SPECIFICATION: Content analysis and coding. Thematic analysis

RESEARCH METHODS THAT USE QUALITATIVE DATA FREQUENTLY

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

• Focus: Discourse Analysis investigates the use of language in texts or spoken communication within its social context. It examines how language constructs social realities, identities, and power relations. It’s not just about what is being said but how it’s being said and the implications thereof.

1. Methodology: It involves a detailed and nuanced examination of how language functions in various contexts. This includes looking at word choice, grammar, rhetoric, the structure of arguments, and how language is used to construct meaning and enact social practices.

2. Analytical Depth: Discourse Analysis tends to be more interpretative, aiming to uncover underlying meanings, societal norms, and power structures that are reflected and reproduced through language.

3. Data: Can include a wide range of textual and spoken materials, such as speeches, interviews, conversations, social media posts, and other forms of media

THEMATIC ANALYSIS

Focus: Thematic Analysis primarily identifies, analyses, and reports patterns (themes) within data. It emphasizes the qualitative aspects of data and seeks to uncover underlying ideas, assumptions, and conceptualisations. . It's particularly valued for its ability to uncover patterns (themes) within data, making it one of the most widely used analysis techniques in qualitative studies.

Methodology: This analysis involves carefully reading and re-reading data to identify recurring patterns or themes that are important or interesting. These themes are then closely analysed and related to the research questions. Thematic Analysis is flexible in that it doesn’t require the researcher to adhere to a predetermined framework or theory; themes can emerge from the data inductively, or the analysis can be guided by theoretical or analytical interest. For instance, in a study about smoking initiation, qualitative responses might uncover a range of complex reasons behind the behaviour, such as a desire to rebel against authority figures like parents or teachers—insights that a limited set of quantitative options might fail to capture. This capacity to reveal a broader spectrum of motivations and behaviours exemplifies why qualitative methods are valued for their depth and authenticity. It offers a more accurate reflection of participants' true experiences and feelings.

Discovering themes: A theme in thematic analysis represents a pattern within the data set, such as a topic or concept that recurs throughout the data. Themes are developed by grouping related codes. This process helps summarise large data sections meaningfully, answering research questions and fulfilling the study's aims and objectives.

Examples of Themes: These can be applied to various data types, including interview transcripts, survey responses, texts, and media. In research on drug addiction, themes might include “How drugs are obtained,” “Withdrawal,” and “Being arrested.” These themes offer a structured way to explore the narratives within the data, revealing participants' shared experiences and perceptions

Themes to Codes: A critical step in thematic analysis is coding, which involves assigning labels to text segments to organize data systematically. These labels, or codes, summarise key concepts, themes, and issues in the data set. Coding is not about creating software code but rather about segmenting the data into manageable parts, each labelled with a code that encapsulates its essence. For instance, the sentence “My teacher is a psychopath” might be coded under "teacher" or "psychopath," highlighting the concepts for further analysis

Flexibility of Thematic Analysis: The adaptability of thematic analysis makes it suitable for various research designs and questions. It can reveal the shared data's overarching categories, providing a rich, detailed, and complex data account.

DOING YOUR THEMATIC ANALYSIS

READ THE EXTRACT BELOW

“I don’t know why I started smoking really. Perhaps it is in my genes. My Mum and Dad smoked, plus all my grandparents did. Everybody smoked in the house, so maybe the passive smoking did something to my brain receptors - although, to be fair, the addiction could have started when I was in the womb as my Mum smoked throughout her pregnancy and through breastfeeding, too.

Most of my peers smoked from about the age of 13. I was forced to play ‘chew the butt’ on the way to school on the train. Later, I wanted to be accepted into the cool group at school, so I took up smoking voluntarily. I also was a bit chubby, so smoking made me eat less.  I had access to lots of money so that I could get cigarettes regularly. Buying cigarettes was easy as there were no legal restrictions on the age to buy during the 1970s. Also, nobody ever got into trouble for smoking, not at school, home, or within my circle of friends.”

1. How would you analyse the extract?

2. What would be your first step in deciphering meaning?

HOW TO ANALYSE THEMATIC ANALYSIS

STEP 1: Reading and Familiarisation: Start by reading an extract multiple times to become familiar with the content, paying close attention to recurring ideas or concepts. This helps in identifying potential themes.

STEP 2: Find themes:

• Social Acceptance: Seeking approval or inclusion in a desired social group.

• Body Image Concern: Engaging in behaviours influenced by perceptions of one’s body image.

• Vicarious Reinforcement: Learning behaviors by observing outcomes of others' actions.

• Stress—Change of Circumstance: Adapting behaviours in response to new or stressful environments.

STEP 3: Make a coding frame with your discovered themes - e.g., list all key themes and their definitions. This frame serves as a guide for systematically analysing the rest of your data.

STEP 4: IDENTIFY ALL THE THEMES:

Examples

• Main Theme

• Theme (Category): Vicarious reinforcement from parents and peers.

• Sub-themes: "Family Influence" and "Peer Influence" are sub-components of the broader theme.

• Sub-themes: "Smoking for weight loss - image and operant conditioning.

• Sub-themes: Smoking to look cool - operant conditioning.

• Narrow some categories: For example:, Vicarious reinforcement from peers has sub categories: Role models, cultural context and the laws surrounding access to cigarettes."

CODE ALL THE THEMES:

• Hierarchical Coding: Create categories and subcategories from the codes to organise them hierarchically. Synonymous words or related concepts should be grouped to simplify the analysis. For example, a Class of drugs, e.g., Opiates, which could include heroin, oxycontin, and others.

STEP 5: OPERATIONALISE THEMES AND IDENTIFY SYNONYMOUS WORDS. Lists or related concepts. These should be grouped to simplify the analysis.

Operationalise the identified themes by defining them clearly.

STEP 6: ANALYSIS: WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Remember: Although the process begins with research questions, it’s important to remember that they are not necessarily fixed. Revise definitions.

MORE EXAMPLES:

• STEP 1: Reading and Familiarisation: Start by reading an extract multiple times to become familiar with the content, paying close attention to recurring ideas or concepts. This helps in identifying potential themes.

• STEP 2: Find themes:

• STEP 3: Make a coding frame with the themes you have discovered

• STEP 4: Code and Identify all of the themes:

• STEP 5: Operationalise themes and list synonymous words or related concepts that should be grouped to simplify the analysis

• Operationalise the identified themes by defining them clearly. For example:

STEP 6: ANALYSIS: WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? Although the process begins with research questions, it’s important to remember that they are not necessarily fixed. Revise definitions.

EXERCISE ONE: SEXIST PRESCHOOL BOOKS

Social psychologists believe that educational material, such as reading books and textbooks, is sexist. They decided to analyse the content of primary school texts. Create a coding frame about sexual stereotypes and then count the frequencies of these gender stereotypes.

“John slapped Katie hard across her face. The pain shocked Katie to such a degree she immediately cowered in case of another assault. Tears slid down her face in big drops. John just laughed. As snot dripped down her chin, John turned in disgust and left the room. She was utterly devastated. She crept upstairs and hid in the study. She couldn’t tell Mother what John had done as Mother was very cross with Katie anyway; she had not done her chores that day. The floor was still upswept, and the dishes from breakfast were still left in the sink. In any case, John could do no wrong; he was going to grammar school the following year, and his mother was so proud. Katie hadn’t even been allowed to take the eleven-plus. She had wanted to persuade Mother to allow her to take it, but she was scared of her reaction. Father said girls didn’t need an education.

Katie wished for the zillionth time that she had been born a boy. Then she wiped her eyes, went downstairs and began sweeping the floor. John barely glimpsed up as she passed him by with the broom but spitefully put his foot out so she tripped and fell over, upsetting all the dust she had gathered. “What a clumsy and stupid girl you are!” shouted Father from the other side of the room. John glanced slyly at Katie out of the corner of his eye and smirked. Katie ran out of the room sobbing loudly.”

ANSWERS:

STEP 2: Find themes that relate to gender stereotypes

1. Gender roles and expectations

2. Emotional expression

3. Household responsibilities

4. Educational aspirations

STEP 5: Operationalise themes and list synonymous words or related concepts should be grouped to simplify the analysis

STEP 6: ANALYSIS

The coding and frequency count reveals a pronounced depiction of traditional gender stereotypes in the narrative:

• Gender Roles and Expectations: The narrative explicitly emphasises traditional gender roles, with John portrayed as dominant and Katie as submissive.

• Emotional Expression: Katie's emotional vulnerability contrasts with John's disregard, reinforcing stereotypes of female emotional openness and male stoicism.

• Household Responsibilities: Katie is depicted as responsible for domestic chores, while John's actions are not associated with household responsibilities.

• Educational Aspirations and Limitations: The text delineates educational opportunities along gender lines, favouring John over Katie.

• Physical Interactions and Violence: Physical violence is portrayed as an acceptable form of male behaviour towards females, further entrenching the stereotype of male dominance and female victimization.

This analysis underscores the presence of gender stereotypes in the educational material, potentially influencing children's perceptions of gender roles and expectations. The coding frame and frequency count are tools for systematically identifying and quantifying these stereotypes within the content.

SCENARIO THREE: OBESITY CAUSES

• STEP 1: Reading and Familiarisation:

• STEP 2: Find themes:

• STEP 3: Make a coding frame with the themes you have discovered

• STEP 4: Code and Identify all of the themes:

• STEP 5: Operationalise themes and list synonymous words or related concepts that should be grouped to simplify the analysis

• STEP 6: ANALYSIS: WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Remember: Although the process begins with research questions, they are not necessarily fixed. Revise definitions.

Psychotherapists were interested in investigating the reasons for obesity. They interviewed overweight participants. Below is an extract from an interview.

Interview extract “Why I am fat.”

“As far as I can remember, I began to overeat compulsively in year seven. It was a tough time for me (as it is for most girls) - physical development, social isolation, and emotional imbalance. At this time, I began to look to my mother for guidance, but she was so wrapped up in her problems that she had little or nothing to give --- except her example. Aside from being an alcoholic, she was a compulsive overeater herself, retreating into the bedroom after her nightly fights with my father to eat and read romance novels. And eat she did. Two bags of Sour Cream and Onion potato crisps, 2 litres of Coke, and maybe a box of biscuits, all in one sitting. I began to eat for comfort then and gained weight as I was developing a woman's body. The taunts from my classmates at being slightly chubby led me to eat even more and grow fatter. I think at this time, I might have broken the growing dependency, but in year eight, my self-loathing increased a thousand-fold when my brother physically abused me. And so the cycle increased - food comforted me.

Around this time, I remember my Dad saying something about my weight gain. "You don't want to be like your mother, do you?" (With all the disgust he felt for her evident in his tone). I, too, shared his hatred of her size, moods and eating habits; being compared to her by him only made me feel worse about myself. I fixed that by coating it with ice cream, chocolate, pizza, chips, and Cakes...

I'm twenty-six now and weigh around twenty stone (5'7"). Despite some "success" in my life (I graduated from university and have a steady job as a nurse, a wonderful boyfriend, and a few good friends), I hate myself. I manifest this hatred with my eating - when I'm sad, I eat. When I'm lonely, I eat. When I'm bored, I eat. When I'm feeling bad about myself (most of the time!), I eat. “

ANSWERS:

STEP 2: Find themes:

• Emotional Factors

• Familial Influences

• Societal/External Factors

STEP 4: Code and Identify all of the themes:

Emotional Factors

• Emotional eating (comfort eating due to sadness, loneliness, boredom, self-loathing)

• Emotional imbalance (mentioned as part of the tough times in adolescence)

Familial Influences

• Parental example (mother's compulsive overeating and alcoholism)

• Lack of parental support (mother's inability to provide guidance)

• Negative comments from family (father's derogatory comparison to the mother)

Societal/External Factors

• Social isolation (feeling isolated during adolescence)

• Bullying/taunting (classmates taunting due to weight)

• Physical abuse (brother's abuse contributing to self-loathing and eating for comfort)

STEP 5:

• Operationalise themes and list synonymous words or related concepts that should be grouped to simplify the analysis

• Synonyms and Related Expressions

• Emotional Factors: Stress eating, eating due to emotions, using food as comfort.

• Familial Influences: Family habits, parental behaviour, lack of emotional support from parents.

• Societal/External Factors: Peer pressure, social bullying, external abuse

STEP 6: ANALYSIS: WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Remember: Although the process begins with research questions, it’s important to remember that they are not necessarily fixed. Revise definitions.

KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONTENT ANALYSIS AND THEMATIC ANALYSIS

CONTENT ANALYSIS

Content analysis, also known as textual analysis when focused solely on text, is a method used to draw inferences by objectively and systematically identifying specific characteristics of messages. Ole Holsti defines it as a tool for making inferences about communications contexts.

Purpose and Application: Content analysis transcends mere counting; it categorises aspects of human behaviour or characteristics found in various forms of communication and quantifies these occurrences to uncover underlying patterns. It's a favoured method among sociologists, psychologists, and other social scientists for examining the content across various media and human communications.

This technique is applied to various materials, including TV shows, films, historical documents, advertisements, textbooks, and more, essentially any form of communicative language. For instance, a straightforward content analysis might measure the screen time of male versus female actors in a TV show like “EastEnders,” providing insights into gender representation in media.

Thematic Analysis focuses more on the qualitative interpretation of data, exploring themes and patterns that emerge from the data. It's flexible and adaptable to the researcher's needs. Conversely, content analysis is more rigid and quantitative, focusing on counting and categorising content to identify patterns or trends. Both methods have their place in research, and the choice between them depends on the specific objectives and nature of the study.

Example of Application: Analysing newspaper headlines over time could reveal shifts in public opinion, media bias, or the evolution of language surrounding specific issues, such as climate change or political movements.

In summary, content analysis is a versatile and powerful research method that provides a systematic approach to understanding the content and context of various forms of communication, offering both quantitative data and qualitative insights into human behaviour and societal trends.

CASE STUDIES

1. Gender Roles in Advertising: The 1980s "Do the Shake and Vac and Put the Freshness Back" commercial, featuring a woman enthused about the freshness of her home, serves as a classic example. Research by Manstead and McCulloch (1981), which involved analyzing 170 television advertisements, focused on aspects such as the gender of the product user, the authority figure, and the provider of technical information. Their findings highlighted a tendency to depict women primarily as product users, often in dependent roles and within domestic settings. In contrast, men were likelier to be portrayed as product experts or authority figures. This analysis sheds light on the gender stereotypes prevalent in media advertisements of that time.

2. Political Figures and Sexism in Online Comments: Gruber (2009) conducted a study comparing online comments for Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton, focusing on the presence of sexist content. By coding comments for positive or negative instances of subtle, covert, and blatant sexism, the study found that 76% of comments about Palin and 67% about Clinton contained negatively sexist remarks. Such results indicate that public perceptions and the expression of sexism online can be influenced by various factors, including the political figure's family dynamics and career stage. This analysis provides insight into how societal attitudes toward female political figures can reflect broader cultural and temporal contexts.

HOW TO ANALYSE CONTENT ANALYSIS

Analysing qualitative data involves uncovering underlying themes, motivations, and behaviours. Here's how one might approach the analysis:

DOING YOUR ANALYSIS

STEP 1: Identify Your Themes before you start the analysis:

TITLE OF RESEARCH: Initiation of smoking in teenagers.

THEMES:

• Social Acceptance: Seeking approval or inclusion in a desired social group.

• Body Image Concern: Engaging in behaviours influenced by perceptions of one’s body image.

• Vicarious Reinforcement: Learning behaviors by observing outcomes of others' actions.

• Stress—Change of Circumstance: Adapting behaviours in response to new or stressful environments.

STEP 2: Reading and Familiarisation:

Start by reading an extract multiple times to become familiar with the content, paying close attention to recurring ideas or concepts. This will help you identify potential themes.

Initiation of smoking in teenagers.

Answer: “I started smoking because I moved to south London and had a posh accent, and everybody laughed at me and called me aristocrat girl. I thought that if I started smoking, people would not think I was not a ‘goody two shoes’ and was a bit hard. Also, I knew that all the cool people smoked, and I wanted to be accepted in that peer group. I was 14 at the time I started smoking. I also liked the way it looked. Some girl told me I would eat less.

1. How would you analyse the extract?

2. What would be your first step in deciphering meaning?

STEP 3: Create a coding frame with the themes you want to investigate—e.g., list all key themes and their definitions. This frame will serve as a guide for systematically analysing the rest of your data.

STEP 4: Code Themes: By systematically organising data into themes, you can understand how different factors interact and contribute to the phenomenon under study, in this case, the initiation into smoking.

Coding involves assigning labels to segments of text that relate to your themes. For instance, In this step, you'll assign labels to specific segments of text that correspond to the themes you've identified. This involves categorising parts of the text based on their relevance to your overarching themes. And you are creating categories and subcategories from the codes to organise them hierarchically.

• Family Influence: Here, codes would encapsulate references such as "parents smoked," "grandparents smoked," or broader mentions of smoking within the family setting, highlighting the role of family behaviour in shaping smoking habits.

• Peer Pressure: This category would include specific instances like being "forced to play ‘chew the butt’," gaining "acceptance into the cool group through smoking," or any mention of peers influencing smoking behaviours, illustrating the impact of social circles on smoking initiation.

• Environmental Factors: Codes under this theme would capture elements such as "easy access to cigarettes," "absence of legal age restrictions for purchasing cigarettes," or references to the "1970s societal norms," pointing to how environmental and societal conditions facilitated smoking.

• Personal Factors: This theme would group codes related to personal reasons or consequences of smoking, such as references to being "chubby" and smoking to "eat less" or seeking "social acceptance" through smoking, including any mention of adopting a "posh accent" as part of this social manoeuvring.

STEP 5: Operationalise themes: List synonymous words or related concepts should be grouped to simplify the analysis

STEP 6: Make a contingency table and count the frequency of codes to quantify the presence of each theme,

STEP 7: ANALYSIS

STEP 7: Make a contingency table and count the frequency of codes to quantify the presence of each theme, if applicable.

ANALYSE SOME MORE CONTENT ANALYSIS: HOW TO CODE

• STEP 1: Identify Your Themes before you start the analysis:

• STEP 2: Reading and Familiarisation:

• STEP 3: Make a coding frame with the themes you want to investigate - E.G., list all key themes and their definitions. This frame serves as a guide for systematically analysing the rest of your data.

• STEP 4: Code and Identify all of the themes in the advertisements.

• STEP 5: Operationalise themes and list synonymous words or related concepts that should be grouped to simplify the analysis

• STEP 6: Make a contingency table and count the frequency of codes to quantify the presence of each theme,

• STEP 7: ANALYSIS

SEXUAL SELECTION AND DATING ADVERTISEMENT

“Evolutionary psychologists believe that sexual selection is different between the sexes. Males advertise status, and females analyse looks. To test this hypothesis, researchers decided to conduct a content. Analysis of dating adverts in newspapers.”

The adverts they selected are below.

Useful Abbreviations:

• ND - Non-Drinker

• OHAC - Own house and car

• TLC - Tender loving care

• NS - Non-smoker

• YO - Years old

• OFAC - Own flat and car

• WLTM - Would like to meet

• GSOH - Good sense of humour

ANSWERS

STEP 1: Identify Your Themes before you start the analysis:

• APPEARANCE.

• STATUS:

• PERSONALITY:

• HOBBIES:

STEP 2: Reading and Familiarisation:

STEP 3: Make a coding frame with the themes you want to investigate:

STEP 4: Identify all of the themes in the advertisements.

• STATUS: Any mention of the participant's relative social or professional position or standing.

• APPEARANCE. Any mention of physical appearance.

• PERSONALITY: Any mention of personality, character, disposition, make-up, behaviour, nature, temperament, mood, emotion, or spirit.

• HOBBIES: Any mention of an interest or hobby, pastime, diversion, leisure pursuit,

Clichés are an integral part of lonely heart adverts, and the abbreviations above have been used because they represent clichéd phrases. The verbs used most often are "seeks", "would like to ..." and "looking for". "Seeks" would be an archaism elsewhere but is present in up to half of these advertisements

A lot of euphemisms are used. Possible relationship" and "long-term relationship" suggest something more substantial than "friendship".“Sexual hints may lie in "for fun with a future", "seeks sensuous man", "open-minded female", "warm and passionate female”, “playmate and lover", or "snuggles".Euphemisms are also used for size - so instead of being "fat", people describe themselves as "curvaceous", "voluptuous", "well-built", "cuddly", or even "chubby". Small is "petite."

STEP 5: List synonymous words or related concepts that should be grouped to simplify the analysis

• Appearance: Words or expressions synonymous with physical appearance, e.g., any positive mention of hair- type colour, texture, appearance; body shape; eyes- shape, size, colour, etc.; face, facial features, attractiveness, height, weight, strength, skin texture, age, length of legs, size of breasts, hips, bottom, waist, muscles, tone of muscles, six pack, absence of lines etc. Words synonymous with attractive, e.g., beautiful, lovely, stunning, busty, voluptuous, slender, skinny, athletic, classical, good-looking, striking, cute, handsome, pretty, attractive, sexy, buff, curvy, shapely, angelic-looking, bang-tidy, gorgeous, eye-catching.

• Status: words or expressions synonymous with status, e.g., rank, prominence, prestige, accomplishments, conquests, position, successes, social standing, class, caste, social group, social order, background, notoriety, fame, belongings, properties, businesses, companies, financial interests, shares, possessions, job, profession, vocations, career, connections, memberships, professional bodies, location, car, house, qualifications, income, spending habits. Words synonymous with status, e.g., rich, wealthy, prosperous, affluent, loaded, well-off, solvent, flush, well-heeled, well-to-do, successful, thriving, monied, up and coming.

• Personality: words or expressions synonymous with personality, e.g., happy, sad, kind, thoughtful, funny, serious, bubbly, adventurous, shy,

• Hobbies: words or expressions synonymous with having a hobby, e.g., knitting, golf, cinema, theatre, dance, drinking, keeping fit, pubs, shopping, gardening, chess, backgammon, debating, watching soaps, concerts, travelling, skiing, skating, skateboarding, dining out, museums, stamp collecting, Morris dancing, cricket, rugby, darts, music, concerts, festivals, raves, S&M, comedy, sewing, pottery, animals, horse riding, reading, writing, computer games.

OPERATIONALISING THEMES

• STATUS: DEFINITION: References to any aspect that signifies the participant's social or professional hierarchy, achievements, or rank. This includes job titles, educational attainment, economic bracket, social class indicators, or any mentions reflecting the individual's standing within a professional or social context.

• OPERATIONALISING: Code for explicit mentions of job positions (e.g., "manager," "teacher"), educational degrees (e.g., "PhD holder"), social class indicators (e.g., "middle-class family"), or any descriptors that denote professional or social ranking.

• APPEARANCE: DEFINITION Captures all references to an individual's physical traits, including but not limited to body shape, facial features, hair texture and colour, height, weight, and overall attractiveness or any specific physical attributes mentioned.

• OPERATIONALISING: Code for direct descriptions of physical traits (e.g., "tall," "blonde hair"), comparative attractiveness statements (e.g., "good-looking"), or any subjective or objective mentions of physical appearance.

• PERSONALITY: DEFINITION Encompasses mentions of character traits, emotional dispositions, habitual behaviours, and overarching temperament. This theme includes how individuals describe their or others' personalities, characterizing nature, mood, emotional responses, or spirit.

• OPERATIONALISING Code for explicit personality trait descriptors (e.g., "introverted," "optimistic"), behaviour patterns (e.g., "tends to help others"), mood tendencies (e.g., "usually cheerful"), or general character assessments (e.g., "has a kind nature").

• HOBBIES: DEFINITION: Involves mentions of activities or interests pursued for relaxation or pleasure outside of one's professional obligations. This includes pastimes, leisure activities, sports, creative endeavours, or any recreational pursuit mentioned.

• OPERATIONALISING Code for specific hobbies or interests (e.g., "playing chess," "gardening"), descriptions of leisure activities (e.g., "going hiking on weekends"), or any mentions of how individuals spend their free time engaging in particular pursuits.

Operationalising these themes involves identifying and coding specific instances within the data that correspond to the defined criteria for each theme. This detailed approach allows researchers to systematically categorize qualitative data, facilitating deeper analysis and interpretation of the underlying patterns and insights within the dataset.

STEP 6: Make a contingency table and count the frequency of codes to quantify the presence of each theme,

Review the data again, using your coding frame to identify instances of each theme.

STEP 7: ANALYSIS: By analysing the contingency table, researchers can identify patterns in preferences across different categories, such as whether certain personality traits are more sought after in male-seeking-female advertisements than female-seeking-male or how hobbies impact attractiveness in the context of sexual preferences.

ADVANTAGES OF CONTENT ANALYSIS

• Systematic and Objective: Provides a structured approach to quantifying data, allowing for objective analysis of patterns and trends.

• Reproducibility: The methodological rigour enables other researchers to replicate the study, enhancing the reliability of findings.

• Large Data Sets: Efficiently handles and analyzes extensive volumes of text, making it suitable for comparative and longitudinal studies.

DISADVANTAGES OF CONTENT ANALYSIS

• Potential for Oversimplification: It may not capture the full depth and nuance of the data, as the focus is on quantifiable elements.

• Limited by Predefined Categories: The analysis is constrained to the categories established at the outset, which may overlook emerging themes.

• Contextual and Interpretive Limitations: Might not fully account for the context or latent meanings within the data, focusing instead on manifest content

You are now turning qualitative data into quantitative data.

QUESTIONS & ACTIVITIES FOR CONTENT ANALYSIS

In an observational study,100 cars were fitted with video cameras to record the driver’s behaviour. Two psychologists analysed the data from the films using content analysis. They found that 75% of accidents involved a lack of attention by the driver. The most common distractions were using a hands-free phone or talking to a passenger. Other distractions included looking at the scenery, smoking, eating, personal grooming, and trying to reach something within the car.

1. What is content analysis? 2 marks

2. Explain how the psychologists might have conducted content analysis to analyse the film clips of driver behaviour. 4 marks.

3. Please explain how the two psychologists might have assessed the reliability of their content analysis. Four marks

Researchers wanted to see if there was a difference in the number of students choosing to use various workspaces in the college library. Previous research findings on this topic were inconsistent.

There were three types of workspace available in the library:

SINGLE DESKS WITH CHAIRS LARGE TABLES WITH CHAIRS SETTEES WITH LOW TABLES

The researchers used CCTV camera recordings of the different workspace areas over three days. Each day, they analysed two hours’ worth of recordings from the morning and two hours’ worth from the afternoon. They noted the number of students seen working at each of the three workspaces.

THE RESULTS OF THE LIBRARY STUDY ARE SHOWN BELOW

Question 4 on a questionnaire was ‘Which of the following work spaces do you use most often in the library?’

THE RESULTS FOR QUESTION 4 ARE SHOWN IN TABLE 3 BELOW

5. Compare the results in Table 2 with those in Table 3. What conclusion could now be made from these two sets of data? Explain your answer. 4 MARKS