Assessing the soap opera frame: Audience perceptions of value structures in soap operas and prime‐time serial dramas

This study examines audience perceptions of which values characterize soap operas in general and which values distinguish daytime from prime‐time offerings. An empirical method guided by critical concerns reveals meaningful differences between daytime soap operas and prime‐time serial dramas. The study considers the implications of both the method and the results for media scholars of critical and empirical inclinations.