Strengths and Weaknesses of my Methods

I am really excited about the progress that I have made over this time. We just turned in our methods assignment and I feel like I have a good grasp on the steps I have to take to make this project happen. 

I feel really good on choosing a coded content analysis. First of all, I chose a content analysis versus other methods like a thematic analysis because I know what I want to find in movies, it is a matter of tabulating them. Other methods are more exploratory and find general trends in the movies. 

Luckily, I already have some sources that outline the things that I will need to code for, so I have a strong basis to start my research. I will then be able to make my own coding chart and improvements on the previous methods. To make improvements, I plan on turning one of the source’s questions that they answered into statements that I can more accurately code for. I plan on creating two separate coding sheets: one for gender and one for family. This means I will be coding each movie at least twice. So, I am comfortable creating the coding sheet and justifying why I am using those things. 

However, I am still shaky on defining things like when to code. For example, one source I read talked about if the scene changed it would code for a certain behavior but what if it focuses on one character then changes to another character and back to the original character? Do I code for the behavior once or twice? So it is little ambiguities that I think I will have to define in the paper (or if they are very minute I guess in my head and stay consistent in my coding). Also, I think if I code the movies more than once, I can account for these small ambiguities. 

Another factor I am unsure about is the movies that I will be watching. I originally found a source that said the 1970s was the decade the modern idea of family was solidified. But, then I realized this date coincides with Dorfman’s publication, which I am trying to say is outdated. For this reason, I am wondering if this is a contradiction or an interesting aspect that I can analyze and discuss? I do not want to arbitrarily pick the last decade, but I am also concerned about how many movies I will have to analyze. 

The Aftermath

Since it has been a while on the blog, I'll do a recap of where my project is right now and what I am researching. We just finished our literature reviews, which included my central research question, "are the Marxist definitions of familial interactions and gender distinctions represented in the family units of modern Walt Disney Studios feature-length animated films?" To answer this question, I will be looking at authority within family interactions, and how gender markers affect those interactions.

I feel like I learned a lot from writing the Literature Reviews. And it was one of those processes that now that it is mostly finalized I feel like it wasn't that bad, but we all know it was a tough assignment. I am relieved that it is done though because I feel like it helped me focus my research a lot more. Making all the connections in the lit review, made the goal of my research a lot more clear.

My first draft of the literature review was rough, mostly because I focused on getting everything in it, but not enough on making it clear. I found the critiques and comments extremely helpful in order to improve. I focused a lot on making more connections between the claims and levels of my argument throughout my literature review, which made me really think about the direction my research is going. Now, I really can see how the steps of researching are so connected because I would have to add research and think about my methods and there is still a ways to go.

Overall I am excited about my project. I already have a majority of the sources I need for the methods assignment since I looked at different content analyses to understand the academic conversation. I think the analysis of these will be more straightforward for my project. I already have some critiques of each study but will have to go through them again specifically looking at the methods part. 

The main thing I am worried about for this assignment is trying to figure out my plan especially since I have two layers going on in my project: authority and gender. So, my struggle will be defining these two and making the connection and analysis clear. I am thinking of doing two separate sections for these “variables,” but I also want to see how gender plays into authoritative roles. But, I have time (and more reading) to figure the specifics out. 

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