(10,000 words) – by Jim Macnamara

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Media content analysis is a growing research methodology, used to study media portrayals of violence, gender, race and social issues and also to evaluate public relations campaigns. But media analysis is often done poorly with small samples, confusion over quantitative and qualitative approaches and an ongoing argument over whether studying media content really proves anything. This in-depth paper outlines the history, uses, key benefits and key methodological steps of content analysis and shows that it is an important non-intrusive research tool.