Summary of the Lesson
Content analysis is a
scholarly approach of studying the content of media materials and messages. Content analysis can be carried out on news, articles,
features, editorials, columns, post-editorials, photographs, documentary etc. ‘Content
analysis’ is a specific research approach used frequently in all the areas of
the media study. The method is popular with mass media researchers because it
is an efficient way to investigate the content of the media.
Discourse analysis is a methodology for analyzing social phenomena that is qualitative, interpretive, and constructionist. It explores how the socially constructed ideas and objects are created and used in the media content. Discourse analysis is a qualitative method adopted and developed by social constructionists with a view to understanding the politics of styles, structures and languages of communication. Media, as social institutions, can limit social discourse through representation. Discourse analysis engages in explaining how a social group is represented on a particular issue. Discourse analysis focuses on media text and tries to explain how the text constructs the social reality. It deals with tools and techniques of the media used for emphasizing or deemphasizing an individual or a group by using metaphors, words, imposing images and so on.
Objective of the Lesson
* To orient the students with a specific media research methodology for analyzing diversified contents
* To facilitate the students understand sampling techniques for content analysis
* To enable the students to design a content analysis method and plan
* To enable the students carry out a complete content analysis
Outcomes of the Lesson
After completing of the lesson, the students
* will know about a specific media research methodology 'content analysis' for analyzing diversified contents
* understand sampling techniques for content analysis
* will be enable to design a content analysis method and plan
* carry out a complete content analysis
Scope
of Content and Discourse Analysis
Based on the aforesaid
perspectives the following aspects are generally analyzed:
v
Type of the
content for example, the news, editorials, post-editorials, drama, documentary,
commentary, photographs etc.
v
Nature of
the content for example, different types of news i.e. strait jacket,
investigative, interpretative, follow-up, desk report etc.
v
News
treatment means how much importance a news item receives in particular media. For
example, news treatment is determined by some factors in a newspaper: page,
position, pix, size of headline, coverage of column etc. Similarly, for TV news
treatment is determined by allocation of time, sequence of rundown, package
item etc.
v
accuracy,
objectivity and fairness of the content
v
quality of
information sources and quality of analysis
v
quality of
investigation and compilation of the gathered information