Content Analysis

Naveed Iqbal
 Defining Content Analysis…
• Content analysis is a research tool used to
determine the presence of certain words or
concepts within texts or sets of texts.
Researchers quantify and analyze the
presence, meanings and relationships of such
words and concepts, then make inferences
about the messages within the texts, the
writer(s), the audience, and even the culture
and time of which these are a part.
 Defining Content Analysis…
• An objective, systematic, quantitative
description of manifest contents of
communication.
• An objective and systematic technique to
determine the quantitative presence of
certain words, concepts, themes, phrases,
characters or sentences within text or set of
texts.
Defining Content Analysis…

Content

Analysis
 What is “TEXT”
• Texts can be defined broadly as books, book
chapters, essays, interviews, discussions,
newspaper headlines and articles, historical
documents, speeches, conversations,
advertising, theater, informal conversation,
audio, video, digital contents, music, TV show,
sports, declarations, business agreements,
legal documents or really any occurrence of
communicative language.
 Why Content Analysis: The Advantages

• Reduction of un-structured contents

• Description of content characteristics
• Identification of important aspects in contents
• Supporting an argument
• Study of trends in text
• Study relationship of text with context
• Exploring intentions behind contents
• Predicting possible effects of contents
 Why Content Analysis: The Advantages

• Explaining Psychological/ Emotional/ Social/

Cultural/Economic aspects of content
production
• Exploring content presentation
• Facilitating decision making
• Provides socio-cultural insights
• Analysis of interactions and relationships
Disadvantages of Content Analysis
• Time Consuming and Exhaustive Activity
• Issues of reliability and validity
• Complex to design/analyze
• Subjectivity in coding
• Context-bound
• Draws incomplete picture
Types of Content Analysis

Content + Analysis
 Quantitative & Qualitative CA
• Quantitative: Text-Specific/Manifest Contents

– What (Presence)
– How (Frequency/Style)

• Qualitative: Con+text-Specific/Latent Contents

– Why (Contextual Reasons of Presence)

– With what possible agenda/effect
 Deductive & Inductive CA Design
• Deductive
– Pre-decided/Strict Design
– Prior-Knowledge-Based

• Inductive
– Evolving/Flexible Design
– Text-Exploration-Based
 Some Other Forms of Content Analysis

• Conceptual Analysis (Presence of Concepts)

• Relational Analysis (Relationship among
Concepts)
• Framing Analysis (How contents are framed)
• Discourse Analysis (Socio-Politico-Economic
context of the text)
• Critical Discourse Analysis (How Power
Shapes/Effects Discourse)
 Some Other Forms of Content Analysis

• Semiotic Analysis (Analysis of signs &

symbols)
• Linguistic Analysis (Analysis of language and
its structure)
• Textual Analysis (How text makes sense in
society)
• Script Analysis (Formation of specific genres)
• Etc…….!
Conducting Content Analysis: The Steps
1. Formulate the research question or hypothesis.
2. Define the population in question.
3. Select an appropriate sample from the population.
4. Select and define a unit of analysis.
5. Construct the categories of the contents to be analyzed.
6. Establish a quantification system.
7. Train coder and conduct a pilot study.
8. Code the content according to established definitions.
9. Analyze the collected data.
10.Draw conclusions and search for indications.

(Wimmer & Dominick, 1994: P.167-168)