Systematic Extraction and Qualitative Framing Analysis of Health-Related Online Media Content: Introducing the FOCUS Approach

Abstract

Scientific guidance for systematically searching, extracting, and qualitatively analyzing large-yet-meaningful amounts of media data remains limited, particularly in the context of health research where analyzing media communication can facilitate our understanding of public health discourses. To address this gap, and building on our experience in qualitatively analyzing global health media data, we developed a 5-step FOCUS approach, which entails: (1) Finding the data (identifying suitable platforms and devising ways to systematically search and extract online data); (2) Ordering the data (arranging a meaningful-yet-manageable sample for further analysis in light of massive amounts of data available online); (3) Coding the data (based on the tenets of qualitative content analysis applied to the full dataset, serving as an analytic starting point); (4) Understanding qualitative nuances in a purposively selected subset of the data (using open coding of overarching themes based on the tenets of in-depth framing analysis); and (5) Spotlighting the findings (drawing on insights across analytic steps and by presenting data across modalities such as images, audio cues, or textual excerpts). In this article, we present example decisions and key takeaways across each step based on our research analyzing vaccine-related television broadcasts in the Philippines. Additionaly, we provide detailed guidance on how to systematically and free-of-charge extract audiovisual media data using Python and YouTube API queries, and how to modify these scripts in a manner that aligns with a given research focus and data source. The FOCUS approach summarizes actionable recommendations for researchers and (health) practitioners seeking to leverage insights from online media spaces.