Up A Brief Quiz Traditional Criticism

Chapter 6

Conducting Textual and
Content Analyses

A Brief Quiz

Traditional Criticism Checksheet

 

Outline

Concepts

I.  Analysis of Message
    Qualities

 nomothetic research: studies designed to find general laws that apply to many instances
idiographic research: studies designed to develop a full understanding of a particular event or individual
    A.  What are Data in
          Textual and
          Content Analysis?
    B.  When Do We
          Complete Textual
          Criticism and
          Content Analysis?
          --problem
             questions inviting
             qualitative/critical
             methods:
             characteristics
             of the message
             that contributed
             to its level of
             effectiveness;
             reasons for the
             impact of the
             message;
             whether
             the message
             measures up to
             standards of
             excellence
          --problem
             questions
             inviting content
             analysis, inter-
             actional and rela-
             tional dominance
             analysis:
             comparisons of
             messages,
             message flow or
             dominance from
             different sources;
             comparisons of
             message content
             with real life; the
             image of specific
             groups of people
             in society;
             changing uses of
             messages by
             different people
             or groups		 text: the actual messages or words of a communicator
II.  Qualitative Analysis:
    Critical Studies of Texts
    --steps of criticism: (1)
      standards of
      excellence are
      presented; (2) data
      are described and
      applied against
      standards; (3) the
      degree to which the
      data meet or fall short
      of the standards is
      described
   		 rhetorical criticism: the use of standards of excellence to interpret and evaluate communication
--rhetoric: the study of
   the available means
   of persuasion
criticism: standards of excellence are stated for application; to the extent that a message meets the standards, it is evaluated positively
impressionistic criticism: statements of opinion (or personal impression) made by reviewers
--determining
   authorship:
   reliance on external
   reports and
   comparisons of
   messages with
   other communication
--determining textual
   authenticity: if the
   original work exists,
   comparisons can be
   made with it;  if
   recordings of the
   event exist,
   comparisons can
   be made with them;
   comparisons of all
   texts (using
   "conjectural
   emendation" in which
   scholars explain
   which interpretation
   is most reasonable
   and thus should be
   accepted
    A.  Neo-Aristotelian
         Criticism
          --limitation: the
            method may be
            difficult to apply
            to messages
            relying chiefly
            on extralogical
            strategies		 neo-Aristotelian criticism: criticism making a new use of Aristotelian standards
canons:
   invention: the types
   and sources of ideas
   --ethos: (ethical
     appeals) the
     speaker's credibility
   --pathos: (pathetic
     appeals) the use of
     emotional or
     motivational
     appeals
   --logos: logical
     appeals, including
     the evidence and
     reasoning
arrangement: organization of ideas
style: the choice and use of words
delivery: the nonverbal cues used by communicators when presenting messages
memory: the speaker's ability to recall passages and examples for utterance (a canon not typically covered in modern criticism)
    B.  Burke's Dramatistic
         Criticism Method
          --limitation:
            messages are
            judged largely
            based on their
            effects; may be
            difficult to
            replicate		 identification: the uniting of people by use of shared ideas, images, and attitudes
dramatistic pentad:
act: the symbolic action (the speech, for instance) that actually is exchanged
scene: the setting in which the act takes place
agent: the communicator who performs the act
agency: the symbolic and linguistic strategies used to secure identification
purpose: the intention of the communicator
    C.  The Never Ending
          Development of
          Methods
          --comparisons
             with religious
             models
          --creative
             analogies

 

 

 

 

 narrative paradigm: analysis of messages by looking at them as stories
probability: stories that appear to be likely
narrative fidelity: the consistency of new accounts with other stories people have heard
mythic perspective: criticism by examination of the underlying stories to which speakers appeal (myth: a story about a particular incident which is put forward as containing or suggesting some general truth)
fantasy theme analysis: a method of analyzing collections of communication to determine underlying world views that people hold, judging by the messages that they use
fantasy: images or rhetorical visions of the way the world is organized
III. Quantitative Analysis:
    Content Analysis,
    Interaction and
    Relational Analyses
    A. Content Analysis
         1.  Uses of
              Content
              Analysis:
              a. character-
                   ize com-
                   munication
              b. study in
                   traditional
                   and non-
                   traditional
                   settings
          2.  How to Do
               Content
               Analysis
               steps:
               a. define and
                    limit the
                    communi-
                    cation
                    population
                    to be studied
               b.  select coding
                    units and
                    classification
                    systems for
                    study
                    --requirements:
                      exhaustive
                      classifications;
                      mutually
                      exclusive
                      categories;
                      use of coding
                      rules for
                      placing
                      objects in
                      categories
                c.   sample
                       messages  		  

 

content analysis: a systematic method to analyze the content and treatment of communications
                       --methods
                          for
                         sampling:		 random: every instance in the population has an equal chance of being selected;
stratification: strata are identified and a random sample within each stratum is proportionately selected;
interval: instances of communication at specific units in time;
cluster: groups of messages appear in a cluster that already exists multistage: instances selected sequentially
                d.   code
                     message
                     content
                     --reliability
                        must be
                        shown;
                     --training of
                        coders must
                        be
                        completed
                 e.   analyze data
                      statistically
                  f.   interpret
                      results
            3.  Limitations of the
                 Approach:
                 cannot draw
                 cause-effect
                 conclusions;
                 difficult to find
                 representative
                 samples; cannot
                 generalize to
                 other categories
                 of content
                 analysis
     --conversational and
        discourse analysis		 conversational and discourse analysis: forms non-numerical methods of analyzing the functions performed in conversations
--conversational analysis:
   a method that identifies
   turns taken by people
   during exchanges;
--utterance: the message
   a person actually
   exchanges in a
   conversation
--discourse analysis: a
   method that considers
   naturally occurring
   messages to examine
   sequential and
   hierarchical
   organization, system,
   and structure using
   methods that are
   fairly standard in
   phonology and
   linguistics
    B.  Interaction and
         Relational Analyses		 interaction and relational analyses: forms of content analysis designed to describe the continuing oral communication between people; these methods apply categories to conversations and discussions to find out how people affect and control each other
         1. Interaction
             Analysis		 interaction analysis: a method focusing on ways of tracking individual acts of communicators
--interacts: one person's
   conversation and the
   reaction of another
--double interacts: an
   interact followed by
   the first person's
   response to the
   other person's
   reaction
          2. Relational
              Control Analysis		 relational control analysis: a method that tracks message sequences to determine the relative patterns of position and control in the relationship
          3. Using Interaction
               and Relational
               Control Analysis
               a. decide on a
                   coding system
               b. train coders
               c. gather samples
               d. code message
                   content
               e. analyze and
                    interpret
                    message
                    content
          4.  Limitations of
                the Approach
                --may not be
                   useful to
                   assess
                   perceptions
                   or interpreta-
                   tions of
                   individuals;
                   cannot draw
                   conclusions
                   about cause
                   and effect
                   relationships