statistics in analysis
Additional Considerations
Problems with coding long periods (e.g., 100 years)
Imposing modern standards on the past
Coding TV content is technically difficult
Archive of network news coverage
Coding of local news content
Transcripts and “Closed Captions”
Emergence of computer-aided techniques
VBPro, Diction 5.0, Infotrend, MCCA, and others
Dictionary-based, customizable, syntactical
Strengths and Weaknesses
Easy to undertake - no staff, no special equipment
Easy to correct errors - go back and recode
Allows for the study of dynamic processes - time
Unobtrusive - no effects on subject of study
Yet….
Limited to recorded communication - much is lost
Limited in terms of claims you can make
