COM3706
Communication Research
Assignment 3 -Portfolio Project
Date: 16 October 2022
Unique Assignment
number: Student number:
,TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
1. INTRODUCTION 3
2. DATA COLLECTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES 3
3. PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS 5
3.1 Themes utilised for the content analysis: 6
3.2 Qualitative Data Analysis 7
3.2.1 Frames evident in the headlines 7
3.2.2 Frames evident in the images: China Daily Articles 8
3.2.3 Frames evident in the images: BBC News articles 9
3.3 Quantitative findings 10
3.3.1 Human impact Fram e 10
3.3.2 Economic consequences frame 11
3.3.3 Attribution of responsibility frame 12
3.3.4 Sources 13
3.3.5 Tonality 15
4. DATA ANALYSIS 16
5. CONCLUSION 19
5.1 Research questions 20
6. SELF REFLECTION 21
7. SOURCES CONSULTED 22
8. ADDENDUMS 23
P a g e 2 | 23
,INTRODUCTION
Through the use of a content analysis, this research project will provide an overview
and practical illustration of the work of GM du Plooy that is mentioned in the module
textbook. This research assignment covers chapters on data-gathering strategies,
research outcomes, and data analysis. Simple random data sampling, quantitative
and qualitative content analysis methods, media coverage frameworks, and data
analysis are all given particular attention.
With the aid of 10 carefully chosen pieces from Western and Asian online
publications and a comparative content analysis utilizing qualitative and
quantitative techniques, the research attempts to investigate and characterize
media coverage of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022.
To find trends in recorded dialogue, researchers utilize content analysis. You can
undertake content analysis by methodically gathering data from a collection of
written, spoken, or visual materials. Both quantitative (centered on counting and
measuring) and qualitative content analysis are possible (focused on interpreting
and understanding). You classify or "code" words, ideas, and concepts within the
texts in both categories before analyzing the outcomes. In order to learn more
about the goals, messages, and outcomes of communication material, researchers
employ content analysis. They can also draw conclusions about the authors and
readers of the materials they are analyzing.
DATA COLLECTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES
The target population vs the available population, demographic characteristics, the
type of sample drawn, the geographic area, and the time dimension are all crucial
considerations while gathering data (Du Plooy2009:86)
The data sampling technique used is a simple random sample. When a sampling
frame is provided and each unit of analysis in the target population has an equal
probability of being chosen, a simple random sample is taken. The benefits of a
simple random sample are its simplicity, lack of selection bias, ability to produce a
representative sample, and ability to infer external validity.
Considering that there are thousands of articles covering the war in Ukraine, we
have limited the sample size by creating limitations to the sample size. In order to
analyse, the difference in coverage between western media and eastern media,
one media outlet from each region has been selected, namely BBC news for
western media and China Daily for eastern media. A time frame has been
implemented and only articles which have been published between the 24th of
February and the 4th of March have been selected.
Who, what, how, when, and where the data was acquired are all important
questions in data gathering (Du Plooy 2009:395). Data from an online edition of the
P a g e 3 | 23
, newspaper was used for the aim of this research study in order to collect data. The
reason these articles were chosen was that they covered the war in Ukraine within
the given time frame and were written in English. The articles were selected on the
1st of October, using the google search engine. To minimize search time, I searched
for “War in Ukraine” along with the chosen publication (BBC for the Western media
and China Daily for Eastern Media). Using the google search tools I selected, I
selected the news category and inserted the dates 24th February to 4th of March for
my search timeline, by relevance. To ensure random sampling and reduce research
bias, I selected the first article, skipped three, selected the fifth article, skipped three,
selected the ninth article and so on until 5 articles were chosen from each of the
publications. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Paarl.
A grasp of the English language was necessary for data collection in order to
characterize the articles' contents and decipher their meanings. Selected and
examined were ten articles on the war in Ukraine. By investigating and
characterizing the articles' content, researchers were able to undertake a content
analysis that included qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data. The topics in
each article might be recognized thanks to the population characteristics of the
chosen articles. The language and visuals of the chosen articles were taken into
consideration. These distinctive qualities served as illustrations for the ideas. five items
were chosen from each source. No target or reachable demographic was
represented by the convenience sample.
Following the selection of the articles, a content analysis of the articles was
conducted. The themes and their traits were named and explained. The many
categories were shown on a tally sheet, and they were connected to the study
questions that were established and that the authors desired to accept or reject.
The structure for the tables was created by this content analysis, and the frequency
with which the themes appeared in the articles was examined and taken into
consideration in the tally sheet.
The main themes used for the content analysis were drawn from Neuman (1992) and
Semetko and Valkenburg (2000), cited in de Vreese (2005:56), who identified
common frames commonly used in media coverage of current issues. The main
themes include the economic consequences frame, sources, attribution of
responsibility frame, tonality, and the human impact frame. Within these frames,
different characteristics and strata were examined in order to correctly categorise
the content and conduct the content analysis accordingly. (Du Plooy: 2009)
Data quantification, data presentation in numerical form, and calculations based
on the gathered data using statistical methods are all components of quantitative
research. Deductive reasoning is used when addressing the theoretical framework or
presuppositions of a research investigation (Du Plooy, 2009: 80-90). The researcher
will assess the hypotheses derived from the research study and offer this in the form
of a data analysis. The researcher will use qualitative data analysis to identify and
examine the data relating to theories, narratives and tone identified in the news
P a g e 4 | 23
Communication Research
Assignment 3 -Portfolio Project
Date: 16 October 2022
Unique Assignment
number: Student number:
,TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
1. INTRODUCTION 3
2. DATA COLLECTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES 3
3. PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS 5
3.1 Themes utilised for the content analysis: 6
3.2 Qualitative Data Analysis 7
3.2.1 Frames evident in the headlines 7
3.2.2 Frames evident in the images: China Daily Articles 8
3.2.3 Frames evident in the images: BBC News articles 9
3.3 Quantitative findings 10
3.3.1 Human impact Fram e 10
3.3.2 Economic consequences frame 11
3.3.3 Attribution of responsibility frame 12
3.3.4 Sources 13
3.3.5 Tonality 15
4. DATA ANALYSIS 16
5. CONCLUSION 19
5.1 Research questions 20
6. SELF REFLECTION 21
7. SOURCES CONSULTED 22
8. ADDENDUMS 23
P a g e 2 | 23
,INTRODUCTION
Through the use of a content analysis, this research project will provide an overview
and practical illustration of the work of GM du Plooy that is mentioned in the module
textbook. This research assignment covers chapters on data-gathering strategies,
research outcomes, and data analysis. Simple random data sampling, quantitative
and qualitative content analysis methods, media coverage frameworks, and data
analysis are all given particular attention.
With the aid of 10 carefully chosen pieces from Western and Asian online
publications and a comparative content analysis utilizing qualitative and
quantitative techniques, the research attempts to investigate and characterize
media coverage of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022.
To find trends in recorded dialogue, researchers utilize content analysis. You can
undertake content analysis by methodically gathering data from a collection of
written, spoken, or visual materials. Both quantitative (centered on counting and
measuring) and qualitative content analysis are possible (focused on interpreting
and understanding). You classify or "code" words, ideas, and concepts within the
texts in both categories before analyzing the outcomes. In order to learn more
about the goals, messages, and outcomes of communication material, researchers
employ content analysis. They can also draw conclusions about the authors and
readers of the materials they are analyzing.
DATA COLLECTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES
The target population vs the available population, demographic characteristics, the
type of sample drawn, the geographic area, and the time dimension are all crucial
considerations while gathering data (Du Plooy2009:86)
The data sampling technique used is a simple random sample. When a sampling
frame is provided and each unit of analysis in the target population has an equal
probability of being chosen, a simple random sample is taken. The benefits of a
simple random sample are its simplicity, lack of selection bias, ability to produce a
representative sample, and ability to infer external validity.
Considering that there are thousands of articles covering the war in Ukraine, we
have limited the sample size by creating limitations to the sample size. In order to
analyse, the difference in coverage between western media and eastern media,
one media outlet from each region has been selected, namely BBC news for
western media and China Daily for eastern media. A time frame has been
implemented and only articles which have been published between the 24th of
February and the 4th of March have been selected.
Who, what, how, when, and where the data was acquired are all important
questions in data gathering (Du Plooy 2009:395). Data from an online edition of the
P a g e 3 | 23
, newspaper was used for the aim of this research study in order to collect data. The
reason these articles were chosen was that they covered the war in Ukraine within
the given time frame and were written in English. The articles were selected on the
1st of October, using the google search engine. To minimize search time, I searched
for “War in Ukraine” along with the chosen publication (BBC for the Western media
and China Daily for Eastern Media). Using the google search tools I selected, I
selected the news category and inserted the dates 24th February to 4th of March for
my search timeline, by relevance. To ensure random sampling and reduce research
bias, I selected the first article, skipped three, selected the fifth article, skipped three,
selected the ninth article and so on until 5 articles were chosen from each of the
publications. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Paarl.
A grasp of the English language was necessary for data collection in order to
characterize the articles' contents and decipher their meanings. Selected and
examined were ten articles on the war in Ukraine. By investigating and
characterizing the articles' content, researchers were able to undertake a content
analysis that included qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data. The topics in
each article might be recognized thanks to the population characteristics of the
chosen articles. The language and visuals of the chosen articles were taken into
consideration. These distinctive qualities served as illustrations for the ideas. five items
were chosen from each source. No target or reachable demographic was
represented by the convenience sample.
Following the selection of the articles, a content analysis of the articles was
conducted. The themes and their traits were named and explained. The many
categories were shown on a tally sheet, and they were connected to the study
questions that were established and that the authors desired to accept or reject.
The structure for the tables was created by this content analysis, and the frequency
with which the themes appeared in the articles was examined and taken into
consideration in the tally sheet.
The main themes used for the content analysis were drawn from Neuman (1992) and
Semetko and Valkenburg (2000), cited in de Vreese (2005:56), who identified
common frames commonly used in media coverage of current issues. The main
themes include the economic consequences frame, sources, attribution of
responsibility frame, tonality, and the human impact frame. Within these frames,
different characteristics and strata were examined in order to correctly categorise
the content and conduct the content analysis accordingly. (Du Plooy: 2009)
Data quantification, data presentation in numerical form, and calculations based
on the gathered data using statistical methods are all components of quantitative
research. Deductive reasoning is used when addressing the theoretical framework or
presuppositions of a research investigation (Du Plooy, 2009: 80-90). The researcher
will assess the hypotheses derived from the research study and offer this in the form
of a data analysis. The researcher will use qualitative data analysis to identify and
examine the data relating to theories, narratives and tone identified in the news
P a g e 4 | 23
