Content Analysis

Content Analysis

Content analysis is used to analyze qualitative data. It is “the systematic reading of a body of texts, images, and symbolic matter, not necessarily from an author’s or user’s perspective” (Iowa State University, 2021). Content analysis stands out from other methods used in research of social sciences because it does not rely on data collected by people. Instead, it uses secondary information, which has already been stored in different forms. Despite the widespread use of content analysis, especially in nursing, various terms are used to express concerns over its trustworthiness. These terms include dependability, credibility, authenticity, transferability, and conformability. Regardless, the analysis method is characterized by objectivity and systematic strategies for quantifying and describing various phenomena. The main assumption that governs content analysis is that it is possible to minimize or reduce data through the creation of categories, models, and concepts in the form of maps or systems (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). The unique method uses the available data but also relies on the researcher’s intuition, an aspect that may be difficult to articulate.

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Content analysis utilizes three varied approaches, including summative, conventional, and directed. The three approaches are ideal for deriving meaning from data in the form of text. The main differences in these approaches are found in coding methods, the codes’ origins, and trustworthiness. When using the conventional approach, researchers obtain categories directly from the data in text form. The directed approach begins with a theory or other related findings that guide the coding process. The summative approach involves comparisons and collating keywords, and content. This is then followed by interpreting the underlying context (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005).

According to Bengtsson (2016), qualitative data can be analyzed using other methods such as ethnography, grounded theory, phenomenology, hermeneutics, phenomenographic, as well as content analysis. However, content analysis is not governed by or linked to a specific science. This means that the rules governing the method are less than those found in other methods of analysis. Critical aspects that increase the validity of results obtained through content analysis include credibility and rigor. There are varying levels of credibility that determine a study’s trustworthiness. The researcher’s main goal is to remain true to the data in text form to retain trustworthiness.

Qualitative content analysis can be inductive or deductive. Inductive techniques of reasoning allow researchers to come up with conclusions from the data by putting together the information into theories. This approach requires the researcher to retain an open mind to identify any meaningful aspects while addressing the research topic. In deductive reasoning, the researcher begins by assessing previous studies and carries out the study to test the hypotheses that are developed through such reviews (Elo & Kääriäinen, 2014).

Source; (Bengtsson, 2016)

Both techniques undergo preparation, organization, and reporting. The preparation stage entails the collection of data, understanding the data, and identifying analysis units. For deductive techniques, the organization entails coding, creation of categories, as well as abstraction. For the inductive technique, the organization stage entails categorizing the development of the matrix. In this process, the data undergoes a thorough review, and coding that corresponds to or exemplifies the categories occurs. If the identified categories represent data concepts adequately, are valid, and capture the intended information, the matrix development can be regarded as valid (Elo & Kääriäinen, 2014). The reporting stage involves a description of all content based on categories using either deductive or inductive techniques.

Several techniques that can be used to evaluate the trustworthiness of a qualitative study rely on content analysis. First, researchers need to establish trustworthiness in the initial stages of research. The first step in ensuring that credibility exists is the proper identification of participants. The study should also be stable during different times and in varying conditions, which is dependability. The study should be transferrable, which is the ability to generalize the findings or transfer these to various settings. The data collection process also adds credibility to a study because the chosen methods matter. When a researcher chooses the right method, they are able to address the topic sufficiently (Elo & Kääriäinen, 2014). The process of gaining credible results is achieved through different actions at varied phases of the study.

Content Analysis of Popular Media: Content as a Parameter

The social media form that will be considered for this analysis section is Times Magazine. A major challenge with content analysis is the subjectivity of the outcomes of the analysis since a researcher may have variables that a researcher may choose to embark on. However, the baseline remains that a content analysis outcome should offer an insight into the critical aspects that form the content under analysis (School, 2015). Analysis can also be conducted either qualitatively or quantitatively. The current analysis is conducted from a qualitative perspective, although it will incorporate a quantitative approach by counting the occurrences of the phenomena considered for the study, which forms the basis for understanding the interpretations and perceptions about the magazine’s content over time. For instance, the number of times the magazine conveys a message about females can be used as a basis for a qualitative derivation that the magazine’s content is more feminist than masculinist. Indeed, the current analysis will yield plausible outcomes as the quantitative data will provide a deeper understanding of the content. This will aid in observing a trend concerning various subjects, which is another purpose for conducting content analysis.

Methodology

The media form that will be analyzed is Times Magazine. Two types of coding can be used to analyze content based on the variables selected. Emergent and priori coding are the two common types. Emergent coding assigns categories to variables after the study, while priori coding assigns categories to the variables before data is examined. The emergent approach is employed in the current analysis. Factors that could be observed and easily transformed into visuals are used. The magazine was first published publicly in 1923 (Bates, 2011). The magazine used to publish its content weekly, but from 2021, it publishes bi-weekly. The sample will comprise 92 issues. The analysis will analyze the content based on three aspects; gender, race, and content type.  The major content categories that will be considered under the content types include religion, politics and military, science and medicine, business and technology, international leadership, and “Others” categories. The races analyzed will include Caucasians, Asians, Africans, Middle Easterners, Jews, Latinos, and Indians. Gender will be categorized into males and females. Data for the study was collected through a single pilot test. Importantly, the aspect that will be used as the pillar of analyzing the above variables is the Person of the Year Award that has been awarded over the 92 issues. Duplicated/individuals who won the award more than once will be included only once.

Data Analysis and Findings 

From the data sample of 92 times Person of the Year Awards, four issues contained two people on the cover, and ten individuals had won the award more than once (twice and thrice) (Time, n.d). After removing the duplicated wins, 80 different individuals have been honored as Person of the Year in the magazine.

The data below shows the individuals and the content categories that correlated with each individual.

Content-Type

Coding Scheme

The content categories were coded at a scale of 1- 6, representing the six categories

Category	1	2	3	4	5	6
Frequency	35	32	7	4	3	11

1= US Politics and Military

2= International Leadership

3=Business and Technology

4= Science and Medicine

5= Religion

6= Others

The majority of individuals who won the Person of the Year award were under the professions of US politics and military, followed by international leadership, business and technology, science and medicine, and others (such as concepts). Individuals in religion and philanthropy had the least awards. Content under US politics and military was published in the magazine compared to other content.

1. Race

Race	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Frequency	64	6	4	4	1	1	1

1=Caucasians

2=Asians

3=Africans

4=Middle Easterners

5=Jews

6=Latinos

7= Indians

The majority of individuals in the analyzed Person of the Year were Caucasians (Walker, 2013). Out of the 64 Caucasians, 43 were identified to be Americans. This further implied that the magazine featured American content compared to other races.

1. Gender

Gender	1	2
Frequency	78	7

1=Male

2=Female

Out of the 85 Person of the Year cases analyzed, the honor was accorded to women 78 times as opposed to seven times to men (School, 2015). This implied differences in gender recognition for the magazine’s content, which could possibly affect readership.

Extant Gaps and Recommendations

The magazine’s content as analyzed from the three variables indicated that content on American news and topics was published than in other areas. International leadership had a significantly large amount of content published compared to other content categories. Also, the magazine’s content depicted American leaders as superior beings. A major biasedness in the magazine’s content was identified when the magazine had the “Man of the Year” award before it was renamed Person of the Year as Anttonelli, (2012) points out. The number of women who have won the award compared to men also shows disparities. Therefore, it would be recommendable for the magazine to have gender-specific categories for the Person of the Year award. This will create a balance in the categories. Also, the magazine can have region-specific content so that American content and personalities do not occupy the larger part of the magazine. This would increase readership internationally.

References

Anttonelli, K. (2012). Where Are The Women Of Time? Women And The “Person Of The Year” Covers For Time Magazine. Retrieved June 26, 2021, from http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2705&context=thesesdissertations

Bates, S. (2011). Public intellectuals on Time’s covers. Journalism History, 37(1), 39-50.

Bengtsson, M. (2016). How to plan and perform a qualitative study using content analysis. NursingPlus Open, 2, 8-14. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.npls.2016.01.001

Elo, S., & Kääriäinen, M. (2014). Qualitative Content Analysis: A Focus on Trustworthiness. SAGE Open. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014522633

Hsieh, H.-F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9). doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687

Iowa State University. (2021). Content Analysis. Retrieved from Research Methodologies Guide: https://instr.iastate.libguides.com/c.php?g=49332&p=318069

School, G. (2015). What’s In A Face: A Content Analysis of TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year Since 1927. [Thesis] http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54727389e4b00bea36c38234/t/555e9be4e4b08ef1ebb66377/1432263652526/Media+Research+Paper.pdf

Time. (n.d). TIME’s Person of the Year, from 1927 to 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2021, from http://content.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,1681791,00.html/

Walker, R. (2013, December 11). By the Numbers: Time’s Person of the Year. Retrieved June 26, 2021, from http://www.theglobalist.com/numbers-times-person-year/

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Week Five: Content Analysis