Content analysis

• Content analysis

  • Indirectly observe the presence if words, images or concepts within the media (relationships and messages)
  • eg: advertisements or film
  • Carried out on secondary data
• In order to Content analysis of any media:

  • Media is coded or broken down
  • Put into categories
• Advantages of content analysis

  • Unobstrusive and does not require contact with people so no ethical issues so lower demand characteristics
  • Enables analysising historical material for trends overtime
  • Establishing reliability is easy
• Disadvantages of content analysis

  • Prone to observer bias affecting the valdity
  • Different observers may interpret meanings of categories differently
  • Cannot draw cause and effect