Field of Study:
Social Sciences
Department:
Communication
Rank of Student:
any
Desired Majors:
any
Hours per Week:
9
Compensation Type:
Academic Credit
Application Deadline:
Contact:
Dr. Melissa Foster
Private
Public
Project Description
I will be working with students on several content analysis projects systematically examining what is happening in the media. Depending on which project students join, they will either be watching cable television shows, Hollywood movies, or reading newspapers and taking notes about what kind of stories are being told.
Which projects we do will depend on the interest of the people who apply and are accepted to the class. For example, if a lot of people are interested in medical television shows, we would do an analysis of medical television shows. Another example: if a lot of people are interested in advertisements on cable TV, we could analyze those. A final example: if students are generally interested in election coverage for the American Presidential election, we could analyze that.
To do this systematically, we have a list of topics we are looking to see if they were covered or not, and students will code a "0" when that topic was not covered and a "1" when it was. More than one person codes the same media to ensure that at least two people coded them the same way (that way, there is consensus and not it's not just one person's opinion). Sometimes it's not very easy. For example, we might code for humor where "0" means there were no jokes in the program and "1" means there were. However, what one person thinks of as a joke might not seem that way to someone else. So, along the way, we create a 'codebook' that has definitions of what we are coding for. For example, in a previous content analysis of political satire shows on cable, students coded a comment as a joke only when the live audience could be heard laughing.
For more information about these projects see the following 10-minute video: https://mediasite.osu.edu/Mediasite/Play/92579ee32f3243889e0f532265d869b11d
Which projects we do will depend on the interest of the people who apply and are accepted to the class. For example, if a lot of people are interested in medical television shows, we would do an analysis of medical television shows. Another example: if a lot of people are interested in advertisements on cable TV, we could analyze those. A final example: if students are generally interested in election coverage for the American Presidential election, we could analyze that.
To do this systematically, we have a list of topics we are looking to see if they were covered or not, and students will code a "0" when that topic was not covered and a "1" when it was. More than one person codes the same media to ensure that at least two people coded them the same way (that way, there is consensus and not it's not just one person's opinion). Sometimes it's not very easy. For example, we might code for humor where "0" means there were no jokes in the program and "1" means there were. However, what one person thinks of as a joke might not seem that way to someone else. So, along the way, we create a 'codebook' that has definitions of what we are coding for. For example, in a previous content analysis of political satire shows on cable, students coded a comment as a joke only when the live audience could be heard laughing.
For more information about these projects see the following 10-minute video: https://mediasite.osu.edu/Mediasite/Play/92579ee32f3243889e0f532265d869b11d
Additional Information
Due to the 9 hour a week time commitment, volunteers (doing the research without getting course credit) will not be accepted. In the past, I've found that many students who are at a maximum course load (18 credits) have been unable to meet their obligations to the content analysis project. Due to the collaborative nature of this type of research, it is important to do the coding on a regular schedule. So, please only apply if you're willing and able to do this project for 3 course credits (which means about 9 hours a week). Although the actual work is not too difficult or taxing, the time commitment is firm.
Required Applicant Information
If you should like to apply, please fill out this form: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3yEcWGFuSZPsWd8
Required or Desired Skills
No previous experience is required since I will show you everything you need to know. However, you should be aware that this will take about 9 hours a week. Students who do not have that time available should not apply.
In terms of the final outcome, the goal is to publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal. However, please be aware that there are never any guarantees that a project will be published. There are a number of reasons why even very good research sometimes is not published.
If, however, the research is published, students who worked on coding will be acknowledged in a footnote on the paper (e.g., "The authors would like to thank Todd Toddington for his work coding...". I do also offer students who did well coding the option to do this class again the following semester and get involved in writing up the results. For those students who do well and stay on for a second semester, we would meet weekly to conduct the data analysis and work on the write up of the paper. Those students would be listed as authors if the paper is published.
In terms of the final outcome, the goal is to publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal. However, please be aware that there are never any guarantees that a project will be published. There are a number of reasons why even very good research sometimes is not published.
If, however, the research is published, students who worked on coding will be acknowledged in a footnote on the paper (e.g., "The authors would like to thank Todd Toddington for his work coding...". I do also offer students who did well coding the option to do this class again the following semester and get involved in writing up the results. For those students who do well and stay on for a second semester, we would meet weekly to conduct the data analysis and work on the write up of the paper. Those students would be listed as authors if the paper is published.
Faculty Member Lead:
Dr. Melissa Foster
Starting Semester:
Autumn
Length of Project (in semesters):
1