In my thesis, I would like to measure the level of competition by comparing two destinations that have been awarded the title of gastronomy city by UNESCO. Because of Covid 19, I have to do my thesis with qualitative methods. I am thinking of using semiotics analysis on the web pages or promotional videos of destinations, but I also want to learn different alternatives. So, what are the qualitative methods that you can suggest to me that are suitable for my thesis purpose?
I think I would try content analysis or do case studies. Both woulid be ideal for use with social media. The content analysis would allow you to nterpret the signs, words and images and draw conclusions from the context in which they are used. Case studies would allow you to analyse trends and changes in the competition.
One possibility would be to set up your design as a comparative case study. From there, two options would be a more deductive content analysis versus a more inductive thematic analysis. The first approach would set up relatively descriptive coding categories (i.e., manifest content), while the second one would use more open-ended, interpretive coding (i.e., latent content).
In addition, if you can download the material, then text, pictures, and videos can all be coded using software such as ATLAS.ti, MAXQDA, and NVivo.
You might also select some key terms and do a comparative analysis of how often those terms appear in social media posts that also name each city.