Research on Media Framing in Ghana: A Systematic Review

This systematic review interrogates the present state of framing research in Ghana. The purpose is to synthesise the existing literature on media framing in the Ghanaian context and to detect the gaps that need to be filled. A qualitative content analysis of seventeen open-access journal articles retrieved from five databases (International Knowledge Sharing Platform, Taylor and Francis Online, Semantic Scholar, Research Gate, Sage Publications) is conducted to examine the issues discussed in the articles, the mass media type analysed and the research methods used in addressing the issues in the articles. The articles identified were published between 2013 and 2022. Content analysed data were thematically discussed to answer the research questions. The study revealed that research on media framing in Ghana centred on health and sexuality, politics and elections, environmental issues and others. The review further identified fifteen empirical studies out of the seventeen articles retrieved. Researchers also focused more on exploratory (qualitative) than explanatory (quantitative) research methods. In addition, most of the identified studies were skewed more toward print media and online media (traditional media websites) than broadcast media and other forms of online media, such as blogs. This review paper is the first of its kind; hence, will provide significant knowledge on media framing in the Ghanaian context to future researchers. It will also set the premise for other reviews to be conducted on various aspects of the concept in the Ghanaian context.