Society & Culture Association

Beginning Teachers Day

Methodology
workshops
Content Analysis

Jodi Arrow, North Sydney Girls High School

State Library of NSW

25 February, 2011

What is Content Analysis?

NOT secondary research a common misconception. Content analysis is a form of primary

research.
A study and interpretation of written and visual material, for examples, magazines, television
advertisements, photographs. (BOS Syllabus)
An ANALYSIS of the content, not a summary.
Generally a quantitative methodology, when done by students (certainly this is where they should
start as it is easier to understand)
o Eg, counting column inches devoted to particular issues in a newspaper or magazine.
A little bit like interviewing a form of media interviewing a newspaper to find out what message
its sending.

Where does it appear in the Syllabus?

Preliminary Course

The Social and Cultural World a learn about

Personal and Social Identity learn tos: use content analysis to examine the ways in
which television portrays adolescent experiences.
Intercultural Communication: learn tos: apply content analysis to Australian media
representation of the selected country

HSC Course

Social and Cultural Continuity and Change

An examinable methodology. It should be noted that as the exam now has multiple choice, it is
even more important that the students know each of the methodologies and their application very
well.
The PIP
Commonly MIS-used, but often good PIPs will use content analysis very effectively, including a
number of recent prize-winners. (See Torture-tainment from 2008 content analysis used to
draw conclusions about the level and extent of ultra-violence in films from the 1960s and 2000s.)
Popular Culture:
Students learn to: utilise social and cultural research methodologies by: using content analysis to
examine various media relating to popular culture
Belief Systems:
Students learn to: utilise social and cultural research methodologies by: using content analysis to
examine the literature, art, music or other appropriate expressions of the belief system.
Equality and Difference:
Students learn to: utilise social and cultural research methodologies by: using content analysis to
examine media coverage of equality and difference.
Work and Leisure:
Students learn to: utilise social and cultural research methodologies by: using content analysis to
examine media coverage of work and leisure.

It is important to note that the Students learn to statements in each Depth Study can be used in the
creation of examination questions, and essay questions have drawn from these in the past ie, they must
not be skipped over in our teaching and learning programs. For example, in the 2002 HSC exam, each
Depth Study included an essay question which asked students to explicitly refer to the research methods
used in their focus study.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Content Analysis as a

Methodology
Strengths
Allows us to interpret the themes and messages
contained in large volumes of text or other forms of
media
Can be very useful for discovering the focus of social
attention or public opinion, particularly when
conducted on popular forms of media (for example,
if a student discovers the most popular newspaper
read by the target demographic through a
questionnaire, they could then conduct content
analysis on articles of interest in that publication to
determine what may be driving opinion within that
group).
Allows us to make inferences that can be
corroborated by other forms of data collection
interviews, questionnaires, etc.
A valuable tool to teach students social and cultural
literacy by showing them that different publications
will represent the same issue in different ways
through their use of language, imagery, etc.
Can allow for both quantitative and qualitative forms
of data collection (although most students will use
quantitative, and this is recommended it is easier
for them to grasp and do well).
Can be used to provide valuable continuity and/or
change comparisons, by conducting content analysis
on similar forms of media from different time
periods eg, Womens Weekly from the 1960s
compared with today.
Discrete and retrospective analysis of already
published material means that the results will not be
subject to the Hawthorne effect (or Observer
effect), where research participants modify their
behaviour in response to being studied.
Can be easily updated once the parameters have
been established, students can continue adding
results. For example, content analysis of how
Vietnam is represented in the Australian media
could be gradually updated over the course of a
term, once the initial tables have been devised.

Weaknesses
Can be very time consuming, especially if
done well. Setting the initial parameters
and then conducting the actual
measurement is an exacting and often
frustratingly slow process.
Can often simply be reduced to word
counts with little interpretation and
analysis students must ensure that they
go the extra step of close and considered
analysis.

Generally needs to be done by hand for

accuracy again, this is time-consuming!
Coding and categorisation can be
inconsistent and is prone to human error
it is important that teachers check
student categories and what they will
place in those categories for interpretive
accuracy.
Similar to the point above, subjective
interpretation can negatively skew the final
results.
Such a time-consuming methodology,
especially when used in a student project,
cant be completely comprehensive ie,
students couldnt be expected to look at
every Womens Weekly from the 1960s!

Useful Websites for Content Analysis:

Content Analysis student and teacher information by Kate Donnelly,

http://www.scansw.com.au/donnelly_content.html
http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=17
http://academic.csuohio.edu/kneuendorf/content/

The Process
1. Decide on the content to be analysed
This may be newspapers, magazines, websites, advertisements, TV programs, radio broadcasts,
photos, films, music, speeches, plays.
2. Work out what youre looking for and your sample size
How many editions of the newspaper youre going to look at, and how youre going to code your
analysis.
3. Determine units of measurement
This could be measuring each article in square centimetres, counting the number of times words
relating to a particular theme appear per 100 words, or the number of photographs relating to a
particular issue. For video or audio content, this may be counting the number of times particular
words, themes or characters appear, or (more accurately), timing with an accurate stop-watch, the
amount of screen/audio time given to each of your categories.
4. Conduct the coding/measure the content.
This should be done using a tally sheet according to pre-determined categories. Usually there
would be approximately 10 categories, although larger studies will often use up to 100, including
sub-categories.
5. Summarise and analyse
Provide statistics and analyse compare what was found with what was hypothesised, and synthesis
with other forms of data collection.

Content Analysis in the PIP: an Example

Step 1:
Martene conducted a simple survey with 50
teenage girls to determine their two favourite
television shows, and their two favourite
magazines. These were Neighbours and The
Simpsons, and Dolly and Girlfriend. (see Figure 1,
over)
Step 2:
She conducted simple content analysis on each
of these publications (three editions of each
show and magazine), looking for the
representation of gender stereotypes in each.
She used a stopwatch to count the frequency of
gender stereotypes (and images which
countered them) in the television shows, and a
ruler to count the space devoted to these
images in the magazines.
Step 3:
After converting the raw data into statistics (see
Figure 2, over the page), she was able to
synthesise this data with her other questionnaire
and interview results to draw conclusions about
the influences in teenage girls opinions and the
role of the media in suppressing teenage girls
acceptance of feminism (see sample text, over).

Martenes Content Analysis: Examples

Figure 1: Survey Results

Figure 2: Content Analysis Data

Martenes Content Analysis: Examples of Synthesis in the PIP

Example 1:
However this was only the tip of the iceberg, as teenage girls acknowledged that feminism had not
changed all social constructs within their micro environments, such as the continuity of traditional
gender roles within households. Adiba noted that decisions made by her as well as others within her
group and community were still influenced by stereotypical roles.1 It is this influence that affects the
socialisation of norms and values within families, communities and institutional powers on persons
within society and on the popular mythology that women can do anything. Continual access to popular
television programs such as The Simpsons and Neighbours are socialising traditional stereotypical
roles as norms, which in turn is conflicting with the mythology projected by feminism throughout
society. Conducting content analysis on three accessed episodes of both The Simpsons and
Neighbours I gained statistical data in reference to time devoted by each of the six episodes towards
the portrayal of men and women in career orientated roles. On average 16% of viewing time was
dedicated to the man working in a career orientated role, compared to 1% of viewing time devoted to
women in a career orientated role. The media continues to perpetuate that men are still the
breadwinnerswhilst women are given the role of being a super mumtaking care of the kids and
responsibility of the household1 as stated by Irene in an in-depth interview.

Example 2:
Our micro understanding of what are male and female roles has influenced the establishment of a
macro mythology of what the idealistic man and woman should be. In my in-depth interviews with
teenage girls, all had been socialised to believe that men should be macho, very career driven and out
completing the strenuous tasks around the outside of the house1 as stated by Anna, reaffirming the influence
of gender stereotypes that are perpetuated through our micro socialisation. Women are continued to
be promoted as pretty and delicate1 as stated by Angela rather than independent and strong minded.
The female gender is depicted as needy and reliant upon men the do the tough work for them,
whether it be physical labour or undertaking strenuous positions within the workforce, which is the
reinforcement of the dominating nature of the traditional male gender role throughout the macro and
micro world. These stereotypical beliefs are promoted within the popular teenage magazines, Dolly
and Girlfriend, infusing the idea to teenage girls that women should be concerned with appealing to
the male gender role, promoting the continuity of stereotypical roles, rather than encouraging change
from traditional norms and values.
Through content analysis I measured the amount of space each page three editions of both Dolly and
Girlfriend had dedicated to the representation of stereotypical and non-stereotypical gender related
images. On average 47% was dedicated to the portrayal of women as subservient to men, reinforcing
stereotypical gender roles and norms. The teenage girl was shown as looking up at the boy or the boy
dominating the foreground, with the girl in the background staring desperately at the male youth. These
images are depicting the authority and control men have over women as the teenage girls are shown to
be longing to please the teenage boy, perpetuating the influence gender roles have upon the formation
of our identities both within the macro and micro world. These magazines did include non-traditional
representations of teenage girls, however only 8% of magazine space was dedicated to this
representation and images were small and usually surrounded by brightly covered advertisements,
removing the viewers attention from the non-traditional images.