Abstract
This chapter continues to set the context of the book by describing the methodological approach adopted. The importance of framing in policy debates is highlighted, justifying why feature articles, letters to the editor, and videos were selected as the units for analyses. Described is the process undertaken to retrieve a news media sample from a number of sources. Detailed are the methodologies adopted to assess the news media sample: content analysis, critical discourse analysis, and visual discourse analysis. The qualitative research undertaken for this book is documented, outlining the methodological approach of interviews and the sample of interviewees chosen. The overall purpose of this chapter is to inform the reader about the methodologies, samples, and approaches utilized.
TopThis book analyzes news media content in order to explore debates about policies in the aftermath of mass shootings. As a research methodology, analyzing news media articles affords a number of benefits. In addition to offering plentiful data to be assessed, it gives an insight into the content consumed by media audiences and how it may be shaping their thinking. By deciding which issues to cover and to what extent, the news media can influence which issues citizens think about based on the amount of information available to them to form judgments (Delli Carpini, 2005, p. 35). The words and phrases utilized by journalists who produce the news can denote value judgments and ideological meanings (Lombardi, 2018, p.5; Schildkraut, 2014, p. 7; van Dijk, 1998b, 31-32). Consumers engage in an active process of “reading in” media content in order to make sense of the world (Fowler, 1991, p. 46).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Content Analysis: This is a method examining the themes (ideas that keep reoccurring) and frames (how an issue is discussed) inherent within a text.
Visual Discourse Analysis: The process involved in analyzing still and moving images.
Qualitative Interviewing: A technique focusing on eliciting findings by questioning participants.
Frames: Parameters set around how an issue is discussed.
Critical discourse analysis: A more critical approach to analyzing a text, looking at the language used and how this may influence how people “read” it.
Case Study: A frame to determine the parameters of information gathering.