SELECTING DAILY NEWSPAPERS FOR CONTENT ANALYSIS IN CHINA

Abstract

This study compares different sampling methods and sample sizes in the selection of daily newspapers in China for content analysis of the news. Results show that the method of constructed week sampling is more efficient than simple random sampling or consecutive day sampling, and a single constructed week allows reliable estimates of news content in a population of six months of newspaper editions even for highly volatile variables. The weekday-plus-Saturday constructed week sampling, an often-used sampling stratification approach in content analyses of Chinese daily newspapers, however, requires a larger sample size, depending on the types of variables being analyzed.

Keywords:

• Chinese daily newspaper
• comparative analysis
• constructed week
• content analysis
• newspaper sampling methods
• newspaper sample size