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Social Research Methods Activity 4
Activity 4: Collecting What’s Already There: Content Analysis and Some Related Methods
- Time frame: Approximately 15 - 30 Minutes
- Setting: Online or face-to-face
- Source: Chapter 10 (Learning Outcome 10.2)
from Social Research Methods: Sociology in Action,
edited by: Kristin Kenneavy, Catherine E. Harnois, Maxine P. Atkinson, and Kathleen Odell Korgen - Contributor(s): Edward L. Kain
Doing Sociology 10.2 Analyzing an Academic Article That Uses Content Analysis
Content analysis is particularly appropriate/useful for exploratory research in areas where very little previous research has been done. It is also particularly appropriate/useful for descriptive research, where the research question seeks careful descriptions of some social phenomenon.
In this exercise, you will read and analyze an academic abstract in which the researcher uses content analysis.
Read the following abstract from a research article, then answer the questions that follow.
This content analysis of gender role portrayals in 49 episodes of 40 distinct United States tween television programs aired in 2011 examined two genres: teen scene (geared towards girls) and action-adventure (geared towards boys). This programming is of interest because tweens are a lucrative market, they watch more television than any other age group, and television programs are created specifically for them. Furthermore, members of this special group are in an important developmental stage in which social and intellectual schema are established and identity and gender are explored. The analysis focused on the numbers of male and female characters in both genres, and the gender role portrayals of characters in terms of appearance, behaviors, and personality characteristics in the two genres.
Results show that females, compared to the U.S. population, were underrepresented in the action adventure genre, but that the gender distribution in the teen scene genre mirrored the male– female distribution in the U.S. population. Overall, compared to males, females were more attractive, more concerned about their appearance, received comments about their “looks.” Females were presented similarly in both genres. Overall, males were shown in varying levels of attractiveness, and were portrayed more stereotypically in the action adventure genre. Exploring these results through the lenses of cultivation theory and social cognitive theory shows that tween viewers could potentially develop narrow conceptions about their range of possibilities in the world.
Source: Gerding & Signorielli, 2014.
Discussion Questions
- What was the research question being addressed in the article?
- What type of content analysis did the author(s) use—qualitative, quantitative, or both?
- What are some of the key findings from this study?
