Chapter 20: Content Analysis
Activity 20.3: Advantages vs. Disadvantages of Content Analysis
Activity 20.1:
Which of the following questions would lend themselves well to content analysis?
- Do students like school more if taught by a teacher of the same ethnicity?
- What sorts of techniques do tennis coaches use to increase the motivation of 12-year-olds to play tennis?
- Is violence on television different from violence in classical drama?
- Do boys or girls score higher on SAT examinations?
- Are women or men portrayed more favorably in 1930s movies?
- Are after-school detention programs effective?
- How do the ingredients found in recipes in 1940s cookbooks compare with those found in 1990s cookbooks?
Answer: question 3, 5 and 7 are most contend well to content analysis as they answer questions such as who says what, and to whom is it posed to, why and what are the extents as well as what are the effects.
Activity 20.3:
Advantages vs. Disadvantages of Content Analysis
In the space provided in front of each of the statements listed below, write “T” if the statement is true. Write “F” if the statement is false.
- ____T__ Content analysis deals mainly with recorded information.
- _____T_ Content analysis is unobtrusive.
- __F____ Content analysis is strongly influenced by the researcher’s presence.
- _____F_ Content analysis cannot be done with songs.
- ___F___ Content analysis is extremely difficult to do.
- ___T___ Content analysis is relatively economical compared to other research methodologies.
- ____F__ Content analysis data is primarily in the form of numbers.
- _____T_ The information needed to do a content analysis usually is readily available.
- ___F___ It is fairly easy to establish validity in content analysis.
- ___F___ Content analysis requires extensive training before one can undertake it.
Chapter 21: Ethnographic Research
- In ethnographic research, there is no way for a researcher to be absolutely objective on what he observers. However, an ethnographic researcher might disapprove this statement and argue out that it can be particularly true in any type of research. In this case however, ethnographers can try figuring out their own preferences.
- Unlike other scientific studies, ethnographic studies cannot be replicated. Replicating ethnography is difficult because events in natural settings cannot be reproduced. This is so because ethnographic studies covers unique natural situations that keep changing or changes over time and so cannot be replicated. Situations change, people their attitude, environment and cultures are not static and keep on changing. Such issues make ethnographic studies difficult to replicate.
- The most difficult facet of ethnographic research is for a researcher to remain open and objective all through his research. In some cases, a researcher can be in strange situations such as being in a foreign country with foreign people and dialects. This can make a researcher feel like an outsider which might make him loose objectivity in his research.
- The greatest advantage or benefit of ethnographic research is that a researcher has direct access to real places, action and situations and has a more holistic view of a particular setting. This means that the researcher is in a position to see peoples conduct in a real life environment. Ethnographic presentation clearly shows subtle differences and fine distinctions of the research that no other methodologies can capture.
The main disadvantage of ethnographic research is that it consumes a lot of the researchers time. Typically, an ethnographic researcher spends a considerable amount of time in the field collecting data. Most applied research studies require short periods of data collection and so ethnographic research might not be appropriate for most of them.
- Yes. Being a participant in an ethnographic study is fun. It allows one to actively participate in a research that directly affects them and from eventually get results which might change their perspective on the way they view certain things. Before participating in an ethnographic research I would ensure that I am comfortable, feel safe and secure during the observation process. As a participant, I should not be forced or coerced to participate in the study but be willing.
- Qualitative research provides a deep and detailed picture that not most research methods can give. Qualitative research is primarily concerned with process and practice rather than the outcome. This means that most of the research involves a researcher going into the field observing, recording events and behaviors as they happen in their natural settings. This reflects what ethnographic research exactly does.
- Yes. There are various types of research and methodologies that can give excellent results than that of ethnographic research if used within their jurisdiction. Experimental research seeks to determine whether an intervention or study has had the intended effects on the participants. Observational researches draw the inferences about a possible effect of treatment on a subject. Historical research provides a clear picture of the past. Exploratory research studies formatives with a purpose of discovering new ideas or gaining new insights. A qualitative research deal with phenomena’s which are impossible to quantify mathematically. Quantitative research involves objective and formal information about the world plus mathematical quantifications while prediction studies use correlation to come up with results.
- Ethnographic research involves rigorous and systematic investigation of a problem or situation in order to validate existing data or generate new knowledge. In ethnographic studies, a researcher requires enough time to go out to the field collect and conduct research. Most times, this takes a year or more. Ethnographic research also requires special skills and tools to carry out collection and analysis of data.
