Content analysis: Canadian newspaper coverage of homelessness

Abstract

The printed media are an influential voice for informing the society, framing opinions and drawing attention to homelessness issues. The crucial players in the development of health public policy are influenced by the media. These include policy makers, policy influencers, the public whose opinion will ultimately affect the adoption of policies, and health and social service professionals and media personnel who influence both policy makers’ and the public's understanding of and attitude toward homelessness. Thus, it is important that we research how homelessness is framed in media to understand how it is addressed by political decisions. This case study reflects on the methodological processes and challenges of a study that documents and analyzes the printed news media's interest in homelessness in six Canadian newspapers over a 20-year period. This case study addresses media analysis processes such as criteria to sample the newspapers, process to ensure a representative sample, development of coding system, training of coders, process to ensure reliable and valid data, usefulness of variables collected, and data analyses. We provide practical recommendations for students who are interested in applying this method in their own research.