content analysis

• thematic analysis 


  A method for analysing qualitative data which involves identifying, analysing and reporting patterns within the data
• content analysis 


  Technique used to analyse qualitative data which involves coding the written data into categories – converting qualitative data into quantitative data.

  • researchers quantify & analyze the presence, meanings and relationships of words and concepts, then make inferences about the messages within the media, the writer, the audience, and the culture and time of which these are part.
  •  the media is coded or broken down, into manageable categories on a variety of levels - word, word sense, phrase, sentence, or theme - then examined.
• evaluation of content analysis 


  • Easy to get sample as not reliant on participants
  • Easy to replicate
  • It is a reliable way to analyse qualitative data as the coding units are not open to interpretation and so are applied in the same way over time and with different researchers
  • not too time consuming
  • It allows a statistical analysis to be conducted if required as there is usually quantitative data as a result of the procedure
  • Causality cannot be established as it merely describes the data
  • Risk of observer bias (i.e: fitting observations into what they want to find).