In writing the methodology it is about being short and to the point. What should be in the methodology ?

Data & Sampling Strategy
Here you state shortly what you intend to analyse (the data you intend to use) and what you intend to use it for. For instance:

‘To perform a media analysis, I opted for newspapers as sources for data analysis. More specifically I constructed a database of newspaper articles with the final aim to (research topic). The most successful keyword combination was X, generating in total Y articles in the final sample. ‘

Then, of course, you need to explain how you constructed the database. This is referred to as discussing your sampling strategy/ method. In the SO881 assessment, all the sampling stategies are forms of purposive sampling (non-probablity sampling). What this means is that instead of just asking the computer to select a random sample of newspaper articles, you used inclusion criteria –  specific characteristics that the articles must possess- and exclusion criteria – characteristics that deem a participant inappropriate for inclusion in the media analysis. These are, in fact, all the ways you used to narrow down your sample, such as: articles had …

• to be published maximum 10 days after the event
• to be published in only these two newspapers
• to be at least x- amount of words
• …

A possible way of wording this is:

 ‘To ensure the feasability of the project, a criterion sampling strategy (Patton, 2002, p. 238) included the following (number) of qualitative criteria.’

The Data Analysis
This is were you explain how you analysed the data. For instance:

‘The database was generated by coding each article by means of a coding frame or ‘protocol’ (Altheide, 1996, p. 50) of X variables, divided in X groups. The first group contains X variables which are related to the more formal qualities of a newspaper article ( keywords used, the newspaper type, language, etc). The coding of the second group of variables (X in total) contains those variables related to the more substantive content analysis …’

Providing an Overview of the Data
This is where you provide a summary table showing exactly what data you used. The aim is to present a table that summarizes some of the key features of your sample. If you only analysed text, this means providing an overview of the amount of articles (number and percentages) and the amount of words ( ∑= sum, % and X= average). All of this is easily done using your excell-database. In a second step, you discuss the table. Beneath you will find an example.

Watch the video HERE.

Example
Table X below presents the distribution of the articles over the different newspapers.

Table 5. Characteristics (Articles and Words) of the Six Newspapers in the BAG (Media) Database

Newspaper Name		n Articles	% Articles	∑ Words	% Words	X Words
Flemish	De Standaard	86	11	33044	12	384
(Dutch)	De Morgen	68	8.7	33287	12	490
	Het Laatste Nieuws	120	15.3	31135	11	259
	Het Nieuwsblad	124	15.9	38276	14	309
Walloon	Le Soir	121	15.5	59294	21	490
(French)	La Dernière Heure	263	33.6	81899	30	311
	Total	782	100	276935	100	354

^{* The newspapers in Italics are popular newspapers; the others are quality newspapers.}

In total I analysed X articles. The table above is already revealing in several ways. The group of the popular newspapers (in italics) reported significantly more – in terms of amount of articles – on Brussels black African gangs than the group of the quality newspapers. The share of the total coverage on black African gangs in popular newspapers (64.8%) almost doubles the share of the quality newspapers coverage (35.2%). The difference becomes however, smaller if one considers the amount of words written. Popular newspapers wrote 55% and quality newspapers wrote 45% of all the words on the subject. Considering the average amount of words per article and the amount of articles in the sample, it becomes clear that popular newspapers write more but shorter articles than quality newspapers do. This is a relevant finding in relation to the sampling procedure for the qualitative sample. To make a selection of the most important storytellers, one should not only consider the amount of articles but also the amount of words written. However, an even more substantial difference is found between the French-speaking and the Dutch-speaking journals. Despite the fact that only two French-speaking newspapers were included in the sample, their share of the total coverage is equal to that of the Dutch-speaking newspapers (the Dutch-speaking newspapers’ share covers 50.9% of the French-speaking’ share contains 49.1%). These findings suggest that the French-speaking print generates more articles and writes more words (51% of the total sum of words in the sample) about the Brussels black African gang scene than the Dutch-speaking press. However, another explanation could be that the French-speaking press is better informed about the black African gangs in Brussels and as such identifies more events as being gang-related. Another important finding is the remarkable prominence of articles on Black African gangs in only one source. The French-speaking popular newspaper La Dernière Heure yielded 33.6% of all newspaper coverage and 30% of all words on the topic.

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