Theme 4: Quantitative research (before)

Zulfiya Tarazova

Theme 4: Quantitative research (before)

References: Robert M. Entman (1991) Framing U.S. Coverage of International News: Contrast in Narratives of the Kal and Air Incidents, Journal of communication, Vol 627, 1460-2466

The article of Robert Entman “Framing U.S. Coverage of International News: Contrast in Narratives of the Kal and Air Incidents” is a good example of the using of the quantitative methods.

The author uses frame analysis (also called framing analysis). It is a multi-disciplinary social science research method used to analyze how people understand situations and activities. Framing analysis is a kind of narrative type (content-) analysis, in which the researcher considers the text to identify the "framework" and to identify the journalist’s or media organization’s rhetoric. Methodology of frame analysis includes two types of sources (or instruments) - Reasoning devices and Framing devices. Frame analysis considers the main heroes of situation, keywords, which are used by journalists, the main reasons, which are described by authors (journalists).

On September 1, 1983, a Soviet fighter plane shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, killing its 269 passengers and crew. On July 3, 1988, a U.S. Navy ship, the Vincennes, shot down Iran Air Flight 655, killing its 290 passengers and crew. In both cases, military officials identified a passenger plane as a possibly hostile target; in both cases, the perpetrating nation’s officials claimed the shooting was justifiable under the circumstances.

In the study of Robert Entman we can see analysis of the two issues of “Time” and “Newsweek” following the KAL and Iran Air incidents, along with the “CBS Evening News”. The researcher considers keywords, illustrations, and graphics, which have depicted situation. He gives tables with a word counting, this data demonstrates how media through the using of words with different (positive and negative) meanings influences on the human’s opinion. According to Entman, “the frame emphasized the moral bankruptcy and guilt of the perpetrating nation. Also the frame deemphasized guilt and focused on the complex problems of operating military high technology”.

Entman compares framing with narrative analysis, he writes that frames are difficult to detect fully and reliably, because many of the framing devices can appear as “natural”, unremarkable choices of words or images.

I think that framing analysis includes a big data, in order to be objective researcher should gather and analyze a lot of recourses. About benefits of this method: statistics and tables help to see hole image about of situation. About problems of the study:  I guess definition of frame is a subjective process and sometimes it will be difficult to escape misleading.