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Content Analysis and the Theory of Signs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2022

Abraham Kaplan
Abraham Kaplan*
Affiliation:
The Library of Congress
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Extract

During the past decade or two the influence of theories of language and meaning has made itself felt in almost every field of study, either because, as in the case of psychology and the social sciences, meaning phenomena were part of the subject matter, or because, as in the case of physics and philosophy, the language used in the study demanded analysis and clarification. In recent years there has been (and is being) developed, especially by H. D. Lasswell and his associates, a technique known as content analysis, which attempts to characterize the meanings in a given body of discourse in a systematic and quantitative fashion.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , October 1943 , pp. 230 - 247
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association 1943

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References

Selected References

Papers on the theory of signs are altogether omitted here, as the standard introductory materials have often been listed. Also omitted are references on the theory of propaganda and public opinion (except one or two items especially important for content analysis), and specific content analyses without explicit bearing on the general procedures.Google Scholar
(1) Janis, I. L., and Fadner, R. H., “A Coefficient of Imbalance for Content Analysis”, Experimental Division for the Study of War Time Communications, Document No. 31, Library of Congress, 1942.Google Scholar
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(3) Kingsbury, S. M., Hart, H., et al., Newspapers and News, Putnams, 1937.Google Scholar
(4) Lasswell, H. D., “Analyzing the Content of Mass Communication: A Brief Introduction”, Experimental Division, op. cit., Document No. 11.Google Scholar
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