Wikipedia
Content analysis is "a wide and heterogeneous set of manual or computer-assisted techniques for contextualized interpretations of documents produced by communication processes in the strict sense of that phrase (any kind of text, written, iconic, multimedia, etc.) or signification processes (traces and artifacts), having as ultimate goal the production of valid and trustworthy inferences."
Content analysis has come to be a sort of 'umbrella term' referring to an almost boundless set of quite diverse research approaches and techniques. Broadly, it can refer to methods for studying and/or retrieving meaningful information from documents. In a more focused way, content analysis refers to a family of techniques for studying the "mute evidence" of texts and artifacts. There are 5 types of texts in content analysis:
- written text, such as books and papers
- oral text, such as speech and theatrical performance
- iconic text, such as drawings, paintings, and icons
- audio-visual text, such as TV programs, movies, and videos
- hypertexts, which are texts found on the Internet
Content analysis can also be described as studying traces, which are documents from past times, and artifacts, which are non-linguistic documents. Texts are understood to be produced by communication processes in a broad sense of that phrase - often gaining mean through abduction.
Despite the wide variety of options, generally speaking every "content analysis" method implies a series of transformation procedures, equipped with a different degree of formalization depending on the type of technique used, but which share the scientific re-elaboration of the object examined. This means, in short, guaranteeing the repeatability of the method, i.e.: that preset itinerary which, following pre-established techniques produced those results. This path changes consistently depending on the direction imprinted by the interpretative key of the researcher who, at the end of the day, is responsible for the operational decisions made.
Over the years, content analysis has been applied to a variety of scopes. Hermeneutics and Philology have been using content analysis since the dawn of time to interpret sacred and profane texts and, in not a few cases, to attribute texts' authorship and authenticity.
In recent times, particularly with the advent of mass communication, content analysis has known an increasing use to deeply analyse and understand media content and media logic. The political scientist Harold Lasswell formulated the core questions of content analysis in its early-mid 20th-century mainstream version: "Who says what, to whom, why, to what extent and with what effect?". The strong emphasis for a quantitative approach started up by Lasswell was finally carried out by another "father" of content analysis, Bernard Berelson, who proposed a definition of content analysis which, from this point of view, is emblematic: "a research technique for the objective, systematic and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication."
Quantitative content analysis has enjoyed a renewed popularity in recent years thanks to technological advances and fruitful application in of mass communication and personal communication research. Content analysis of textual big data produced by new media, particularly social media and mobile devices has become popular. These approaches take a simplified view of language that ignores the complexity of semiosis, the process by which meaning is formed out of language. Quantitative content analysts have been criticized for appealing to statistical measures to justify the objectivity and systematic nature of their methods while ignoring the limitations of their approach .
Usage examples of "content analysis".
EXPERT SIGINT LINGUIST SENIOR LANGUAGE ANALYST LANGUAGE ANALYST LANGUAGE INTERN These occupations are involved with the translation into English of technical documents and the content analysis of materials of special significance or priority.
This may involve gisting (reproducing the essence of an intercepted conversation) and content analysis of voice intercepts to determine significance and priority.
That would place the prospective paper in the entirely traditional and non-controversial sociological mainstream of content analysis: categorizing the topics within the text samples.
Then it does a content analysis and records descriptions of the subjects that interest you.
He wanted to do a content analysis of excerpts from some innocuous tapes of question-and-answer sessions with young men and women about their problems arising from overwork in school, unfulfilled expectations, not being understood at home, frustrating love affairs, etc.
John Clute once claimed that he could date any unknown science fiction novel to within a year or two of its writing date, by means of stylistic and content analysis.