Semiotic Analysis And Qualitative Research

This literature review examines the dynamics of the two qualitative methods of research, semiotic analysis and ethnographic method. The interdependence of these two methods of research will be further spoken about in this essay. It shall further talk about how the two methods have an important role in shaping ‘media’ and ‘culture’ and how they contribute to the existing cultural production? Qualitative research is a sub-division of the methods used for conducting research; other being the quantitative type of research. The former type of research mentioned above is the kind of research which helps the researcher gain an in-depth knowledge on the desired subject being analysed. Over the years of conducting this type of a research, academia

Putting meaning into the text, so that the reader has a better interpretation of the text is what this method demonstrates. It explores the relationship between the meanings of two or more signs and how their relationship affects the meaning of the text as a whole. As the method suggests, in order to be able to put meaning into a text, there is a lot of emphasis on how a word in a language gets its meanings. Semiotics is an extensively used qualitative method of research since it can be easily conducted and does not consume much time of the researcher. (Media Analysis: Semiotic Analysis; Pg: 04; 1st

Since this essay talks about qualitative methods of research another method that studies and observes its subject is ethnographic method. It is an in-depth method of doing research, which involves the researcher to study the subject by being a part of it. The word ethnography is derived from anthropology, which is the studying of people. This type of a method is generally performed at a work place or any other institution where the researcher can be a part of the group and observe the happenings. However, this method need not be first hand; the researcher can observe the previously recorded interactions and apply this method to study it. The whole purpose of this type of a method of research is that it gives us clues and hints to the other layers of reality (Interpreting Quality Data; pg 234; Description)

However, without any meaning to the words, any type of a research on anyone does not hold significance. The whole point of ethnography is that the researcher gets an insight of how the things work and why people do what they do. The acquired content is the research done on the subject which helps the researchers to understand how people act in a certain social situation(Jane Stokes; Chapter 4; Pg 114). But as mentioned previously, the researchers will fail at relating the subjects’ actions to any social PHENOMENA without knowing the meanings and the history of the cultural