Chapter specific application exercises will help you think about research design in practice or have you explore a relevant resource.

Exercise 1: Sampling

Review the content analysis study of vehicle campaign stickers outlined at the beginning of this chapter. List the fac­tors that might influence the composition of the sample. What problems can you identify with the sampling decisions made here?

Exercise 2: News Media Bias

Both ends of the political spectrum complain about biased reporting by the news media. Set out the basic elements of a content analysis project that would answer the question of whether a particular news medium is biased toward or against a political figure, government policy, or program. Identify the content you would sample from, the units of analysis, and the coding scheme you would use.
HINT: Visit the George Mason University Center for Media and Public Affairs website at www.cmpa.com.

Exercise 3: Stereotyping in Entertainment Media and Advertising

A criticism of advertising and entertainment media such as movies and television is the stereotyping of people by, for example, gender, ethnicity, occupation, or age. Pick one of these types—for example, occupational stereotyping—and outline a content analysis study that would test for the presence or absence of stereotyping. Define the content you would sample from, the units of analysis, and the coding scheme you would use. Note that for this exercise you will need some operational definition of stereotyping so that you can identify it and code it when you see it.

Exercise 4: Analyzing Online Harassment: Quantitatively 

A Pew Research Center Internet, Science & Tech Project (2014) study of online harassment asked respondents about six different forms of online harassment. The study also provides selected quotes about harassment from several of those surveyed at www.pewinternet.org/2014/10/22/online-harassment-experiences-in-their-ow.

Using the steps described and discussed in this chapter, do a quantitative analysis of selected quotes from the above website and report your conclusions. In Chapter 13, you will be invited to think about analyzing the same data qualitatively.

The full report, questionnaire, and respondent comments are available at www.pewinternet.org/2014/10/22/online-harassment (Duggan, 2014).