what is content analysis
a method used to analyse qualitative data by turning it into quantitative data
how does content analysis work
does not collect data directly, rather it uses pre-recorded examples of spoken interactions, the written word or media content
what is the aim of content analysis
summarise the main ideas presented in the spoken or written material via structured methods to conclude the data
Advantages of content analysis
analyses both qualitative and quantitative data
qualitative has a lot of detail improving external validity
transformation of the qualitative data into quantitative data means that overall trends and patterns can emerge and are easily compared which brings with it reliability
enables researchers to investigate topics which might otherwise be off-limits due to ethical concerns
as material they access is in the public domain so there no need to gain informed consent means that researchers have freedom of choice
disadvantages to content analysis
uses material that has been produced outside of the research process e.g. a script, a blog, a conversation transcript from decades ago
This means that the research itself is separate from the immediacy of what took place during the production of the material
The researcher can only study the data, often without knowing the true context of its origin
This could result in the researcher making assumptions about what they are reading which would affect the validity
uses material that has been produced outside of the research process e.g. a script, a blog, a conversation transcript from decades ago
Converting qualitative data into quantitative data means that the ‘essence’ of some of the original data is likely to be lost
A numerical value cannot adequately sum up the feelings and emotional content of the original qualitative data
This could affect the validity of the findings as the true meaning of the data may not be represented in the findings
how would a psychologist conduct content analysis from case study
The written content would be coded and put into categories in data
these categories would be counted/tallied to see patterns or significant themes in data
The researcher could then test the reliability of the analysis by using the test-retest method
