Content analysis

• Content analysis is a type of observational research where people are studied indirectly through their communication. This might include:

  • spoken interaction
  • written forms
  • media example e.g. magazines
• Coding: the process of categorising data

  • the first stage on content analysis
  • may involve converting qualitative data into quantitative data
• Content Analysis procedure:

  1. Get to know data e.g. through repeated viewing
  2. Identify important categories
  3. Work through data and count/tally the number of occurences of each of the categories
  4. Check reliability by either: repeating the content analysis using the same data (test-retest) or use inter-rater reliability
• Thematic analysis: a technique used to identify patterns of meanings and themes in data

  • produces qualitative data
• Thematic analysis procedure:

  1. use coding to initially analyse the data
  2. Review the data/codes looking for emergent themes - a theme is only recurrent data which is descriptive or qualitative
  3. Support for the themes comes from direct quotes from the data
  4. Validity of the themes is checked by collecting a new set of data
• Content analysis: strengths:

  + many ethical issues may not apply as the material to study may already be in the public domain so for example, there are no issues with obtaining consent

  + a flexible method as content analysis can produce both quantitative and qualitative data as required. This means it is a flexible approach that can be adapted to suit the aims of the research.
• Content analysis: limitations

  • Communication is studied out of context as the researcher may regard behaviour as a cause e.g. something said which was not intended. This is likely to reduce the validity of conclusions drawn
  • May lack objectivity, especially when more descriptive forms of thematic analysis are used. Such bias may threaten the validity of the findings and conclusions. However, reflexivity is a method of addressing the lack of objectivity and personal viewpoints are seen as an important aspect of the data collected.