Content Analysis Learning Objectives
- Understand what kinds of questions content analysis can answer
- Understand the steps of content analysis
- Be able to articulate how you might use content analysis in your research
Content Analysis Sources: consider two sources and my example article to answers questions below.
An introduction to Content Analysis
More indepth description of content analysis both conceptual and relational
Flow chart of content analysis steps
See the example article from my work in Brightspace (example articles module) - Nonverbal immediacy behaviors and online student engagement
Be prepared to answer the following questions:
- What, in general, does content analysis do?
- What is one research question related to your research topic that content analysis could answer?
- What is the difference between conceptual and relational analysis?
- What questions do you have about the steps (see below) to conducting a conceptual, quantitative content analysis?
1. Understand the steps involved in a content analysis study (this website may be helpful:)
- Exhaustive
- Mutually Exclusive
- Coding Rules
A. Define and limit the populartion
B. Unitize
C. Creating a coding manual
D. Training coders and establishing acceptable intercoder (interrater) reliability (see Scott's pi handout)
E. Sample Messages
F. Coding - using excel to keep track of codes
G. Analysis (Generally using Chi-Square, either equal probability/theoretic expectaton or test for independence ,which we will discuss in two weeks)
3. Website for Intercoder (interrater) reliability: http://dfreelon.org/utils/recalfront/
Create excel file using data at right- coders as columns; units as rows - no column or row headings Save excel file as csv file
Choose nominal, 2 coders: ReCal2 Upload file and hit calculate reliability
Would you accept conclusions drawn from this dataset?
