Quantitative Text Analysis Content and Interaction Analyses

Quantitative text analysis is used when a researcher wants to enumerate some aspect of a communication text. What types of utterances most often follow an interruption? What types of commercials appear most frequently during afternoon soap operas? Do male or female characters on cartoons have greater amounts of speaking time?

What counts as a “text”? Texts can be public (advertisements) or they can be private (transcribed conversations between intimates) Texts can be public (advertisements) or they can be private (transcribed conversations between intimates) Texts can be mediated ( messages) or face-to-face (group decision making conversations) Texts can be mediated ( messages) or face-to-face (group decision making conversations) Texts can be scripted (press releases) or spontaneous (initial interactions between strangers) Texts can be scripted (press releases) or spontaneous (initial interactions between strangers) Texts can be linguistic, non-linguistic, or both. Texts can be linguistic, non-linguistic, or both.

Steps in Quantitative Text Analysis Identify your research question/hypothesis Identify your research question/hypothesis Identify your unit of analysis – what are you trying to make a claim about? Identify your unit of analysis – what are you trying to make a claim about? Identify your sampling unit – then collect a sample of texts. Identify your sampling unit – then collect a sample of texts. Identify your coding unit – then have two independent coders unitize the texts. Identify your coding unit – then have two independent coders unitize the texts. Calculate unitizing reliability (must be at least.70) Calculate unitizing reliability (must be at least.70) Have two independent coders “code” the text. Have two independent coders “code” the text. Calculate inter-coder reliability (must be at least.70) Calculate inter-coder reliability (must be at least.70) Analyze data Analyze data

Content Analysis vs. Interaction Analysis Content Analysis examines the distributional structure of a text. Content Analysis examines the distributional structure of a text. Researchers conduct content analysis using advertisements, speeches, accounts, television programs, etc. as texts. Researchers conduct content analysis using advertisements, speeches, accounts, television programs, etc. as texts. Interaction analysis can examine the distributional, interactive, and/or sequential structure of interaction. Interaction analysis can examine the distributional, interactive, and/or sequential structure of interaction. Researchers conduct interaction analysis using transcriptions of face-to- face interaction, mediated “real-time” interaction, and scripted interactions in TV and film Researchers conduct interaction analysis using transcriptions of face-to- face interaction, mediated “real-time” interaction, and scripted interactions in TV and film

Coding Units for Content Analysis Physical Units Physical Units Syntactical Units Syntactical Units Referential Referential Propositional Propositional Thematic Thematic

Coding Units in Interaction Analysis The Thought Unit The Thought Unit The Theme The Theme The Time Interval The Time Interval The Speech Act The Speech Act