Finding Frames: Comparing Two Methods of Frame Analysis

Abstract

Detecting media frames has spawned a variety of methods, but very little has been done to investigate whether these methods provide comparable results. This article compares the results of two kinds of human coding framing analysis. The first is a method developed by Matthes and Kohring (2008) involving human coding of elements based on Entman’s (1993) definition of frames, and the second coding is based on an extracted set of frames. Cluster analysis of news articles on population published from 1987–2007 in the Philippines yielded an optimum number of three communities or frames that agree with the holistic predetermined frames. Results indicate support for the validity of both procedures. Methodological implications are further discussed.