This piece of coursework will attempt to access the different lengths of words, from passages of 100 words, in tabloid and broadsheet newspapers.
INTRODUCTION
This piece of coursework will attempt to access the different lengths of words, from passages of 100 words, in tabloid and broadsheet newspapers.
HYPOTHESIS
I predict that the lengths of words in a tabloid newspaper are shorter than the length of words in a broadsheet newspaper. The reason being that tabloids are usually ;
* Read by working class people with less education
* They are write about less serious issues than broadsheets
* They are read for entertainment
The words in broadsheets may possibly be of a longer length than those in tabloids because;
* They usually discuss more serious issues
* They are usually read by educated, middle class people
* People often read them for work, for example economists to see how the stock market is doing.
PRELIMANRY DISCUSSION
In order to test the hypothesis accurately two articles shall be chosen from the following tabloids and broadsheets;
TABLOIDS
* The Sun
* The Daily Star
BROADSHEETS
* The Guardian
* The Times
In order to control the experiment the articles chosen from the tabloid will correspond with the articles chosen from the broadsheet. For example, both the Sun and the Times articles will be about war, whilst the Daily Star and the Guardian articles will be about the topic of football. This is because if an article about finance is compared with an article about beauty, it is more than likely due to the nature of the topic that the article about finance will contain a longer length of words. The types of broadsheets and tabloids were chosen at random, to prevent researcher bias.
Realistically, more than four articles would provide a more valid experiment however due to constraints such as high cost of further research under a small budget, and the time it would take to pursue further research, only 4 articles shall be used in the experiment.
FINAL DISCUSSION
From each of these articles 100 words shall be selected and the length of them shall be presented in tallied table. Then the mean, median, mode and range shall be completed and the results shall be tabulated for each article to help test the hypothesis.
Length of words in the Times (Broadsheet)
Word Length
Times
Total
111
4
2
111 1111 1111 11
7
3
111 1111 1111 1
6
4
111 1111 111
3
5
111 1111 111
3
6
111 111
8
7
111 1111 1111
5
8
1
2
9
111 1111
0
0
1
2
00
Now that the word lengths have been tallied for the Times newspaper, the mean, median, mode and range shall be found in an attempt to develop a logical interpretation of the findings. The same criteria shall be used for the Sun, the Daily Star and the Guardian newspapers.
MEAN
The mean is found by multiplying the word length by the total number of words of this length. All of the means are added together and divided by the grand total (100).
Word length
Total
Mean
4
4
2
7
34
3
6
48
4
3
52
5
3
65
6
8
48
7
5
05
8
2
6
9
0
90
0
2
20
Total
00
482
482 divided by 100 = 4.82
Mean = 4.82 letters per word
MEDIAN
11122222222222222222333333333333333344444444444445555555555555666666667777777777777778899999999991010
4 + 5 = 9
9 divided by 2 = 4.5
Median = 4.5
MODE
The most occurring word length was 2
Mode = 2
RANGE
0 - 1 = 9
Range = 9
Length of words in the Sun (Tabloid)
Word Length
Sun
Total
111
4
2
111 1111 111
4
3
111 1111 1111 1
6
4
111 1111 1111 111
8
5
111 1111 111
3
6
111 1111 1111
4
7
111 111
8
8
111 1111
9
9
1
2
0
1
1
1
00
MEAN
Word length
Total
Mean
4
4
2
4
28
3
6
48
4
8
72
5
3
65
6
4
84
7
8
56
8
9
72
9
2
8
0
1
0
1
1
1
Total
00
468
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This is a preview of the whole essay
9
1
2
0
1
1
1
00
MEAN
Word length
Total
Mean
4
4
2
4
28
3
6
48
4
8
72
5
3
65
6
4
84
7
8
56
8
9
72
9
2
8
0
1
0
1
1
1
Total
00
468
468 divided by 100 = 4.68
Mean = 4.68 letters per word
MEDIAN
11122222222222222333333333333333344444444444444444455555555555556666666666666677777777888888888991011
Median = 4
MODE
The word length occurring most often was 4
Mode = 4
RANGE
1 -1 =10
Range = 10
Length of words in the Guardian (Broadsheet)
Word Length
Guardian
Total
1
2
111 1111 1111 1111
20
3
111 1111 1111
5
4
111 1111 1111
5
5
111 1111
0
6
111 11
7
7
111 1111
0
8
111 1111
9
9
11
3
0
111
5
1
11
3
2
0
3
1
4
1
00
MEAN
Word length
Total
Mean
1
1
1
2
20
40
3
5
45
4
5
60
5
0
50
6
7
42
7
0
70
8
9
72
9
3
2
0
5
50
1
3
33
2
0
2
3
1
3
4
1
4
Total
00
514
514 divided by 100 = 5.14
Mean = 5.14 letters per word
MEDIAN
2222222222222222222233333333333333344444444444444455555555556666666777777777788888888899910101010101111111314
Median = 4
MODE
The most occurring word length was 2
Mode = 2
RANGE
4 - 1 = 13
Range = 13
Length of words in the Daily Star (Tabloid)
Word length
Daily Star
Total
11
3
2
111 1111 1111
4
3
111 1111 1111 1111 1111 1
26
4
111 1111 1111 1111 11
22
5
111 1111
9
6
111 11
7
7
111 11
7
8
11
3
9
11
3
0
1
2
1
111
4
00
MEAN
Word length
Total
Mean
3
3
2
4
28
3
26
78
4
22
88
5
9
45
6
7
42
7
7
42
8
3
24
9
3
27
0
2
20
1
4
44
Total
00
441
441 divided by 100 = 4.41
Mean = 4.41 letters per word
MEDIAN
112222222222222233333333333333333333333333444444444444444444444455555555566666667777777888999101011111111
Median = 4
MODE
The most occurring word length is 3
Mode = 3
RANGE
1 -1 = 10
Range = 10
Results
Sun
Daily Star
Times
Guardian
Mean
4.68
4.41
4.82
5.14
Median
4
4
4.5
4
Mode
4
3
2
2
Range
0
0
9
3
From the table of results above the following conclusions can be made. It can be seen that the mean is lower for both of the tabloids, the Sun and the Star, than the broadsheets. This shows that there is possibly a smaller length of words in the tabloids. The median is the same for all of the papers with the exception of the broadsheet the Times where the mean is not 4 as in the rest of the papers but is actually 4.5. This tells us that ?. However the most occurring length of word (mode) in the tabloids is higher than the most occurring length of words in the broadsheets, which may mean that the hypothesis is incorrect and that the length of words in tabloid newspapers are possibly longer than the length of words in broadsheet newspapers. With regards to the range a definite conclusion is hard to make. This is because, although the range is highest for the broadsheet the Guardian, at 13, (which would possibly suggest that there is a bigger range of words with longer letters) it is contradictory to suggest that, 'the length of words in a tabloid are shorter than those in the broadsheet', because the range for both of the tabloids, the Sun and the Star have a higher range than the other broadsheet the Times. Because of difficulties such as the latter in coming to a reliable conclusion further research needs to be undertaken.
In order to further test the hypothesis; 'the length of words in tabloids are shorter than those in broadsheets' cumulative frequency tables and graphs shall be drawn to investigate the truth of the hypothesis.
Cumulative Frequency Tables
SUN
Word length
Frequency
Cumulative frequency
4
4
2
4
8
3
6
34
4
8
52
5
3
65
6
4
79
7
8
87
8
9
96
9
2
98
0
1
99
1
1
00
For cumulative frequency graph see appendix 1.
TIMES
Word length
Frequency
Cumulative Frequency
4
4
2
7
21
3
6
37
4
3
50
5
3
63
6
8
71
7
5
86
8
2
88
9
0
98
0
2
00
For cumulative frequency graph see appendix 2.
STAR
Word length
Frequency
Cumulative Frequency
3
3
2
4
7
3
26
43
4
22
65
5
9
74
6
7
81
7
7
88
8
3
91
9
3
94
0
2
96
1
4
00
For cumulative frequency graph see appendix 3.
GUARDIAN
Word length
Frequency
Cumulative frequency
1
1
1
2
20
21
3
5
36
4
5
51
5
0
61
6
7
68
7
0
78
8
9
87
9
3
90
0
5
95
1
3
98
2
0
98
3
1
99
4
1
00
For cumulative frequency graph see appendix 4.
For combined tabloid and broadsheet cumulative frequency graph see appendix 5.
From analysing the various cumulative frequency graphs it can be seen that
In order to further test the hypothesis ' that words are of a longer length in broadsheets than tabloids', I am going to do the 'FOGG's' test of readability. This will access the reading age of each article and a conclusion will be came to in relation to word length and the reading age of the material. If the hypotheses proves to be correct, the reading age in the broadsheets should be higher than the reading age in the tabloids.
FOGG's TEST OF READABALITY
Method of steps;
. Take any sample of 100 words in complete sentences.
2. Count the number of sentences by counting the full stops, if the last full sentence stops short of the 100th word, count only the full sentences for this stage.
3. Count the number of words with three or more syllables. Omit capitalised words such as names.
4. Divide the number of sentences into 100, answer = x
5. Add the number of words with more than three syllables to your answer, ie. x + y, y being the number of words.
6. Multiply x + y by 0.3 to give an American grade equivalent.
7. Add 5.0 to your answer to give the equivalent of an English reading age.
This will give the reading age of the material being studied.
STEPS 1, 2 AND 3
Tally chart showing the number of full sentences in each paper article.
Paper
Number of sentences
Total
Sun
111 11
6
Star
111
5
Times
1
2
Guardian
111
5
Tally chart showing the total of words with three or more syllables in each paper article.
Paper
Words with more than three syllables
Total
Sun
111 1111
0
Star
111 1
6
Times
111 1111 1111 1
6
Guardian
111 1111 11
2
Tally chart showing the Total of omitted capitalised words
Paper
Omitted capitalised words
Total
Sun
111 1111 1111 1111 1
21
Star
111 1111 1111
4
Times
111 1111 1111 11
7
Guardian
111 1111 1
1
STEPS 4 AND 5
Paper
Number of full sentences
Number of full sentences divided by 100 = x
Number of words with three of more syllables = y
X +Y
Sun
6
6.6
0
26.6
Star
5
20
6
26
Guardian
5
20
6
36
Times
2
50
2
62
STEPS 6 AND 7
Paper
x + y x 0.3 = American grade equivalent
x + y x 0.3 + 5.0 = English reading age
Materials reading age
Sun
7.98
2.98
3
Star
7.8
2.8
3
Guardian
0.5
5.8
6
Times
8.6
23.6
24
It can be concluded by analysing steps 6 and 7 that the material reading age is much higher for the broadsheets than for the tabloids. The overall highest reading age is for the broadsheet newspaper the Times, which has almost double the reading age of the two tabloid papers. Although the Guardian has a lower reading age than the Times it is still higher than the two tabloids. These results allow us to initiate that because the reading age is higher in the broadsheets the length of words would also be longer, as bigger words are more capably read by those of a higher reading age. However caution must be taken with such a small sample before generalisations can be formed.
QUESTIONAIRE
In order to strengthen the validity of the experiment, one further piece of investigation shall be undertaken. This shall take the form of a structured questionnaire. I have chosen a questionnaire with structured questions so that the results will be easily quickly and scientifically quantified. The reasons why I have chosen the questionnaire to extend my research are because,
* They're often quite inexpensive to produce and distribute and when self-administered, interviews aren't required- which eliminates the possibility that respondents might, for example, say what they think the interviewer wants to hear.
* They usually produce quick results that can often be speedily and accurately interpreted using computer software. This is particularly true with fixed-response questions.
* They provide respondents with a sense of anonymity, which is likely to allow them to answer more truthfully
* They enhance reliability allowing accurate replication.
* When self-administered they give respondents the time to ponder their replies and give considered answers.
However it the problems with questionnaires must also be acknowledged. For example,
* They restrict respondents to the questions they contain and can say more about the issues the researcher is interested in, which may affect people's honesty in answering.
* Unless the researcher is at hand, they don't allow respondents the chance to seek immediate clarification of things that aren't understood, thereby increasing the likelihood that some questions will be guessed not answered.
However in order to try and control the latter factor, I was present at the time respondents where filling out the questionnaires and any needed clarifications were given.
I have chosen to assembly the questionnaire using fixed response questions because of the following advantages of this method. The advantages of a fixed response questions are that,
* Respondents are likely to keep on track because there's no room for 'drifting'
* Respondents provide the amount of information that's pre-set by the fixed response format, so the researcher can quickly and accurately make sense of the data
* Respondents replies are easy to codify, quantify and compare
However the disadvantages of fixed response questions are that,
* Respondents aren't allowed to digress, even if this is how they want to express their feelings
* Respondents aren't able to provide sufficient information because the fixed responses only permit restricted answer options
* Respondents replies are literally 'boxed in by tick boxes', thereby restricting creativity and expressiveness
I have randomly chosen 10 people who have came into my local newsagents, to fill out the questionnaires. In an attempt to avoid bias in selection, I chose people who I did not know.
The original 10 questionnaires are found in appendix 6. An example of the questionnaire is as follows and the number of responses is shown below.
. Which of the following types of newspaper do you think is of higher intellectual value?
* Tabloid 0/10
* Broadsheet 7/10
2. Which of the following types of words are more difficult to understand?
* Words longer in length (6 or more letters) 7/10
* Words shorter in length (5 or less letters) 3/10
3. In your experience from reading tabloid and broadsheet newspapers, which contains more difficult to understand words?
* Tabloid 3/10
* Broadsheet 7/10
4. Why do you think people read tabloid newspapers?
* For leisure purposes 9/10
* For intellectual knowledge 1/10
5. Why do you think people read broadsheet newspapers?
* For leisure purposes 4/10
* For intellectual knowledge 6/10
It can be seen from question one that, all of the sampling frame, believed that broadsheets are of higher intellectual value than the tabloids. It may be possible to say from this that because tabloids are of higher intellectual value they will have a longer length of words, however this is not conclusive.
The majority of respondents, 7/10 in answer to question two believed that the longer in length words are the more difficult they are to understand, and in answer to question three, 7/10 respondents believed that broadsheets contain more difficult words. If the latter two questions are looked at together it may be interpreted that because it is the opinion of the majority of respondents that broadsheets contain more difficult words and that longer words (those which have 6 or more letters) are more difficult to understand, it is may be possible to state that 'tabloids have a shorter length of words than broadsheets, however this is not conclusive.
In response to questions four and five, 9/10 people believed that tabloids were read primarily for leisure and broadsheets for mostly intellectual knowledge, 6/10. This may be interpreted that because tabloids are only read for intellectual knowledge they may contain a shorter length of words than broadsheet, which are primarily read for intellectual knowledge, however this is also not conclusive.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion this piece of coursework has gone to extensive measures in order to test the hypothesis,
" The length of words in tabloids are shorter than the length of words in broadsheets".
The lengths of the words, in the four articles, have all been tallied and no positive correlation was found of the length of the words being shorter in tabloids and so the mean, median, mode and range was also found. The results from the latter were quite contradictory and so the cumulative frequency was found. In order to increase the validity of the research, FOGG's test of readability found that in general the broadsheets contain material of a higher reading age than the tabloids, with perhaps the conclusion been drawn that therefore the length of words in tabloids are shorter than the length of those in broadsheets. The questionnaire when analysed came to conclude in all cases that possibly the hypothesis was correct. However there is need for much more research to be done if an accurate assessment of the hypothesis summarised. Because of time restriction and cost constraints it is not possible for me to do this however.
I have enjoyed doing this coursework and have learnt a lot about the field of scientific and mathematic research. I feel it will be useful information for me to have in the future.
