1- content analysis

Question 1

what is content analysis

Answer 1

• systematic research technique for analysing data (e.g. interview transcripts or texts)
• data may be too large so coding system of pre-determined categories is made
• pilot study used to test the coding system to ensure categories don’t overlap
• coding could be counting the no. of times something appears in a source = quantitative data

Question 2

what is thematic analysis

Answer 2

• once data is coded, themes may emerge
• theme = reoccurring idea and is more descriptive than coding
• if themes cover most aspects of data then may want to collect new set of data and compare themes to increase validity
• generates qualitative data

Question 3

positive evaluation of content analysis (3)

Answer 3

+ produce reliable data as if repeated, consistent results would be obtained
+ produces quantitative data which allows trends to be identified
+ less time consuming than other research methods when collecting data

Question 4

negative evaluation of content analysis (3)

Answer 4

• not very scientific or objective as themes can be subjective
• can be invalid as are the themes really measuring effect of IV on DV
• data collection needs to be contextualised (e.g. sleeping in a lab is different context to home)