Chapter Outlines for:

Frey, L., Botan, C., & Kreps, G. (1999). Investigating communication: An introduction to research

methods. (2nd ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Chapter 9: Textual Analysis

I. Introduction

A. Textual analysis is the method communication researchers use to describe and interpret

the characteristics of a recorded or visual message.

1. The purpose of textual analysis is to describe the content, structure, and functions of the

messages contained in texts.

2. The important considerations in textual analysis include selecting the types of texts to be

studied, acquiring appropriate texts, and determining which particular approach to employ

in analyzing them.

3. There are two general categories of texts:

a. Transcripts of communication (verbatim recordings)

b. Outputs of communication (messages produced by communicators)

4. In terms of acquiring texts, outputs of communication are more readily available than

transcripts.

a. Archival communication research involves examining the communication embedded in

existing records of human behavior kept in archives.

b. Acquisition of texts is important as is the representativeness of the texts selected since

sampling is typically used.

c. Another issue is determining how complete and accurate the texts are in order to conduct

a sound analysis.

II. Approaches to Textual Analysis

A. There are four major approaches to textual analysis: rhetorical criticism, content analysis,

interaction analysis, and performance studies.

B. Rhetorical Criticism

1. The terms, rhetoric and criticism, conjure up interesting images.

a. Rhetoric often carries negative connotations, such as when it is applied to grand,

eloquent, bombastic, or verbose discourse.

b. Andrews believes that criticism is typically associated with tearing down or denigrating

comments; despite its function as constructive advice.

c. For scholars, the word rhetoric is associated with Aristotle’s definition: “the available

means of persuasion” and criticism is the “systematic process of illuminating and

evaluating products of human activity” (Andrews, 1983, p. 4).

2. Rhetorical Criticism, therefore, is a systematic method for describing, analyzing,

interpreting, and evaluating the persuasive force of messages embedded within texts.

3. The process serves five important functions (Andrews, 1983) including:

a. sheds light on the purposes of a persuasive message

b. can aid in understanding historical, social, and cultural contexts

c. can be used as a form of social criticism to evaluate society

d. can contribute to theory building by showing how theories apply to persuasive

discourse

e. serves a pedagogical function by teaching people how persuasion works and what

constitutes effective persuasion.

4. Classical rhetoric examined the characteristics and effect of persuasive public speaking

during the Greek and Roman civilizations.

5. Contemporary rhetoric has expanded to incorporate a wide range of philosophical,

theoretical, and methodological perspectives that are used to study the persuasive

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Chapter Outlines for: Frey, L., Botan, C., & Kreps, G. (1999). Investigating communication: An introduction to research methods. (2nd ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Chapter 9: Textual Analysis

I. Introduction

A. Textual analysis is the method communication researchers use to describe and interpret the characteristics of a recorded or visual message.

The purpose of textual analysis is to describe the content, structure, and functions of the messages contained in texts.
The important considerations in textual analysis include selecting the types of texts to be studied, acquiring appropriate texts, and determining which particular approach to employ in analyzing them.
There are two general categories of texts: a. Transcripts of communication (verbatim recordings) b. Outputs of communication (messages produced by communicators)
In terms of acquiring texts, outputs of communication are more readily available than transcripts. a. Archival communication research involves examining the communication embedded in existing records of human behavior kept in archives. b. Acquisition of texts is important as is the representativeness of the texts selected since sampling is typically used. c. Another issue is determining how complete and accurate the texts are in order to conduct a sound analysis. II. Approaches to Textual Analysis A. There are four major approaches to textual analysis: rhetorical criticism, content analysis, interaction analysis, and performance studies. B. Rhetorical Criticism
The terms, rhetoric and criticism , conjure up interesting images. a. Rhetoric often carries negative connotations, such as when it is applied to grand, eloquent, bombastic, or verbose discourse. b. Andrews believes that criticism is typically associated with tearing down or denigrating comments; despite its function as constructive advice. c. For scholars, the word rhetoric is associated with Aristotle’s definition: “the available means of persuasion” and criticism is the “systematic process of illuminating and evaluating products of human activity” (Andrews, 1983, p. 4).
Rhetorical Criticism , therefore, is a systematic method for describing, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating the persuasive force of messages embedded within texts.
The process serves five important functions (Andrews, 1983) including: a. sheds light on the purposes of a persuasive message b. can aid in understanding historical, social, and cultural contexts c. can be used as a form of social criticism to evaluate society d. can contribute to theory building by showing how theories apply to persuasive discourse e. serves a pedagogical function by teaching people how persuasion works and what constitutes effective persuasion.
Classical rhetoric examined the characteristics and effect of persuasive public speaking during the Greek and Roman civilizations.
Contemporary rhetoric has expanded to incorporate a wide range of philosophical, theoretical, and methodological perspectives that are used to study the persuasive

impact of many different types of texts and messages.

There are four steps to conducting rhetorical criticism a. Choosing a text(s) to study b. Choosing a specific type of rhetorical criticism c. Analyzing the text(s) according to the method chosen d. Writing the critical essay
There are several types of rhetorical criticism and they may be used to answer a wide range of questions including: a. What is the relationship between a text and its context? b. How does a text construct reality for an audience? c. What does a text suggest about the rhetor? i. Historical Criticism examines how important past events shape and are shaped by rhetorical messages. Researchers go beyond merely describing and recreating past events from documents to evaluate the reasons why the past events occurred as they did. ii. Oral Histories investigate spoken, as opposed to written, accounts of personal experiences to understand more fully what happened in the past. iii. Historical Case Studies examine texts related to a single, salient historical to understand the role played by communication. iv. Biographical Studies examine public and private texts of prominent, influential, or otherwise remarkable individuals. They analyze how the messages used by these individuals helped them to accomplish what they did. v. Social Movement Studies examine persuasive strategies used to influence the historical development of specific campaigns and causes. vi. Neo-Aristotelian Criticism evaluated whether the most appropriate and effective means, as articulated in the specific set of criteria given in Aristotle’s Rhetoric , were used to create the rhetorical text(s) intended to influence a particular audience. vii. Genre Criticism rejects using a single set of criteria to evaluate all persuasive messages, arguing instead, that standards vary according to the particular type, or genre of text being studied. (a) Forensic Rhetoric deals with the past and concerns issued involving legality and justice. (b) Epideictic rhetoric concerns the present and is ceremonial. © Deliberative rhetoric speaks to the future and involves political oratory. viii. Dramatistic Criticism primarily analyzes texts according to philosopher Kenneth Burke’s view that all communication can be seen in terms of five essential elements that comprise a dramatic event. (a) Act: A particular message produced by a communicator. (b) Purpose: The reason for the message. (c) Agent: The person who communicated the message. (d) Agency: The medium used to express the message (e) Pentadic Analysis, as it is called, uses these five elements to isolate essential characteristics of and differences between symbolic acts. ix. Metaphoric Criticism assumes that we can never know reality directly. x. Narrative Criticism assumes that many (or all) persuasive messages function as narratives—storied, accounts, or tales. xi. Fantasy Theme Analysis , based on the work of Ernest Bormann, examines the common images used to portray narrative elements of situations described in a text. Fantasy themes are mythic stories present in communication that involve characters with which people identify. xii. Feminist Criticism analyzes how conceptions of gender are produced and maintained in persuasive messages.

b. The effects of sociodemographic characteristics, such as gender or race c. Personality traits, such as affective orientation (the tendency to use one’s emotions as guiding information) d. Anxiety e. Attachment style (the type and quality of relationship one wants to share with another) f. Attributional confidence (confidence in the ability to predict other people’s feelings and behavior g. Cognitive complexity (the degree of differentiation, articulation, and integration within a cognitive system) h. Defensiveness; depression; extroversion; empathic ability i. Locus of control (degree to which people versus the environment are held accountable for enacted behavior) j. Loneliness; need for privacy k. Self-efficacy (degree of confidence people have in being able to attain goals) l. Self-esteem m. Self-monitoring (the extent to which people pay attention to their verbal and nonverbal behaviors) n. Tolerance for disagreement.

Conducting Interaction Analysis: Conducting interaction analysis involves two general tasks: Obtaining a sample of interaction, and analyzing that sample. a. In gathering a sample of interaction , researchers make choices that affect both the type and the quality of the data obtained, including the type of interactional data required, the desired location of the interaction, and the appropriate means for gathering the data. i. Type: Will it be any interaction or a specific interaction? natural and unstructured or structured? Real or hypothetical? ii. Location: Will it be in a laboratory, in interactants’ homes or offices, or in some publicly accessible place. iii. Means for gathering data: Audiotaping, videotaping, observational notes taken by researchers and questionnaires answered by respondents. b. Analyzing the sample of interaction: Specific analysis depends on whether the goal is to describe interaction or relate it to other variables. It also depends on the form the data take. D. Performance Studies : “the process of dialogic engagement with one’s own and others’ aesthetic communication through the means of performance.”
Researchers interpret texts as a method of inquiry that enables them and audiences of performances to interpret the aesthetic richness of those texts.
There are six steps in generating and reporting insights in performance studies. a. Selecting: Identifying the communication act or text they wish to examine b. Playing: Trying on different vocal and bodily behaviors c. Testing: Establishes the range of legitimate understandings d. Choosing: Question of selecting those valid interpretations to isolate one possible understanding to pursue. i. Sets in motion a performance vision , a reading that the performance researcher attempts to enact. e. Repeating: Sets and refines the researchers chosen interpretation. f. Presenting: Report of what has been discovered through public performance; puts on a display for others’ consideration what the performance researcher has come to understand. III. Conclusion A. A famous industrialist once said, “a person’s language, as a rule, is an index of his or her mind.” This suggests that examining word choices can provide insights into people’

characters. B. The essence of this message is also a basic premise of textual analysts. Their mission is understanding how people think, and consequently act, by studying patterns displayed in their discourse, broadly defined.

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Chapter 9: Textual Analysis