MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Understandings and Uses of Public Health Research (UUPHR) Programme

Dr Shona Hilton

Social Media Analysis: Methods and Ethics 25th April 2014

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Research

Understandingemerging

health debates

Media Representations

AudienceReception

Much of our work takes its

theoretical bearings fromliterature on:

media studies

risk communication

health literacy

science communication

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Publications

Hilton S, Wood K, Patterson C, Katikireddi SV. Implications for alcohol minimum unit pricing advocacy: what can we learn for public health from UK newsprint coverage of key claim-makers in the policy debate?. Social Science & Medicine 2014;102:157–164

Patterson C, Hilton S. Normalisation and stigmatisation of obesity in UK newspapers: a visual content analysis. The Open Obesity Journal 2013;5:82-91

Wood K, Patterson C, Katikireddi SV, Hilton S. Harms to ‘others’ from alcohol consumption in the minimum unit pricing policy debate: a qualitative content analysis of UK newspapers (2005-2012). Addiction 2013;109:578–584

Hilton S, Patterson C, Teyhan A. Escalating coverage of obesity in UK newspapers: the evolution and framing of the ‘obesity epidemic’ from 1996 to 2010. Obesity 2012;20:1688-1695

Hilton S, Hunt K. UK newspapers' representations of the 2009-2010 outbreak of swine flu: one health scare not over-hyped by the media?. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2011;65:941-6

Hilton S, Hunt K, Langan M, Petticrew M. Newsprint media representations of the introduction of the HPV vaccination programme for cervical cancer prevention in the UK (2005-2008). Social Science & Medicine 2010;70:942-50  Hilton S, Hunt K. Coverage of Jade Goody's cervical cancer in UK newspapers: a missed opportunity for health promotion?. BMC Public Health 2010;10:386

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

UsingManifest and Latent Content Analysis

Media Representations

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Why do content analysis?

• Identify content and framing of communication

• Disclose differences in communication content between individuals, groups, institutions or societies

• Audit communication content against objectives

• Describe trends in the content or framing of messages over time

• Indicate pertinent features such as comprehensiveness of coverage

• Detect the existence of propaganda, prejudices or intentions of authors

• Provide an empirical basis for monitoring shifts in public opinion and making inferences about the effects of communication on public opinion / behaviour- see case studies

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Two types of content analysis

Manifest analysis Latent analysis

quantitative qualitative

physically present and countable

hidden meaning

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Manifest content analysis: One Definition

“a research technique for the objective, systematic, and quantitative description of manifest content of communications" (Berelson, 1952)

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Features

• Content is inherent in the text

• Messages are quantifiable using a systematic approach

• Measured objectively (aim to limit the subjectivity) • A message has but one content, all other meanings

being deviant, wrong or subjective- hence excluded

• Reductionist approach with its roots in the positivism paradigm (establishing and discovering objective facts)

Manifest content analysis

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Manifest coding frame

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

“a research method that uses a set of procedures to make inferences about the sender(s) of the message, the message itself, or the audience of the message”

(Weber, 1990)

Latent content analysis: One Definition

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Features

• The meaning of the message only emerges with interpretation (high level of interpretation)

• A message may have different meanings

• A message is socially constructed

• Roots are in the constructivist paradigm (science is constructed not discovered from the world)

Latent content analysis

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Example

MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.

Could content analysis be used to analyse dynamic social media data? If so how?