1.Content Analysis
 Study of recorded human
communication to answer the questions
generally answered through
communications research:
 Who says what to whom, how, why and to
what effect?
 In order to do content analysis, you analyze
written/oral/visual communication in terms
of variables that will answer your research
question.
 You have to operationalize your variables
beforehand.
As “research method,” i.e. a mode of
observation, content analysis
requires that you OBJECTIVELY
handle the data, i.e. “what is being
communicated.”
The analysis of that data in terms of
variables answers the “why” and
“with what effect” question.
The “Units of Analysis” in content analysis are the
individual units that we make descriptive and
explanatory statements about. Units of analysis
e.g. groups, might be different to the units of
observation (e.g. the individual) aggregating whom
the group figure is arrived at.
 Determining units of analysis is important in
selecting your observation sample in content
analysis- the sample should be selected in an
unbiased manner not selectively based on your
operationalized variables
 “Coding” in content analysis transforms raw data
into standardized form, it is classification
according to some conceptual framework, involves
conceptualization and operationalization.
 Manifest and Latent Content : Manifest content is
the visible, surface content- analogous to using a
standardized questionnaire, latent content refers
to the underlying meaning, the implied
assumptions behind the communication.
 In creating code-categories, you need to ask
yourself the question- Why do I think these two
data parts are different so as to require different
categories- then explain that clearly in the
methodology segment of your paper.
Content ANALYSIS
 In analyzing communication based on
predetermined, coded concepts that are
categorically operationalized, you count
their occurrence to see if a relationship
exists- this counting is quantitative.
 For example, to answer the question, “Are men and
women equally represented during evening primetime TV?”
 1. You select a sample of what channels to watch in
the evening 2. The number of hours to watch 3.
Count men and women that appear during that time
on those channels. 4. Analyze the variation 5. Explain
variation based on social theory with added “data”
from the communication.
Strengths and Weakness of
Content Analysis
Strengths

Easy in terms of process and cost

Allows for easy correction of errors, the recorded
communication is going nowhere, but is time intensive.

Is an unobtrusive measure- no danger of experimental
reactivity.

Allows studying problems, answering research
questions over time, if you have access to historical
communication.
Weakness

Recorded information is always subjective, selection
bias, subjective coding, limited utility in uncovering
causation-
2. Analyzing Existing Stats
 Using already collected data for the purpose of your own
analysis
 Deductive approach
 Statistical Analysis
 Univariate, bivariate and multivariate
 Constructing measures based on existing concepts
through indexes and scales.
 Explanatory research answers the why questionthrough mimicking the experimental methodmultivariate OLS regression analysis
 Also gives accurate descriptive picture that is
generalizable given the sample unlike qualitative field
research
 Source of Existing Statistics
 U.S. Census Bureau
 World Population Data Sheet- Population Reference
Bureau
 CIA World Factbook
 United Nations, Human Development Reports
 The World Bank- World Development Indicators
 Statistical Abstracts of the United States
 Google for more specialized sources on various
countries reported by their data collecting agencies.

Homework Assignment- Locate 5 of these sources on google.com, go to
the site, copy the URL and pick either one country or variable and
report its ONE statistic for each site. E.g. Family income in the U.S. or
infant mortality rate for country x etc.
3. Historical-Comparative
Research
 The use of historical methods by sociologists in
order to examine social structure over time and in
comparison with the present and with other
societies. [Historical grounding of explanations of
large scale and substantively important outcomes].
E.g. the Law of three stages by Auguste Comte,
Durkheim’s Mechanical and Organic Solidarity,
Marx’s distinction between feudalism and
capitalism, Weber’s Protestant Ethic, etc.
Two Concerns in HC research
 1. Source of the Data
 Primary and Secondary Sources
 Missing data:Subjective recording of
history by the powerful, who make it, the
powerless are often voiceless and
unrecorded.
 Corroboration of events versus made up
accounts.
 2. How to analyze historical data:
 Verstehen- from the point of view of the time period and its
culture
 Ideal Types- In terms of societal structures, understand the
past through the existing societal structure because it is
rooted in the past. Link historical facts to components of the
current societal structure.
 Comparison between societies and across times through
sameness and difference.