Content analysis research

What is CONTENT ANALYSIS?
1. Shannon (2005) defined qualitative content analysis as “a research method
for the subjectivist interpretation of text and data through the systematic
classification process of coding and identifying themes or patterns”.
2. According to Mayring (2000), qualitative content analysis is “an approach of
empirical, methodological controlled analysis of texts within their context of
communication, following content analytic rules and step-by-step models,
without rash quantification”.
3. Qualitative content analysis allows researchers to understand social reality in
a subjective, yet scientific manner; explore the meanings underlying
physical messages; and is inductive, grounding the examination of topics
and themes, as well as inferences drawn from them, in data (Kaid, 1989;
Patton, 2002; Zhang & Wildenmuth, 2009)
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Characteristics of Content Analysis
One unique characteristic of qualitative content analysis is the flexibility of
using Inductive or deductive approaches or a combination of both approaches in
data analysis.
An inductive approach is appropriate when prior knowledge regarding
the phenomenon under investigation is limited or fragmented (Elo &
Kyngäs, 2008). In the inductive approach, codes, categories, or themes
are directly drawn from the data.
The deductive approach starts with preconceived codes or categories
derived from prior relevant theory, research, or literature. The deductive
approach is appropriate when the objective of the study is to test existing
theory or retest existing data in a new context.
Second is the ability to extract manifest and latent content meaning. manifest
content means the researcher codes the visible and surface content of text, latent
content means that the researcher codes the underlying meaning of the text
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Why to use Content Analysis?
1.Researchers use qualitative content analysis to illustrate the
range of meanings of phenomena, describe the characteristics
of message content, and identify themes or categories within a
body of text.
2.Bryman (2008) maintained that qualitative content analysis
comprises a searching out of underlying themes in the texts
being analyzed by researchers.
3.Researchers, if they intend to better explain the characteristics
of message content, or understand phenomena, must possess an
encyclopedic knowledge of qualitative content analysis.

Process of Content Analysis

There are few simple steps to understand the whole process of content
analysis. To start with;
1.Identify your research question:
For example; Does media portray violence?
2.Select your sample.
For example; You have decided to study the content of The Indian
Express newspaper. Through multi-stage systematic sampling, you
may select 12 issues of the newspaper of a particular year following
any systematic scheme like 1st Jan, 2nd Feb, 3 March, 4th April, 5th
May…. 12th Dec. This will be your sample.

3. Skim the material selected through the
aforementioned procedure and make a list of main
themes you plan to analyze.
For example; If you are studying the portrayal of
women in media. During the review of the
material like films, videos, soap operas etc., you
can categorize themes like Women as Leaders,
Women in Education, Women in Private Sector
and many other negative and positive categories.
Keeping those themes in mind, you can classify
the content accordingly.

4. This would become your coding system or scheme.
Note: Coding means to put information into a
quantifiable form. You need trained coders for
coding. Both the training and the experience of
the coder are necessary for reliable coding
(Neuendorf, 2002). To ensure the consistency of
coding, especially when multiple coders are
involved, you should develop a coding manual,
which usually consists of category names,
definitions or rules for assigning codes, and
examples (Weber, 1990).

5.Keep in mind, the categories made during the
preliminary study shouldn’t overlap each
other. The categories or themes must be
defined in a way that would be easily
understandable. In this regard, operational
definitions are cardinal.

6. You can classify the content on basis of these
themes or categories.
7. In case, some content doesn’t fit any of the
categories but is related to the topic under study, you
can make few new categories like miscellaneous or
others and list the content accordingly.
8. After qualitative analysis of the content, you can
also quantify these themes simply by counting the
frequencies. Hence, analysis of the content can be
done in both qualitative as well as quantitative
manner at the same time.

Methodology
All approaches to qualitative content analysis require a similar analytical
process of seven classic steps:
1. including formulating the research questions to be answered,
2. selecting the sample to be analyzed,
3. defining the categories to be applied, outlining the coding
process and the coder training,
4. implementing the coding process,
5. determining trustworthiness, and
6. analyzing the results of the coding process (Kaid,1989).

Validity
• Validity may be addressed in
terms of correspondence and
generalizability.
• Correspondence refer to
agreement between two sets of
measurement procedures for a
particular construct or a
concept.
• Generalizability refers to the
extent to which the results are
consistent with existing theory
or predictive of associated
events.
• Face validity: the most common form of validity,
weakest because it relies on subjective than
objective, quantitative or methods of evaluation.
• Construct validity: it refers to the extent which a
measure either corresponds or is discriminant from
related to measures or construct.
• Hypothesis validity refers correspondence between
the categorization procedure and existing theories.
• Predictive validity refers to the extent to which the
measurement forecast future events.
• Semantic validity refers to the examination of the
text by persons who are familiar with the content
and to the extent of their agreement and on
categorization procedure.

Reliability
Reliability here refers to replicability or consistency in the coding or
interpretation of content or portions of content. Reliability issues associated in
content analysis are with the ambiguity of word meanings or coding rules.
Three types of reliability are relevant to content analysis which are:
• Stability refers to the extent which content classification in invariant over
time. Stability can be ascertained when the same content is coded more than
once by the same coder.it is relatively weak form of reliability.
• Reproducibility(inter-coder reliability) refers to the extent to which content
classification produces the same results when the same text is coded by more
than one coder. High reproducibility is the minimum standard of for content
analysis.
• Accuracy the strongest form of reliability refers to the extent to which the
classification of text corresponds to the a particular standard or norm.

Suppose, you reached ABC hotel to eat something very special today with only Rs.
120 in your pocket. Problem. You will pick up the menu and read it thoroughly.
There may be food items listed in different categories like Chinese, Japanese,
Indian, Arabic etc. Population. As you feel to eat Indian food only so Indian
category becomes your target. Sample. You will go through the menu card and
check almost all the food items including the prices listed under this category. While
selecting a food item which could satisfy your taste buds, you will continuously
think of your budget. Your whole search has been revolving around your taste buds
and your budget. Coding Scheme. You will finally reach a conclusion to order a
dish, selected from a range of food items which suits both the aforementioned
conditions.
So, what did you understand? You did a content analysis following the whole
process. With a problem, special food on a limited budget, you perused the list of
food items keeping these two themes or categories in mind. These two themes
became the de facto coding scheme for your search.

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THREE APPROACHESTO CONTENT ANALYSIS
CONVENTIONAL
CONTENT
ANALYSIS
SUMMATIVE
CONTENT
ANALYSIS
DIRECT CONTENT
ANALYSIS

CONVENTIONAL CONTENT ANALYSIS
• Conventional content analysis is generally used with a
study design whose aim is to describe a phenomenon.
• This type of design is usually appropriate when existing
theory or research literature on a phenomenon is limited.
Researchers avoid using preconceived categories
(Kondracki & Wellman, 2002), instead allowing the
categories and names for categories to flow from the data.
• Researchers immerse themselves in the data to allow new
insights to emerge (Kondracki & Wellman, 2002).

• With a conventional approach to content analysis, relevant theories or other
research findings are addressed in the discussion section of the study. The
discussion would include a summary of how the findings from her study
contribute to knowledge in the area of interest and suggestions for practice,
teaching, and future research.
• The advantage of the conventional approach to content analysis is gaining
direct information from study without imposing preconceived categories.
• One challenge of this type of analysis is failing to develop a complete
understanding of the context, thus failing to identify key categories. This can
result in findings that do not accurately represent the data.
Note: Many qualitative methods share this initial approach to study design and
analysis.

DIRECT CONTENT ANALYSIS
• The goal of a directed approach to content analysis is to validate or
extend conceptually a theoretical framework or theory. Existing
theory or research can help focus the research question. It can provide
predictions about the variables of interest or about the relationships
among variables, thus helping to determine the initial coding scheme
or relationships between codes.
• Using existing theory or prior research, researchers begin by
identifying key concepts or variables as initial coding categories
(Potter & Levine- Donnerstein, 1999). Operational definitions for
each category are determined using the theory.
• The second strategy that can be used in directed content analysis is to
begin coding immediately with the predetermined codes.

• The main strength of a directed approach to content analysis is that
existing theory can be supported and extended.
Disadvantages
• Researchers might be more likely to find evidence that is supportive
rather than non-supportive of a theory.
• Second, in answering the probe questions, some participants might
get cues to answer in a certain way or agree with the questions to
please researchers.
• Third, an overemphasis on the theory can blind researchers to
contextual aspects of the phenomenon.

SUMMATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS
• A study using a summative approach to qualitative content analysis
starts with identifying and quantifying certain words or content in text
with the purpose of understanding the contextual use of the words or
content.
• A summative approach to qualitative content analysis goes beyond
mere word counts to include latent content analysis. Latent content
analysis refers to the process of interpretation of content (Holsti,
1969).
• In this analysis, the focus is on discovering underlying meanings of
the words or the content (Babbie, 1992;). Researchers report using
content analysis from this approach in studies that analyze manuscript
types in a particular journal or specific content in textbooks.

• In a summative approach to qualitative content analysis, data analysis
begins with searches for occurrences of the identified words by hand or
by computer. Word frequency counts for each identified term are
calculated, with source or speaker also identified. It allows for
interpretation of the context associated with the use of the word or
phrase. Researchers try to explore word usage or discover the range of
meanings that a word can have in normal use.
• ADVANTAGES: It is an unobtrusive and nonreactive way to
study the phenomenon of interest (Babbie, 1992). It can provide
basic insights into how words are actually used.
• DISADVANTAGES: The findings from this approach are limited by
their inattention to the broader meanings present in the data. this
type of study relies on credibility.

 Content Analysis in the Study of Crime, Media, and Popular
Culture
 A Content Analysis of Scientific Research Studies on
Technology Leadership in Turkey
 A Qualitative` Content Analysis of Global Health
Engagements in Peacekeeping and Stability Operations
Institute’s Stability Operations Lessons Learned and
Information Management System
Examples of Content Analysis Studies/Researches

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
•Forman and Damschroder (2008) posited that the
greatest advantage of qualitative content analysis is that
it is “a more hands-on approach to research than
quantitative content analysis”.
•McNamara (2006) maintained that qualitative content
analysis relies heavily on “researcher reading and
interpretation of texts” . The author should note that this
is also a disadvantage of qualitative content analysis, as
it places a profound emphasis on researcher bias.

Strengths
• Very flexible units of analysis; lends itself to comparative
analysis
• Most media are cheap and easy to access
• Content analysis is easy to replicate
Weaknesses
• Media must be recorded somehow to be subject to analysis
• Some social artifacts may be hard to review
Strengths and Weaknesses of Content Analysis

Readings and References
 Parveen, H. (2017). Content Analysis. Media and Communication Studies.
 Sharif, A. M. (n.d.). Content Analysis in Qualitative Research.
 Fang Hseih, Hsiu., Shannon, Sarah. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative
content analysis, Qualitative Health Research- Sage Publications, Vol. 15, No. 2,
pg. 1277-1285.
 COL Roberto N. Nang, e. (2015). A Qualitative Content Analysis of Global
Health Engagements in Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute’s
Stability Operations Lessons Learned and Information Management System.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
 Dr. Sengül Uysal, D. C. (2014). A Content Analysis of Scientific Research
Studies on Technology Leadership in Turkey. Sengül Uysal and Canan
Madenoğlu / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences.
 Kort-Butler, L. A. (Sep 2016 ). Content Analysis in the Study of Crime, Media,
and Popular Culture . Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology.

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