Network analysis approach for exploring dementia representations in the Slovak media

Abstract

Objectives The aim of the present study is to test the network analysis method on a corpus of media texts with the aim of systematically analysing media representations of dementia in the Slovak media. Methods A word-network was modelled from the corpus of media documents using social network analysis. 244 text-documents (web, print, TV and radio) from 2015 to 2018 (inclusive) were retrieved from the Newton media database using the search words ‘dementia’ and ‘Alzheimer’s disease’. Results Twelve clusters of co-occurring concepts corresponding to individual themes were identified. The results of the analysis provide evidence that biomedical themes such as ‘medical diagnosis’, ‘prevalence of dementia’ and ‘memory disorders’ possess the greatest representational strength and centrality and account for roughly two-thirds of the whole corpus. Conclusion Results of the present study provide valuable insights into the representation of dementia in the Slovak media but also demonstrate how media representations can be studied using the innovative approach of network analysis.