Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Chapter 11: Quantitative Understanding of Content:
Content Analysis
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. ______-oriented individuals focus on the group’s work.
a. Task
b. Group
c. Self
d. Content
2. ______ -oriented individuals work to ensure that the group remains cohesive.
a. Task
b. Group
c. Self
d. Content
3. ______ is the process of examining a word in its context and assigning it the
most appropriate out of several possible meanings.
a. Stemming
b. Stopping
c. Lemitization
d. Disambiguation
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
4. ______ are high-frequency words such as pronouns and prepositions.
a. Stem words
b. Stop words
c. Lemitization
d. Disambiguation
5. Most content analysts would describe content analysis as ______.
a. qualitative, systematic, and objective
b. quantitative, random, and subjective
c. qualitative, systematic, and objective
d. quantitative, systematic, and objective
6. Procedures for content analysis should be ______.
a. implicit, qualitative, and replicable
b. explicit, qualitative, and replicable
c. explicit, quantitative, and replicable
d. implicit, qualitative, and nonreplicable
7. Three traditional categories of group behavior are ______.
a. narrative-oriented, group-oriented, and self-centered
b. task-oriented, group-oriented, and self-centered
c. group-oriented, self-centered, and power-oriented
d. narrative-oriented, task-oriented, and self-centered
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
8. Which of the following is TRUE of content analysis?
a. Human subjects are involved.
b. It does not address questions of content.
c. It is unobtrusive.
d. It is not useful for comparisons.
9. Interaction analysis seeks to understand how ______.
a. content analysts interact with content
b. readers interact with written content
c. movie viewers interact with movie content
d. members of a group interact with each other
10. ______ in content analysis can be problematic in terms of relating its findings
to the external world.
a. Analysis
b. Control
c. Reliability
d. Validity
11. Developing a ______ means developing a classification system or categories
into which each sampled unit can be placed.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
a. coding plan
b. analysis scheme
c. analysis plan
d. coding scheme
12. Data ______ is necessary to detect any patterns in the raw data and to make
any such patterns comprehensible to readers.
a. removal
b. reduction
c. control
d. description
13. A(n) ______ is software written to access web-based software such as social
media platforms.
a. API
b. URL
c. ARL
d. UPI
14. In content analysis shorthand, KWIC means ______.
a. key words in context
b. key words in content
c. knowledge words in context
d. knowledge words in content
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
15. Which of the following is not a step in content analysis?
a. interview the content author or producer
b. develop a research question about communication content
c. define the content to be analyzed
d. select units for coding
16. Which one of the following questions is content analysis unable to answer?
a. Have representations of women in industry changed over time?
b. Does the level of violence depicted on cable television differ from that depicted
on network television?
c. What occupations do minority characters mostly play in television comedies?
d. Does violent television content cause insensitivity to violence?
17. The first step in content analysis is ______.
a. develop a hypothesis or research question about the content
b. define the content to be analyzed
c. sample the universe of content
d. select units for coding
True/False
1. To establish a defensible content analysis coding scheme, there must be a
system or category in which each unit can be placed.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
2. Manifest means tangible and observable.
3. Content analysis can be applied to magazines and newspapers only.
4. Content analysis can be used for analyzing visual content.
5. Content analysis is a quantitative technique for describing the content of
communications.
6. “How many violent acts occur on Game of Thrones?” is a question that content
analysis can answer.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
7. Defining the unit of analysis to be analyzed is the last step in content analysis.
8. Two ground rules for content analysis are that categories must overlap and all
units can be coded twice.
9. Content analysis is a qualitative, systematic, and subjective technique for
describing the manifest content of communications.
10. Manifest in content analysis means counting what is abstract.
11. Latent in content analysis means counting what is abstract.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
12. Content analysis data can be analyzed statistically.
13. Typically, human-subjects research approvals are not required for content
analysis.
14. In content analysis, physical units cannot be operationalized.
15. Developing an analysis scheme means developing a classification system or
categories into which each sampled unit can be placed.
16. Cloud storage sites offer web-based storage for web and other content.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
17. Filler words are high-frequency words such as pronouns and prepositions.
18. Disambiguation is the process of examining a word in its context and
assigning it the most appropriate out of several possible meanings.
19. If individuals coding content disagree on their coding, we can be confident
that the coding criteria are clear.
20. Content analysis can be used to analyze the behavior of individuals as well
as analyzing texts.
21. Content analysis can be done using computer software.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
22. Intercoder reliability allows us to determine the degree to which content
analysis coders are in agreement.
23. Content analysis cannot be used in such areas as small group
communication and intercultural communication.
24. Data reduction is important to detect patterns in raw data.
25. Stemming is the process of changing all variations of a word to its stem. For
example, fish, fishing, and fisherman could all be stemmed to fish.
26. Lemmatization groups words together based on their dictionary definition.
27. The first step to a content analysis is developing a research question or
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
hypothesis.
Essay
1. Explain the challenges with both validity and reliability in content analysis.
2. Content analysis is described as being quantitative, systematic, and objective.
Explain what is meant by each of these terms.
3. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of content analysis as a way of
describing and understanding media content.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
4. Describe and explain, with examples, the steps involved in a content analysis
study.
5. Write a brief outline of a content analysis study in a topic area that interests
you and show the coding scheme you would use to code the content you would
be examining.
6. Outline how you would do a content analysis study aimed at exploring political
bias in a student newspaper.
7. Develop and explain a coding sheet you would use to analyze the use of
persuasive appeals in consumer advertising for a product of your choice.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Difficulty Level: Hard
8. Outline a content analysis study you would do aimed at exploring the
proportion of news to opinion in television newscasts.
9. Outline how you would do a content analysis study aimed at describing the
portrayal of minority groups in magazine advertising.
10. Explain the difference between manifest and latent content.
11. How does content analyzing texts differ from analyzing human behaviors?
12. Explain potential issues with using content-analysis software.
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
13. Why is it necessary to start content analysis with a specific research question
or hypothesis?
14. How does interaction analysis function to understand communication
between members of a group?
15. What are advantages of using content analysis software?
Instructor Resource
Treadwell and Davis, Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
16. What is the purpose of data reduction in content analysis?