ResearchMethods: Textual Analysis (U10-P1) Sp13

We've discussed previously experiments and surveys as research methods.  Here's a third research method, a third way to answer some research questions.

In experiments you study subjects.  In surveys you study respondents.  What do you study in textual analysis?

What is textual analysis?

“A research method that uses measurement techniques to classify and evaluate the characteristics of spoken, written, artistic, and electronic documents”(FBFK).

What are the various types of texts analyzed in textual analysis? What is a text?

• Written --letters, diaries, transcriptions, books, tweets, newspaper articles, etc.
• Audio -- conversations, lyrics, etc.
• Visual -- paintings, photographs, architecture, etc.
• Broadcasts -- film scripts, news casts, etc.

Texts are the communication media which carry meaning.
Question: What is not a text?


Two important types of textual analysis: rhetorical criticism and content analysis relevant to mass media.

• Rhetorical Criticism
• “research involving description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of persuasive uses of communication”(FBFK).
• Note: We are not using the everyday definition of rhetoric.
• Content Analysis
• “a research technique for making inferences by systematically identifying specified characteristics in a text”(FBFK).

Some types of rhetorical criticism?

Types…

Photo by Kevin Rawlings.
Used under creative commons.

• classical rhetoric: focus on the oral persuasive acts in the context of government. Aristotelian in focus…ethos, pathos, logos, etc.
• Credibility, emotional appeal, evidence/reasoning
• Watch or listen to a famous speech.  How would you judge the rhetoric?  Was it persuasive?  Why?  How?
• contemporary rhetorical criticism: broader perspective -- includes verbal and nonverbal, face-to-face and mediated, not just politics

What is content analysis and how is it conducted?

Content Analysis
“a research technique for making inferences by systematically identifying specified characteristics in a text”(FBFK).

An example of a content analysis: "Dehumanizing the enemy in editorial cartoons" by Hart and Hassencahl

Steps in using this method…
1. Select text(s)
2. Unit of Analysis… e.g., words
3. Categories… put into nominal categories
4. Coding … analyze text
5. Summarize




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