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Content Analysis in Consumer Research: Harold H. Kassarjian
Content Analysis in Consumer Research: Harold H. Kassarjian
HAROLD H. KASSARJIAN*
through objective and systematic application of of the same event cannot be classified as employing
categorization rules, into data that can be summarized scientific method. Their results may be penetrating,
and compared. (Paisley 1969, p. 133) sensitive, shallow, accurate, literary, or biased, but not
• Content analysis is a systematic technique for scientific. For what is lacking is replicability, reli-
analyzing message content and message handling-it ability, or what Berelson has chosen to call objectivity.
is a tool for observing and analyzing the overt In the great majority of studies in the consumer
communication behavior of selected communicators. behavior literature where some form of content analysis
(Budd, Thorpe, and Donohew 1%7, p. 2) has been carried out, the objectivity requirement has
• Content analysis, while certainly a method of analysis, seldom been met. Typically, the author has analyzed
is more than that. It is. . . a method of observation. the communications material himself with no expressed
Instead of observing people's behavior directly, or concern about the reliability of the analysis or con-
asking them to respond to scales, or interviewing trols for selective perceptions and biased predisposi-
them, the investigator takes the communications that tions.
people have produced and asks questions of the
communications. (Kerlinger 1964, p. 544)
Systematization
• Content analysis will not tell us whether a given work is
good literature; it will tell us whether the style is Systematization means that the inclusion and exclu-
varied. It will not tell us whether a paper is sion of communications content or analysis categories
words like more, always, increases, or often. What is Greenberg 1970; Ferguson 1970; Roberts 1970;
implied by the quantification requirement is that the Wanderer 1970; Geizer 1971; Greenberg and
data be amenable to statistical methods not only for Kahn 1971; Bush et al. 1974, 1977; Hair et aI.,
precise and parsimonious summary of findings but also 1977)?
for interpretation and inference. Whether the statistical
method involved requires parametric or nonparametric ~ What is the portrayed image and role of women
data or nominal, ordinal, or interval scales is not in the mass media (Courtney and Lockertz 1971;
relevant. Wagner and Banos 1973; Venkatesan and Losco
1975; Belakaoui and Belakaoui 1976)?
THE USE OF CONTENT ANALYSIS ~ How are women, blacks, foreigners, and con-
servatives depicted in comic strips (Spiegelman,
To summarize, content analysis is a scientific, Terwilliger, and Fearing 1952, 1953)?
objective, systematic, quantitative, and generalizable
description of communications content. In consumer ~ What is the information content found in television
behavior and marketing, content analysis has been advertising (Resnik and Stern 1977)? Is comparison
used to study the following questions: advertising leading to misleading, dysfunctional,
and ambigious messages on television (Shimp
~ What are the changing values in society as re- 1975)?
flected in the analysis of mass periodical fiction
~ What is the frequency of appearance and roles of number of syllables per 100 words, the Journal of Consumer Re-
search in 1974 ranked the most difficult to read among the 11
blacks and other minorities in the mass media journals studied. The readability scores were lower (harder to read)
(Shuey, King, and Griffith 1953; Boyenton, 1965; than the Journal ofAdvertising Research, Journal of Marketing , and
Cox 1969; Kassatjian 1969, 1976; Dominick and Journal of Marketing Research, among others.
CONTENT ANALYSIS IN CONSUMER RESEARCH 11
servation might alter the behavior pattern of the sub- number of ads that would have to be analyzed. Further,
jects, such as in "love" and "changing courtship pat- ifthe research question were something like, "A com-
terns" (Carey 1968; Horton 1956; Webb and Roberts parison oflocal and network television advertising pre-
1969). sentations of the role of women in society," the number
Second, some form of content analysis is necessary of ads to be processed would have to be increased many
when the subject's own language and mode of expres- fold. If, in addition, one were also interested in dif-
sion is crucial to the investigation. Analysis of informa- ferences over time, regional or geographic differences,
tion processing protocols, responses to projective or comparisons between prime-time and daytime tele-
tests, or subtle inferences to be found in in-depth inter- vision, the need for sampling and careful definition
views or focus groups are examples. ofthe universe, rather than analysis ofthe entire popu-
Finally, content analysis can be particularly helpful lation, becomes painfully evident.
when objective systematic evaluation of material is Fortunately, researchers in the fields of marketing
needed that is much too voluminous for a single investi- and communications as well as in consumer research
gator. In studies of newspapers, movies, radio, litera- are acquainted with sampling procedures. Most of us
ture, Soviet propaganda, Voice of America themes, or have been trained in drawing samples from populations
the role of women in magazine literature, the volume of consumers, or people in general. Although drawing
of material may well exceed the investigators ability a sample of documents may pose some unique prob-
to undertake the research himself, no matter how un- lems, the concerns of the research are no different.
word compounds, e.g., phrases, as well as single words. sis was the item-motion pictures, musical composi-
In this type of research one might study the relative oc- tions, paintings, cartoons, and jokes. Most consumer
currence of key symbols or value-laden terms such as behavior studies previously mentioned as using content
religious, sexual, supernatural, democratic, social, analysis have used the item as the unit of analysis.
friendly, clean, sparkling, and so on, until the content For example, the studies on the role of blacks or the
has been systematically examined relevant to the hy- role of women in American advertising have used the
potheses of the study. Readability studies (Flesch 1951) entire advertisement for various aspects of the analy-
have used the word unit in content analysis. Typically, sis.
such studies construct readability formulas on the basis
of personal references, prepositional phrases, dif- Space-and-Time Measures
ferent hard words, words with prefixes and suffixes,
etc. (Berelson 1952). Some studies have classified content by physical di-
visions, such as the column inch (newspapers), the
Theme line or paragraph, the minute (radio and TV), or the
foot (films). Almost every conceivable space-time
The next larger unit is the theme, a single assertion measure has been used.
about a subject. The theme is among the most useful In a given study, different units will sometimes be
units of content analysis because issues, values, be- employed to test each of several hypotheses. Thus the
order to come under the theoretical category, a picture recognized characteristic of communications content,
had to show an activity connected with the search of it is not always easily analyzed in an objective fashion.
truth. Thus a photo showing scientists at work might Many textual passages are not clearly pro or con or
be so classified. A photograph of engineers and tech- neutral; the borderline is often indistinct" (Berelson
nicians laboring in their laboratories to increase har- 1952, p. 150).3
vests in the Ukraine or the American prairie might To exemplify the issues and problems in selecting
be categorized as economic (utilitarian) value. The re- the units of measurement and the categories of analysis
sults indicated a greater incidence of economic and one can consider the following paragraph:
aesthetic values in the Soviet magazine and greater I'd like to see all trade barriers down after the war. Raw
emphasis on religious and social values in the United goods should be shared where they're needed. It's
States. There were no differences between the two money and raw goods and poor living that caused most
countries on theoretical or political (power) values. of this war. We should see that Germany gets its fair
In this particular study, the judges were to classify share this time or we'll have another war. Russia is
each picture into one of several polynary categories fighting for her way of life just like we are for ours.
(e.g., economic, theoretical, religious, social, political, England is fighting along with us and Russia to protect
and aesthetic). Other researchers have used a binary the people against fascism-to be free, not slaves.
method of classification. In one phase of their study, Churchill and Roosevelt and Stalin are great men. They
Spiegelman, Terwilliger, and Fearing (1952) wished to know how the people feel. We can't stay on our side of
the pond anymore. The union's taught me that. (Cart-
fact that preparation of the study for computer mech- corporation in the United States, Israel, and the
anization may well not be worth the effort involved. Arab countries differ? Do the themes, informa-
It is probably still easier to do it by hand, especially tional content, or questionable practices found in
since bright graduate students with tolerance for cleri- the advertising of multinational corporations dif-
cal detail are not yet in short supply. fer from country to country?
4. Do certain newscasters (newsmagazines, news-
CONCLUSION papers) use more liberal (conservative) symbols
Bernard Berelson, one of the earliest researchers in and demonstrate more bias than other news-
content analysis, in another place and at another time, casters? Is editorial support for a political can-
has written the following conclusion to one of his didate also reflected in biased news sections?
papers. It fits this paper, in this place, and at this time 5. In what ways do the rhetoric, articles, speeches,
just as well: and books that emerged in the consumerism wave
This, then, is content analysis . . . . How the contribu- of the 1960's differ from the two earlier waves?
tions of content analysis measure up against those of Did the themes and appeals greatly change over
other methods in social science research is difficult if the years?
not impossible to say. Because of the relative availability
of the raw material, many sins have been committed in 6. What is the image of big business (government,
perhaps the limits of the ingenuity and creativity of sons of Blacks on Television," Journal of Advertising
the consumer researcher. That it has not yet been ex- Research, 10,21-7.
tensively used in studies of consumer behavior is really Dornbush, S. M., and Hickman, L. C. (1959), "Other-
rather remarkable considering our proclivity to use Directedness in Consumer-Goods Advertising: A Test of
Riesman's Historical Theory," Social Forces, 38, 389-
varied methodologies and varied approaches to con-
94.
sumer issues. Dunphy, D. C., Stone, P. J., and Smith, M. S. (1965), "The
General Inquirer: Further Developments in a Computer
[Received January 1977. Revised April 1977.] System for Content Analysis of Verbal Data in the Social
Sciences," Behavioral Science, 10,468-80.
Fearing, F. (1953), "Towards a Psychological Theory of
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