The Efficiency of Constructed Week Sampling for Content Analysis of Online News

In: Journalism & mass communication quarterly: JMCQ, Band 84, Heft 4, S. 811-824

Abstract

This article compares different sampling methods and sample sizes for content analyzing news on an online news aggregator. Consistent with previous research focusing on traditional media, constructed week sampling is more efficient than simple random sampling or consecutive day sampling. However, while a single constructed week allows reliable estimates of content in a population of six months of newspaper editions, at least two constructed weeks, and as many as five constructed weeks, are needed to accurately represent online news content gathered during the same period, depending on the type of variables being analyzed.