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Unit 12: Content Analysis

interviews, writing journals, classroom discussions and lectures, and out-of-class interaction sheets. Notes
To conduct a content analysis on any such text, the text is coded, or broken down, into manageable
categories on a variety of levels—word, word sense, phrase, sentence, or theme—and then examined
using one of content analysis’ basic methods: conceptual analysis or relational analysis.

Overview

Historically, content analysis was a time consuming process. Analysis was done manually, or slow
mainframe computers were used to analyze punch cards containing data punched in by human
coders. Single studies could employ thousands of these cards. Human error and time constraints
made this method impractical for large texts. However, despite its impracticality, content analysis
was already an often utilized research method by the 1940’s.
Although initially limited to studies that examined texts for the frequency of the occurrence of
identified terms (word counts), by the mid-1950’s researchers were already starting to consider the
need for more sophisticated methods of analysis, focusing on concepts rather than simply words,
and on semantic relationships rather than just presence (de Sola Pool 1959). While both traditions
still continue today, content analysis now is also utilized to explore mental models, and their
linguistic, affective, cognitive, social, cultural and historical significance.
Perhaps due to the fact that it can be applied to examine any piece of writing or occurrence of
recorded communication, content analysis is currently used in a dizzying array of fields, ranging
from marketing and media studies, to literature and rhetoric, ethnography and cultural studies,
gender and age issues, sociology and political science, psychology and cognitive science, and many
other fields of inquiry. Additionally, content analysis reflects a close relationship with socio- and
psycholinguistics, and is playing an integral role in the development of artificial intelligence. The
following list (adapted from Berelson, 1952) offers more possibilities for the uses of content analysis:
• Reveal international differences in communication content
• Detect the existence of propaganda
• Identify the intentions, focus or communication trends of an individual, group or institution
• Describe attitudinal and behavioural responses to communications
• Determine psychological or emotional state of persons or groups

According to Dr. Farooq Joubish, content analysis is considered a scholarly methodology in the hu-
manities by which texts are studied as to authorship, authenticity, or meaning. This latter subject
includes philology, hermeneutics, and semiotics.
Harold Lasswell formulated the core questions of content analysis: “Who says what, to whom,
why, to what extent and with what effect?.” Ole Holsti (1969) offers a broad definition of content
analysis as “any technique for making inferences by objectively and systematically identifying
specified characteristics of messages.” Kimberly A. Neuendorf (2002), offers a six-part definition of
content analysis:
“Content analysis is a summarising, quantitative analysis of messages that relies on the scientific
method (including attention to objectivity, inter subjectivity, a priori design, reliability, validity,
generalisability, replicability, and hypothesis testing) and is not limited as to the types of variables
that may be measured or the context in which the messages are created or presented.”

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