Qualitative Content Analysis 101: The What, Why & How (With Examples) — Transcript

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1. 0:00In this video, we are going to unpack the  oftentimes misunderstood topic of qualitative
2. 0:05content analysis. We will explain what it  is discuss its strengths and weaknesses and
3. 0:11look at when to use this analysis method. By  the end of this video, you will have a solid,
4. 0:17big-picture view of content analysis so that  you can make a well-informed decision for your
5. 0:24project. By the way, if you are currently working  on a dissertation, thesis or research project be
6. 0:30sure to grab our free dissertation templates to  help fast-track your write-up. These tried and
7. 0:36tested templates provide a detailed roadmap  to guide you through each chapter section by
8. 0:42section. If that sounds helpful you can  find the link in the description below.
9. 0:48So what exactly is content analysis? Well at the  simplest level content analysis is a qualitative
10. 0:57analysis method that focuses on analysing recorded  communication taken from artefacts. For example,
11. 1:03extracts from books, newspaper articles,  interviews, audio and video recordings or even
12. 1:10blogs. Importantly content analysis can be used on  both primary and secondary data. In other words,
13. 1:16data you collected yourself or data that was  already in existence. This makes it quite a
14. 1:22flexible qualitative analysis method as you have  more choices in terms of data sources. By the way,
15. 1:28if you are new to qualitative analysis be  sure to check out our primer video up here.
16. 1:34Now let us go a little deeper. At the highest  level, there are two types of content analysis
17. 1:40or rather two ways to perform content analysis.  These are conceptual content analysis and
18. 1:46relational content analysis. These two approaches  are quite different in terms of how they work so
19. 1:51let us take a look at each of them. First up  is conceptual content analysis. In this case,
20. 1:57the analysis is focused on the explicit data. You  look at the actual appearance of particular words
21. 2:04and phrases without offering interpretation of  them. So the main concern here is the frequency
22. 2:10of words and phrases. In other words the number  of times they appear in the selected data set.
23. 2:17For example, you might be researching changes in  attitudes to women's rights issues. In this case,
24. 2:23you could look at the frequency of words like  equal pay, gender equality and patriarchy in
25. 2:30popular culture over a certain period of time. So  in short conceptual content analysis is explicit,
26. 2:36non-interpretational and surface-level focused. It  is also somewhat quantitative in nature in other
27. 2:43words, it considers some numbers even though it is  still a qualitative analysis method at its core.
28. 2:50Next up is relational content analysis.  Here the focus is on the meaning and the
29. 2:55use of words and phrases. This meaning is  derived from looking at the relationships
30. 3:00between the various words and phrases to those  around them. Contrary to conceptual analysis
31. 3:06the one we just looked at the focus here  is on the implicit data or the information
32. 3:11interpreted from looking at how certain words  are used in relation to others. For example,
33. 3:17if a research project is aimed to analyse polling  data around a particular political candidate to
34. 3:24understand general sentiment relational content  analysis could be used to look at the words used
35. 3:30around mentions of that candidate, for  example, ethical, trustworthy, dubious
36. 3:36etcetera. To determine patterns and themes  of meaning that could indicate popularity
37. 3:41and sentiment. So in short relational content  analysis is implicit, interpretational and is
38. 3:49focused on meaning. It is also worth mentioning  that there are multiple approaches to relational
39. 3:53analysis but we will not dig into them in this  introductory video. If you are interested you
40. 3:59can check out our detailed blog post covering  all of that. The link is in the description. To
41. 4:05recap then content analysis can be undertaken  using either a conceptual approach where you
42. 4:10are interested in the frequency of concepts or a  relational approach where you are interested in
43. 4:17the meaning of language based on the connections  or relationships between words and phrases.
44. 4:25Now that we have a clearer picture of what  content analysis is it is important to discuss
45. 4:31the strengths and weaknesses so that you can make  the right choice in terms of analysis methods for
46. 4:37your research project. One of the main strengths  of content analysis is its flexibility as it can
47. 4:43be used on a wide range of data types including  written records, interview recordings and speech
48. 4:50transcripts as well as non-text-based data. This  means you have more choices in terms of the data
49. 4:56sources you can draw on allowing you to develop  a rich data set. Additionally, content analysis
50. 5:02tends to be very unobtrusive since quite often  the analysis can be performed on data that already
51. 5:08exists. This means that there are fewer ethical  issues to consider and it is easier to access the
52. 5:14data you need. All that said as with any analysis  method content analysis has its drawbacks. First,
53. 5:21there is the problem of reliability after  all drawing conclusions from the frequency of
54. 5:26words and phrases or their relationship to each  other can be a subjective process and not quite
55. 5:33scientifically rigorous enough. This is especially  true if more than one researcher is working on the
56. 5:39data set. Content analysis can also sometimes be  considered as rather reductive. In other words,
57. 5:44the focus on particular words and phrases  can, of course, result in you missing context,
58. 5:50nuance and culture-specific meanings. Lastly, the  results from a content analysis cannot usually be
59. 5:58easily generalised. Since content analysis  is often time intensive it can be difficult
60. 6:03to analyse a data set large enough to draw broad  conclusions about the research topic. Of course,
61. 6:09this can be said for many qualitative methods but  it is worth keeping in mind if you are considering
62. 6:15using content analysis. Hey if you are enjoying  this video so far please help us out by hitting
63. 6:20that like button. You can also subscribe for loads  of plain language actionable advice. If you are
64. 6:27new to research check out our free dissertation  writing course which covers everything you need
65. 6:33to get started on your research project. As always  links in the description. Now that we have got a
66. 6:40clearer picture of what content analysis is the  logical next question is when should you use it?
67. 6:46As a qualitative method focused on recorded  communication content analysis is often most
68. 6:53appropriate for research topics focused on changes  and patterns in communication around social,
69. 6:59economic or political issues. For example,  a research project that involves analysing
70. 7:04government policy regarding healthcare in the UK  might look at the use of phrases like healthcare,
71. 7:11the NHS and hospitals in political commentary. An  analysis could then be done on the frequency of
72. 7:18these phrases and or their relationship to other  associated words and phrases. On the other hand,
73. 7:24research that focused on the use of language in  context might not be the best fit for content
74. 7:30analysis. In other words, if your research  is about the particular impact of language in
75. 7:36specific social contexts then content analysis  could potentially be too narrowly focused. For
76. 7:42example, if you are wanting to assess how  political speech is used in impoverished
77. 7:46environments to impact beliefs and opinions a  more context-oriented analysis method such as
78. 7:53discourse analysis could be more appropriate.  Simply put make sure that you always consider
79. 7:59the nature of your research aims when  you are deciding on an analysis method.
80. 8:04Okay, that was a lot so let us do a quick recap.  Content analysis is a qualitative analysis method
81. 8:14that draws findings from analysis of recorded  communication which can include both primary and
82. 8:20secondary data. As we discussed content analysis  can be approached in two ways. Conceptual analysis
83. 8:27where the focus is on the frequency of concepts  and relational analysis where the focus is on
84. 8:34the meaning of and relationship between concepts.  As with any analysis method content analysis has
85. 8:41its own set of strengths and weaknesses. As  a result content analysis is generally most
86. 8:47appropriate for research focused on changes  and patterns in recorded communication.
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