Gender Issues in Advertising--An Oversight Synthesis of Research: 1970-2002

Wolin, Lori D. 2003. "Gender Issues in Advertising--An Oversight Synthesis of Research: 1970-2002." Journal of Advertising Research 43, no. 1: 111-129.

This article delves into advertising research performed over a thirty-two year span. Lori Wolin discusses the gender issues found in advertising, focusing on topics such as gender brand positioning, gender differences among responses to advertising, and gender role stereotyping. Her analysis leads her to the conclusion that advertisement stereotyping has decreased and realism has improved. She also discovered differences between the ways in which males and females process advertisements.

The article encompasses so many studies that could serve as a basis for my own research into televised advertisements. Wolin gives an in depth, easy to follow, analysis of gender issues found in the various advertising mediums. I also appreciate her use of tables. They serve as an organized summary of studies performed over the years. She included information such as the name, subject content, and findings of numerous research studies, dividing these studies by type and method of analysis.

Coding Choices for Textual Analysis: A Comparison of Content Analysis and Map Analysis

Carley, Kathleen. 1993. Coding choices for textual analysis: A comparison of content analysis and map analysis. Sociological Methodology 23: 75-126

In this article, Kathleen Carley discusses the importance of textual analysis to social science research. She discusses the limitations of textual analysis techniques, claiming many to be time-consuming, costly, and non-generalizable. Carley compares and contrasts content analysis and map analysis, while offering coding scheme choices and guidelines to be used in each.

Both content analysis and map analysis have their advantages and disadvantages. Content analysis can be automated, but it may not reveal differences in meanings between texts. Map analysis, however, is more difficult to automate, but it does allow for a deeper understanding as it focuses on the relationships between concepts and the meaning of texts. This process helps researchers to see patterns and differences graphically and statistically.

I found this article helpful and it definitely gave me a better understanding of textual analysis. Carley was very detailed in her explanations of the two processes and of coding and classification schemes. She discussed certain attributes researchers should look for in their analysis, and used plenty real-life examples and illustrations to make her point.

Textual Analysis in Advertising Research: Construction and Deconstruction of Meanings

Stern, Barbara B. 1996. Textual analysis in advertising research: Construction and deconstruction of meanings. Journal of Advertising 25, no. 3: 61-73

Barbara Stern argues that textual analysis is a beneficial approach to understanding the meaning of advertisements, consumer effect, and marketing communications. She believes this process of analysis should involve three steps: identification of textual elements, construction of meaning, and deconstruction of meaning. Identification is the process of “naming the literary attributes” of the advertisements. These attributes include language, poetic devices, and metaphors. Construction involves categorizing the attributes into types or genres, and deconstruction uncovers consumers’ cultural assumptions of these attributes.

The article begins with a discussion on the history and evolution of advertising research. Stern examines the limitations of previous theory and argues that advertising research was “stuck in modernism” and neglected deconstruction in analysis. The article then becomes a sort of “how-to” manual, as she explains how to perform her method of textual analysis.

Although this article is dated, I find the information to be beneficial. I think it is important to know the history behind any topic of study. It allows for a deeper understanding. The article can also be used as a guide to textual analysis. I believe the in-depth explanations of her theory will be useful to my own textual analysis research.