ImpacTeen Research Papers
Coding the News: The Development of a Methodological Framework for Coding and Analyzing Newspaper Coverage of Tobacco Issues
Clegg Smith K, Wakefield M, Siebel C, Szczypka G, Slater S, Terry-McElrath Y, Emery S, Chaloupka FJ.
Previous research has demonstrated that analyses of press coverage of public health issues have important contributions to make to the improvement of media advocacy efforts as these related to public health. Various methodological approaches have been used, ranging from studies that map levels of coverage across regions and time in a very quantitative way to more deeply focused qualitative discourse analyses of the editorial positions taken on particular issues. These alternative approaches provide different kinds of data, and expand knowledge in different ways. In this paper, we describe the evolution of a research project that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative approaches to the analysis of newspaper coverage of tobacco issues throughout the US. Our methodology is intended to capture some of the depth of understanding and sensitivity of qualitative approaches while maintaining the generalizability and power offered by more quantitative methods.
Research Paper (PDF – 392KB)
