Content Analysis

Reading Summary

Content analysis, surveys and experiments are three methods to discover the effects of media content. The reading describes content analysis and surveys as being the most effective. According to the reading, content analysis is the basis of any attempt to decipher the effect of media content. Why? They argue that through content analysis, one is able to describe the phenomenon and discover what content is present that might be tied with several effects. To truly analyze content, one must be aware that it is an objective, systematic and quantitative process. This means that because there is no specific set of rules to decipher the effect of the media, there will be more than one person making same inferences about the effect. The way that researchers derive to the effect is simple: by tallying up their observations. Here is where manifest and latent content become important because they are forms of interpretation of the observations made. Manifest is a superficial way of interpreting information whereas latent is the opposite; the researcher needs to ‘read between the lines’ to interpret the information. To summarize, researchers find a unit of analysis (the focal point: media) and break it down into categories which they tally up to then share with others and have a coding agreement which results in statistical analysis (where the researchers calculate data about the media based on the tallies shared). Once all this information is gathered, then the interpretation methods can be put to use and the researchers create a theory about the media effect. To finalize their research, the researchers support or deny their theories by conducting surveys or performing experiments.

Outside Example

Technology is a highly admired platform for the younger crowd but an enemy for many adults such as parents and the elderly. Whenever I talk to my grandma about how to use an iPhone, she always says something along the lines of “Those things hurt your brain” or “your eyes” and so on. For older generations, phones do not seem as beneficial or necessary as they are for younger generations. Parents have often grounded kids for spending way too much time with technology and the consequence is usually taking away such technology in whatever form it comes in. Many argue that technology has ruined the way of a healthy life. For example, I’ve heard my mom say that the number of kids playing outside has declined to the extent that they don’t even get to meet their neighbors and also that today, kids meet friends via social media or video games instead of face-to-face communication. There is also a high number of depression in teenagers due to not meeting the standards of social media. Yet, these are only inferences made by the older generations based on observations they make but there is much more research, possibly in the form of surveys and experiments, needed to be made in order to prove these inferences.

Reading Connection

My example was technology and the negative effects that older generations think it has on the future. The reading talks about how in order to discover the effects of media content, one has to go through a series of steps which older generations have taken to uncover that technology has a negative effect on the brain, lifestyle and even posture of future generations. Yet, the younger generations are also conducting the same research to prove that technology has a positive effect. Both sides make excellent arguments with sufficient evidence which leads one back to the question “how can we discover the effect of technology?” To me, it seems like an endless debate. There is enough evidence such as: teenagers falling to depression due to seeing unachievable bodies on social media or kids spending hours on video games instead of doing their chores or playing outside that prove the negative effects of technology. Yet, questions can be asked such as, “how is the environment at home?” “Is the internet use limited?” “Are parents checking up on chores?” And more. When arguing the other side of the positive effects of technology, similar questions can be asked to argue the position. Here is where the scientific method that the reading shares is useful because it says that when a group of people share the same coding agreement, there has to be statistical evidence to support their sides. This statistical evidence can come in the form of surveys and experiments which have been done in today’s world but the debate still seems to be endless as technology seems to have both negative and positive effects. Yet, one can argue that technology used to not be needed in the past and now, it is crucial to the lives of newer generations.