Content Analysis AssignmentThis assignment will satisfy the information literacy component of this course. To qualify in the skill area of information literacy a course must:

1.Designate that at least 15% of the student’s grade in the course is based on an evaluation of information literacy.

2.Require students to evaluate the accuracy, authority, currency, objectivity, and reliability of information sources.

3.Require students to address the ethical and legal uses of information.There are two major components to this assignment. First, you must write an annotated bibliography related to your topic. Second, you will conduct your own Content Analysis.Writing an Annotated Bibliography (2 pages total)Each student must find 2 peer-reviewed articles or conference papers through the CSU library. It is suggested you use a specific research database such as Communication and Mass Media Complete. Make sure you use “Content Analysis” as a key term in addition to your interest area. This interest areashould be related to media effects such as “Violence in Wrestling” or “Sex in Video Games.” After finding two APPROPRIATE articles, each student will then create an annotated bibliography. Basically, this is a brief summary of the key findings of each article with proper APA citation. For more details, see the handout on Annotated Bibliographies and the handout on APA Style (See examples 10-16 and 22). The key to this assignmentis your use of the library resources. Your first search may not be the best and the first“hit” may not work for this assignment. Make sure the two articles use a content analysis, and are somewhat related to pat two of this assignment.Information literacy requires students to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.” The Association of College and Research Libraries (a division of the American Library Association) has written five standards for students to achieve this set of abilities. The information literate student should be able to do the following:

•Determine the type and extent of information needed

•Access the needed information effectively and efficiently

•Evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate information into his or her knowledge base

•Use the information to accomplish a specific purpose

.•Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and use the information ethically and legally.

Conducting Your Own Content Analysis3pages& a completedcoding sheet (4 pages total).Each student is to complete a content analysis of a mass medium of their choice (newspaper, television, radio, Internet, etc.). The sample for content analyzed must be comparable to at least twohoursof programming (5 television ½ hour episodes, 40 songs, 20 web pages, etc.). The student should focus on manifest content and select at least 2 variables that will allow them to code a minimum of 5categories. In the write up of thispaper eachstudent should begin by stating aresearch question. This should reflect their interest in the content and be specific enough to their sample.Next, the student should describe the population they selected. Remember, your population will be much smaller than traditional content analyses.Special attention should be given to the reasoning for their population selection and any randomization used. Then, the student should identify the variablesthey will be coding in their analysis. A clear operational definition of the variablesmust be presented in this section. Only after the variableshave been operationalized can the student describe the coding sheet.The most important section for this assignment will be creating categories for the analysis. With each category, the student should provide a rich description so that his or herstudy could be replicated by the instructor. Give enough detail in your description so that it is obvious what will count in each category and what will not. Remember to follow the guidelines for creating categories

1.Reflect the purpose of the research

2.Be exhaustive

3.Be mutually exclusive

4.Allow for independence*This should be done before conducting the actual analysis. This may require you to pre-test your population to develop all relevant categories. Combined,both of the variables must have a minimum of 5 categories (but most likely you will have more).The student should then create a coding sheet and conduct his or her content analysis. Provide the results of your coding sheet as the final page of this assignment. The paper should end with a results section. The student should describe the frequenciesfor each oftheir categories for each of his or hervariables.The student should combine categories and report interesting findings from cross-examination (i.e.justifiedviolence occurs more in dramasthan sit-coms). Then, the studentshould make some comparisons and describe their findings(without implications beyond the study