Content Analysis, Process of

Content analysis is a common data analysis process whereby researchers investigate content within a message or text. This process is often described as a replicable, systematic, objective, and quantitative description of communication content features based on a specific context. This analysis process provides constituent structural techniques to analyze communication content that is commonly open-ended and fairly unstructured. The purpose of a content analysis may vary, from describing the characteristics or features of the content to making implications about the cause and/or effect of the content. Content analysis techniques can be applied to a wide range of public and private written content such as letters, newspaper articles, open-ended survey data, transcribed interviews, as well as content in oral (e.g., live speeches or lectures) and ...