© Park University SO308 – Assignment 6 – Page 1 9/17/2007
Week 6 Assignment – “Data 5: Content Analysis”
Learning Outcomes
2. Apply the principles of the scientific method to social science research.
8. Explain and justify the use of quantitative, qualitative and multimethod data gathering
techniques.
9. Apply the principles of ethical research.
10. Gather interactive and nonreactive data.
11. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data.
12. Collect, analyze, and critically evaluate empirical data.
13. Present research results to specific audiences.
Directions
Assignment 6 – “Data 5: Content Analysis” exercise (40 points or 4% of your overall grade, due
Sunday at midnight CST of Week 6).
Read the instructions at the bottom of the page, and then find two artifacts for your content analysis.
1. If they are, web pages then send those links to your instructor as part of your content analysis.
2. If they are physical objects, then scan or photograph them. You need to be able to send those
files to your instructor in a standard format (for example, or .gif) (Note: If you do not have the
ability to scan or photograph them, please choose a document or web page! You need to be able
to send the content item to your instructor!)
In either case, include a short explanation of why you chose both artifacts.
Write up your content analysis notes and send them to your instructor through the Dropbox as a ,
.rtf, or .txt file along with your artifacts. See the file (DA5data ) under the “Doc Sharing” tab for
additional instructions and your data recording form for this assignment.
Write up a summary of your findings and experience. What are the results you found? What
challenges did you encounter? What would you do different next time if you were to repeat this exercise?
You will post your “Reflection” essay in the forum provided then participate in a conversation with the
other students and compare your experiences. Post your “Reflection” as early as possible in the week to
allow time for a good discussion to develop.
A Perform content analysis on 2 artifacts.
B Submit the artifacts and explain why you chose both artifacts.
C Write up a “Reflection” on your findings and experience (400 to 500 words).
D Post your write-up in the “Reflections” discussion thread and respond to at least 2 other student
postings.
© Park University SO308 – Assignment 6 – Page 2 9/17/2007
Submitting the Assignment and Due Date
Submit your assignment to the Dropbox by Sunday midnight CST of Week 6.
Format
General Format (same as in week 2)
Write up your content analysis in a similar professional manner!
Grading Criteria
This assignment is worth 40 points.
Requirements: Points
Covered the topic and project requirements thoroughly:
A – Select 2 artifacts, submit those artifacts and an explanation of
why you those them. 15
B – Write up a summary of your findings and experience and post it
in the “Reflections” discussion thread. 10
C – Respond to at least 2 other student postings in this
“Reflections” thread. 10
Format – 5
Total 40
Questions and Issues:
If you have any questions or issues, please post them to the Q & A or Reflections discussion thread.
Content Analysis Directions:
The content analysis continues our study of prejudice and discrimination using a fifth methodology. It
encourages you to better understand humans and our societies by carefully examining the things that we
make: cultural artifacts. For this assignment, “cultural artifact” should be construed broadly. Your artifact
may be a document, a webpage, a building, sign, clothing, music, movie, or any other human product.
Content analysis proceeds under the assumption that you can learn quite a bit about someone (or a
group of someones) by the things we make and own. Record those data according to the directions and
submit them to your instructor so that they may be included in the complete data set. This must be
completed on time.
Write up your summary and reflection of your content analysis (400 to 500 words) and post it in the
“Reflections” thread. Remember that this is not an analysis of these data (that will come in Week 8), it is
a reflection on the methodology and your experience. Reply substantively and critically to at least two
other students.
See the file (DA5data ) under the “Doc Sharing” tab for additional instructions and your data recording
form for this assignment.
SO308 Principles of Social Research
Data Analysis 5: Content Analysis
Directions:
Choose two different cultural objects for your content analyses (ARTIFACT 1 and ARTIFACT 2 below). Both objects should be publicly available and contain a representation of a specific group done by someone who is not a member of that group. Each content analysis should focus on describing, explaining, and interpreting that specific cultural object. Your objects may be anything human made that reflects on how people from one group see those of another. Take detailed and exhaustive notes! Record everything because you may not realize that something is important until after the fact. Remember that the purpose of these content analyses is to gather data about how members of different groups think about, talk about, behave toward, or otherwise respond to another. You don’t have to record information that does not pertain to our purpose, but do record everything that may shed light on our research topic!
Once you have selected your objects, photograph them or copy the link (if online). Paste the photos or links into the spaces provided in this document. Be creative in your choice of cultural object. It can be anything: advertisement, building, excerpt from a story, video clip, audio clip, etc. Just make sure that others will also be able to access the object for themselves (along with your notes in this file). Find a quite place to record your notes into this form. Clean your notes by removing your shorthand and explaining every detail. Remember that these notes need to be understandable on their own. Include everything and add additional details as you recall them. When you add detail after the fact in this first pass, use “Bright Green” text to distinguish it from your first observations.
Then set your notes aside for about 24 hours so that you can think about them some more. Make a third pass through your notes and use “Blue” text to distinguish these subsequent reflections from your first observations and your initial additions. It is important to make these distinctions clear because your understanding of the cultural object may change with time. Do not worry if your first, second, and third passes through your data agree with one another. Again, your perspective may change. It is important that you do not delete previous notes, but merely add to them each time through.
Finally, in all three passes, be careful to distinguish between characteristics of the object and your interpretation of the object. Actual descriptions should be recorded in regular text (in the appropriate color), but your interpretations, opinions, and inferences from the data should be italicized. Try to maintain this “fact-value” distinction as carefully as you can (although it is impossible to be perfect in this regard). You can use as many pages for your notes as you need. This document will expand to make room. But please be conscientious about recording everything, including your reactions as the observer! And make sure you keep your observations from ARTIFACT 1 and ARTIFACT 2 in their appropriate places. Good luck and have fun!
ARTIFACT 1
Data Collector ID:
Location Found:
Date:
Pictures of (or Links to) Artifact:
Description of Artifact:
Descriptions of Principal Groups Represented in Artifact:
Description of Artifact Perspective (as you understand it):
Description of Artifact Message (as you understand it):
Artifact Analysis:
ARTIFACT 2
Data Collector ID:
Location Found:
Date:
Pictures of (or Links to) Artifact:
Description of Artifact:
Descriptions of Principal Groups Represented in Artifact:
Description of Artifact Perspective (as you understand it):
Description of Artifact Message (as you understand it):
Artifact Analysis:
