AN INTRODUCTION TO

CONTENT ANALYSIS

Facilitator: Dr. Hassan Imam

Class: M.Phil Accounting & Finance
School of Accounting & Finance
University of Central Punjab
Learning outcome
 what to count
 what to analyze,
 the nature of levels and units of analysis, and
 how to effectively employ coding frames
CONTENT ANALYSIS AS A TECHNIQUE
- for making theory
- by analyzing, examining, and selecting data
- systematically & objectively

CRITERIA OF SELECTION
- clearly & fully expressed rules
- set up before analysis
- explain various data completely
- applied strictly
CATEGORIES = MAJOR POINTS = PROS & CONS

SHOULD BE
- connected with what is being discussed
in the messages
- exact wording used in the statement

SHOULD NOT BE
- based on personal opinions
- irrelevant to the messages
 Qualitative Data Analysis
 Three major approaches:
 Interpretative approaches,
 Social anthropological approaches, and
 Collaborative social research approaches
 Interpretative approach
 Human action can be seen as a collection of symbols
expressing layers of meaning
 Interviews and observational data, then, can be
transcribed into written text for analysis
 How one interprets such a text
 depends in part on the theoretical orientation
taken by the researcher
 with a phenomenological bent will resist
condensing data or framing data by various
sorting or coding operations
 Interpretative approach
 A phenomenologically oriented researcher might,
instead, attempt to uncover or capture the telos
(essence) of an account.
 This approach provides a means for discovering the
practical understandings of meanings and actions.
 Researchers with a more general interpretative
orientation
 (dramaturgists, symbolic interactionists, etc.) are
likely to organize or reduce data in order to
uncover patterns of human activity, action, and
meaning.
 Social Anthropological Approaches
 This provides the researcher with a special
perspective on the material collected during the
research (case study or field), as well as a special
understanding of the participants and how these
individuals interpret their social worlds.
 Analysis of this sort of data can be accomplished by
setting information down in field notes, and then
applying the interpretative style of treating this
information as text.
 Frequently this analytic process requires the
analysis of multiple sources of data such as diaries,
observations, interviews, photographs, and
artifacts.
MANIFEST vs. LATENT CONTENT ANALYSIS

- manifest content (surface structure):

perceptible, clear, comprehensible message
- latent content (deep structure): implied,
unstated message
COMMUNICATION COMPONENTS

1. message
↓
2. Sender (participants)
↓
3. Audience (interviews)
- in vivo codes: wording that participants use
in interview
- constructed codes: coded data from in
vivo codes, created by researcher,
academic terms
LEVELS & UNITS OF ANALYSIS

words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs,

sections, chapters, books, ideological
stance, subject topic, elements relevant to
the context
SAMPLING STRATEGIES
I. Random Sampling
1. Simple Random Sampling 簡單隨機抽樣
to draw subjects from an identified
population (母群體)

2. Systematic Sampling 系統抽樣

(Interval Random Sampling 間隔隨機抽樣)
select nth name from the population
Population 母群體總數
Sampling interval = Numbers of persons desired
抽樣間隔 取樣數目
* Random Numbers Table 亂數表
3. Stratified Sampling 分層抽樣
- divide population into stratum
- ensure : dissimilarity between stratum ↑
similarity inside of each strata ↑
∴ produce a representative sample
II. Non-random Sampling
Purposive Sampling 立意抽樣
researcher select subjects according to
his/her research purpose and
understanding of the population
- researcher: with sufficient knowledge or
expertise
- subjects: represent the population
GROUNDED THEORY 紮根理論

a process of constructing:
various data →induction/deduction→theory
* explain the phenomena

- development of theory
- collect, analyze, & compare data
systematically
- theory is grounded on data
7 MAJOR ELEMENTS IN WRITTEN MESSAGES

1. Words – the smallest unit, frequently used

2. Themes: simple sentences, string of words
with S + predicate (e.g. You are beautiful)
3. Characters: persons
4. Paragraphs: difficult to classify ∵ various
things are stated & implied in a single
paragraph, infrequently used
5. Items: books, letter, diary, etc
6. Concepts: an idea, more latent
e.g. crime
7. Semantics: how affected the words may be
Combinations of Elements
Interview #1 Ah…I do not think I improve grammar and
word dictions because my teacher did not correct my
grammar and word dictions. Actually, I know I am not
good at writing, and I really want to improve my
writing ability. Hmm……However, I also wrote articles
which were asked from professors as homework
while I wrote dialogue journal writing. Well, for the
first time, I can accept that I had so many writing
mistakes, and I know I still have room to improve it
after teacher’s correction. Unfortunately, after many
times corrections, the articles which were corrected
by professors still appeared many grammar problems
and sometimes had word dictions problems. This is
why I do not think dialogue journal writing can
improve our writing ability. (Shake head)
Units and Categories

Units = Codes

‘Code’ the elements into ‘Inductive Categories’

ex. Words, items, themes…

Classes and Categories
3 major procedures:

1. Common classes

2. Special classes

3. Theoretical classes
Classes and Categories

Common Classes:
-- a culture in general

People in society to tell apart persons, things, and

events
Ex. Age, gender, mother…
Classes and Categories
Special Classes:
-- the labels used by members of certain areas

to tell apart persons, things, and events within

their limited province

out-group – people in society

in-group – people in the specific group
Classes and Categories
Theoretical Classes:

-- emerge in the process of analyzing the data

-- Function:
1. grounded in the data

2. Get a theory
Open Coding
1. Major Problems:

-- can not read between the line

-- do not get the real motivation

2. Can get the points Coding can

continue.
Open Coding
4 basic guidelines:

1. Ask the data a specific and consistent set

of questions.
-- What study are these data suitable?
-- What category does this incident indicate?

Benefits:
-- sometimes find unexpected results
Open Coding
2. Analyze the data minutely.
categories, incidents, interactions, and the
like
be coded
<during open
coding>

extensive theoretical coverage

<be thoroughly grounded>

systematic coding
Open Coding

3. Frequently interrupt the coding to write a theoretical note.

-- comments ideas <take notes>

4. Never assume the analytic relevance of any traditional

variable until the data show it to be relevant.
-- any traditional variable
ex. Age, sex, social class…
-- earn their way into the grounded theory
Coding Frames

Purposes:

1. To organize the data

after open coding
has been completed
2. To identify findings
Coding Frames

 Axial Coding:

1. Different ideas organize and

construction

2. New ideas
Coding Frames

 Data
MJ 1 MJ 2 MJ 3
 Open coding

 Axial Coding
MJ 1 MJ 3

Axial
*MJ=Major Point
A Few More Words on Analytic Induction

Involve several refinements.

Glaser and Strauss suggest:
- Combine 2 data analysis.
1. Analysis of data after coding.
2. Analysis of data while integrating.
Incorporate all appropriate modes of inquiry:
Induction, deduction, and verification
Interrogative Hypothesis Testing

4 steps of negative case testing:

1. Make a rough hypothesis.

2. Conduct a thorough search.
3. Discard or reformulate hypothesis.
4. Examine all relevant cases.
4 Safeguards against the potential flaws
1. Examples should be lifted at random.
2. Assertion should be more than 3 examples.
3. Analytic interpretations should be examined
by independent reader.
4. Check no invalidated overall patterns.

 Use safeguards can avoids “exampling”

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE
CONTENT ANALYSIS PROCESS
Advantages:
1. It can be virtually unobtrusive.
2. It is cost effective.
3. It provides a means of study a process.

Weaknesses:
1. Limited to examining already recorded
messages.
2. Ineffective for testing causal relationships
between variables.
3. Not appropriate in every research situation.
COMPUTERS AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

Using qualitative research programs:

1. Help qualitative sorting and data management.
2. Takes times to learn.
3. Researchers still need to think.
4. Offer clear directions for novice.

Quantitative research programs help researchers

to deal with the vast number of statistical data.