Content analysis across new media platforms: Methodological considerations for capturing media-rich data

Abstract

Content analyses sway policy by describing the prevalence of mass media messages and implying effects. However, content-based research focusing ondynamic new media products such as websites, mobile applications, and video games presents methodological challenges. Our team recently conducted a large-scale content analysis exploring food marketing to children across media platforms, in which we captured and analyzed a variety of media-rich content. We consulted multiple sources to form our sampling frame, employed a complex sampling technique to allow for generalization of findings, used screen-capture software to record our exploration of media products, analyzed data using video coding software, and created a custom scale to determine the target audience of certain media products. We believe the steps we have taken may provide valuable insights into aspiring content analysts interested in studying media-rich content and address challenges that have been plaguing content analysts for the past two decades.