Using cross-correlations to analyze inter-media political agenda setting

Author / Creator

Barclay, Francis P. author

Available as

Online

Summary

Comparative analysis of political media content poses several challenges, especially for the maturing empirical researcher. Above all, it is quite intricate to create a comprehensive codebook for c...

Comparative analysis of political media content poses several challenges, especially for the maturing empirical researcher. Above all, it is quite intricate to create a comprehensive codebook for content analysis, employing an "a priori" design and using both the qualitative and quantitative paradigms-the aim being the mitigation of expert coder bias. Time adds an instrumental dimension to the research design while one studies the latent topics, frames, and tones underlying the manifest media content. It is also essential to design a uniform data coding pattern for the diverse media studied, to aid comparison and data analysis. In this research method case study, I discuss challenges that an empirical researcher encounters while designing a political content analysis, along with practical approaches that could be used to tackle them in objective and standard ways. I also outline the theoretical framework and methodology adopted in a project to investigate political content published in traditional newspapers and new (online social) media. Finally, I elaborate on several data analysis techniques that can be used to build poll prediction models.

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