Page 263 - DLIS402_INFORMATION_ANALYSIS_AND_REPACKAGING

Information Analysis and Repackaging

Notes Why content analysis should be used more in Library and Information Studies research

Content analysis provides an alternative technique for Library and Information Studies (LIS) research,
but for all its effectiveness, it has been rather underused. My goal here is to outline the concepts and
procedures of content analysis, then explore and denounce possible causes of its limited application
in our field.
Briefly, content analysis is, as Powell (1997) explains, a systematic analysis of the occurrence of
words, phrases and concepts (p. 50). It reveals prejudices and oversights of creators and publishers
(Busha & Harter, 1980). The technique can be subdivided into manifest and latent, the former being
quantitative and involving the tallying of word occurrence, and the latter being qualitative by its
examination of patterns in data. The effectiveness of content analysis depends on progressing
logically from creating appropriate categories, to coding data, to inter-preting the results (Rochester,
1995a).

Content analysis fulfils the premise of LIS research: data are produced that enable
practical or theoretical changes to improve the quality of information services. It
can function either as the primary method in a study, or in conjunction with others
to triangulate and enrich findings (Gorman & Clayton, 1997).
Content analysis is not a new (and therefore unproven) approach Rochester (1995a) advises that its
earliest application occurred in Sweden in the 18th century, when hymns were checked for
compliance with orthodoxy. The foundations of the theory were consolidated in the early half of
last century, and today procedural guidelines are easily obtained. The practice has matured, and
highly regarded LIS academics have contributed to its development (such as Jarvelin and Vakkari,
1990), and extol its merits.
Qualitative tools suit the nature of our studies by their inherent flexibility. Gorman and Clayton
(1997) claim the complexity of the information environment requires adaptability in data analysis,
indicating the cohesion of qualitative techniques with the non-quantitative background of the typical
information professional. Rochester (1995a) praises content analysis for being unobtrusive, and for
allowing cumulative research. Another advantage is its flexibility and its focus on particular tasks
of importance to the LIS field, such as collection evaluation Smiths 1994 study of ten Melbourne
public libraries identified common ideological statements in selection and acquisition policies. Or,
content analysis can examine the information sector as a whole, such as studying the literature
produced.
Additionally, content analysis extracts further or different findings from material and it is suitable
where other tools are not. Slater (1990) stresses that it may be applied to diverse items, especially
social texts such as newspapers (thus having synchronicity with, as Gorman & Clayton (1997) note,
the social nature of information centres). For my Honours thesis, I used content analysis on media
articles to determine the portrayal of the information profession. The study sampled forty clippings
from two Australian newspapers (one national and one state), which were published during 2000
to 2004. A manifest approach was taken, and the results disproved the projects contention that the
media were, for the most part, perpetuating clichés in LIS worker appearance and attitude.
Library and Information Studies is lagging behind the other sciences in this area (Busha & Harter,
1980). Indeed, content analysis is widely employed, from marketing to literature and rhetoric,
ethnography and cultural studies, gender and age issues, sociology and political science, psychology
and cognitive science, and socio-and psycholinguistics, and is playing an integral role in the

258 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY