Researchers
Michael
Billig, David Deacon, Peter Golding, Thomas König, Katie MacMillan
Department of Social Sciences,
Loughborough University
January 2003 - January 2005
Context
Despite the rapid growth
of social science interest in the mass media, methods for the investigation
of media content have been surprisingly slow to change. The emergence
of new media as well as the availability of powerful software for
textual analysis provide both an opportunity and a need for methodological
innovation. This project will contribute to the evaluation, systematisation
and extension of developments in media content analysis.
Aims and Objectives
- Evaluation of computer software packages for the analysis of
media content;
- Discursive analyses of media texts drawing on the innovative
work of the Loughborough Discourse and Rhetoric Group;
- Analysis of time series data, to explore the possibilities of
such a form of content analysis;
- Comparative research on large data sets;
- Examination of the extent and nature of contradictions and compatibility
between different approaches to analysing media content.
Methodological aspects
Research
will rigorously and fundamentally address the methodological and
conceptual adequacy of:
- content analysis
- frame analysis
- discourse analysis
for media content analysis. |
Research Design
- Compile cross-national computer-readable news data sets (currently
on the reporting of UN reports on weapons inspections in Iraq),
on which to test software and methodologies;
- Evaluate the existing software for textual analyses, including
ATLAS.ti 5, DICTION 5, MAXqda , N6, Nvivo 2, Textpack;
- Integrate and extend existing software to facilitate and expand
the possibilities of existing analytical approaches;
- Develop a methodology that combines textual analyses with time
series analysis.
Outputs
- Regular publications of research bulletins;
- Web site that offers reviews of current software packages and
resources and tools for computer-assisted news analysis;
- Conference presentations and papers are in preparation.
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