Essay for communication class

Report: Career Images(Content Analysis) SLO 1 + 2, 3

Definition of CONTENT ANALYSIS:  analysis of the manifest and latent content of a body of communicated material (as a book or film) through a classification, tabulation, and evaluation of its key symbols and themes in order to ascertain its meaning and probable effect (www.merriam-webster.com). For more info read Content Analysis: Understanding Society Through Cultural Artifacts, http://sociology.about.com/od/Research/a/Content-Analysis.htm

How is your profession portrayed in the media? You’ll use Internet images to explore this question. Use the Google Image search engine (or Chrome, Bing, etc.) to find images of your future career. Use the job title for your career field, for example: physical therapist. First look at and “count” images “before-the-scroll,” then look at and “count” images “after-the-scroll” – approximately 25 to 30 images total. (Terms before-the-scroll and after-the-scroll will be explained in class.)

Create your own coding sheet to tally your counts. Use the factors below. Count each factor in the images observed and record the “raw” numbers. Then calculate the percentages for each item – percentages allow for easier comparison (analysis and interpretation/“meaning”). You may also want to rank order factors to give them more meaning.

Count the following factors:

Demographics

   Gender:  Male, Female, unknown (for animals, aliens, etc. list gender implied)

   Age: Infant, Child, Teenager, Young Adult, Middle-aged Adult, Senior Adult

   Race/Ethnicity: White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, _________/other terms

   Occupation/Role: Note connection between role (job title, status) and other demographic items, plus nonverbal cues.

Non-verbal Cues

   Smiling, not smiling

   Eye contact/Direction of Vision

   Positions (standing, sitting, in foreground, in background):

   Props                                                                                                                Verbal Cues

   Symbols                                                                                                             Words

   Colors

   Situation/Place

   Photo, Clip Art

Looking at your data, what messages do you think the images communicate about your profession? How accurate are the messages? For example: What are the actual percentages of males and females in your profession, compared to the percentages in the images you observed for this assignment? Search the Internet for data on actual percentages regarding some of the factors that you observed for this assignment. (Comparing and contrasting data is a common method of analysis and demonstrates critical thinking.) You can find actual data for your career field at http://www.bls.gov/ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Professional Associations for your career field and online articles from journals and trade magazines are other sources for current demographic data about your career field.

Now, to practice your ability “to communication meaningfully…through…written…numeric, graphic, and visual modes” compose  a 2 to 4 page report (typed, single-spaced) describing the findings from your content analysis of career images, plus your interpretations of the data. Use a standard format of Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. (Write the body first, the conclusion second, and the introduction last. It is much easier to write an interesting and appropriate introduction after you know what is said in your report. Remember to write and re-write and re-rewrite. ) List your references at the end of the report; include the web address of the images you viewed and any websites you used to find comparison data.

Summarize the data, including percentages and explain your interpretations of the data. Add at least one chart or graph to illustrate the data. (Instructions for creating and inserting a chart or graph in a Word document will be given in class.)

Add at least one visual image to your report – it can be one of the images you observed or it can be an image that you think more accurately depicts your career field. Be sure to include any observations (insights, findings) that surprised you. Being surprised indicates that you’ve discovered something that did not match your prior knowledge and also helps to reveal your assumptions. The assumptions we make affect our reasoning (critical thinking and problem-solving), so it is important to be able to identify our assumptions. You know you’ve learned  something when you’ve been surprised.