Content analysis is a technique used to extract desired information from a body of material (usually verbal) by systematically and objectively identifying specific characteristics of the material (Berelson, 1954). Actually, the term ‘content’ in content analysis is something of a misnomer because verbal materials may be examined for content, form (e.g., style structure), function (e.g., the person gives suggestion) or sequence of communication. By means of content analysis, a large body of qualitative information may be reduced to a smaller and more manageable form of representation. It is applied to qualitative material, whether obtained from archival records, recoding of naturally occurring behaviour, or evoked responses. Although the material to be analysed may consist of recorded interactions, non-verbal behaviour, photographs, filmed actions, graphic and artistic productions, or music, content analysis often uses written or transcribed verbal material.
Today content analysis is one of the pioneering methods in qualitative research. It is so unique that it deals primarily with the analysis of samples of language, and that is why it can provide information that may or may not be accessible by other methods. Content analysis may be used for exploratory research, theory development, hypothesis testing, applied research or description or for inference.
Content analysis is widely used today in the communications research scenario, especially in its cross-disciplinary fields, mainly to study (a) the basic nature of communication (b) to analyse the peculiarities and intentions of communicators and (c) to deduct inferences from content about its effects on, or the characteristics of its recipients. The pioneer communicators Berelson (1954), Holsti (1969) and Krippendorff (1980) summarized research on (a) trends in the communication content, (b) the comparison of different media, (c) style, (d) propaganda techniques, (e) military intelligence, (f) the intentions and psychological states of persons or groups, and (g) the attitudes, interests and values of media audiences.
Here a content analytical study titled ‘Reporter sex and newspaper coverage of the adverse health effects of hormone therapy by David E. Nelson and Nancy Signorielli appeared in Women & Health (Jan 2007) has been reviewed. The study focuses on women who have used hormone therapy (HT) to relieve menopausal symptoms for decades. Major studies published in JAMA in July 2002 demonstrated adverse health effects from hormone therapy, and the National Institutes of Health halted the Women’s Health Initiative clinical trial several years early. A content analysis of 10 U.S. newspapers in July and August 2002 to examine the role of reporter sex on news coverage on HT. revealed that there existed substantial sex differences in reporting about HT. Female reporters were much more likely than male reporters to include a self-help frame (66.7% vs 30.8%, p = 0.002). Female reporters were also much more likely to use women in public as sources in HT-related articles (33.9% vs 10.0%, p = 0.039). Reporter sex may play a role in the selection and content of health news articles.
The researcher has opted for content analysis because analyses of verbal and other symbolic materials may differ between individuals, groups or cultures. Content analysis reveals properties of texts that might go unnoticed by the reader, or unexpected information may be brought to light by this technique. Here content analysis of the news reports has shed light on a major finding in reporting anomalies in health scenarios.
References
- Nelson, D.E. and Signorielli, N. (1997) ‘Reporter sex and newspaper coverage of the adverse health effects of hormone therapy’. Women and Health, 45.1 1(15)
- Priest, S. H. (1996) Doing Media Research: An Introduction, London: Sage.
- Berelson, B. (1954) Content Analysis. In G.Lindzey (ed) Handbook of Social Psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 488-522). Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.