Discourse is related to representation, it is a way of representing. Discourse analysis enables researchers to explore and reveal the ideologies that were reproduced and shaped beyond the discourse, such as language, texts, and conversations. 

To start with, I will begin by describing the advantages of discourse analysis. First, for media studies, there are plenty of resources available online, as a consequence, the abundance and availability of the media materials could lay the good foundation of the research (Tonkiss, Fran. 2004). In addition, through the process of discourse analysis, researchers are able to understand the context, more importantly, to understand its ideologies and values. As a result, discourse analysis could be efficient to challenge the traditional theories and knowledge, which might bring positive impact on revolutions for both individuals and the society. 

I will then go on to the disadvantages of discourse analysis. As I mentioned above, the abundance and availability could be a benefit for media studies, but at the same time, it could also be a disadvantage as well. It is difficult for researchers to select and manage a huge number of related materials. After all, it is not possible for researchers to collect and analyze all relevant data, because of it, discourse analysis requests researchers to be very selective and careful about their choices (Tonkiss, Fran. 2004). Moreover, Tonkiss and Fran (2004) also argue that discourse analysis is a process of interpreting based on specific texts, so that there are no hard-and-fast rules to obey, that is, there is no explicit techniques to apply to the research, which could an obstacle for researchers when they meet some challenges while doing the research. At the same time, the analysis would be based on researchers’ own understanding, which brings another problem: the process of interpretation is subjective, there might be different versions of understanding and analysis, and they could all be negotiated, so there are less standards, which means that it will be difficult to evaluate the quality researches.Tonkiss, Fran. 2004.

References: “Discourse Analysis.” In Researching Society and Culture, ed by. Clive Seale, 405–423. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.