1. Lesley Jolly ljolly@igpond.net.au
Content Analysis
Lesley Jolly

2. When to use content analysis
When testing hypotheses
When using textual data
Texts may be written, images, movies

3. Sampling in content analysis
Identify corpus of texts
Everything available or selection?
Often use purposive sampling
May use extreme or ‘typical’ instances
Identify units of analysis within text
Use whole text when you want to see whether or not something occurs
Select chunks that reflect a theme when you want to see how often something occurs

4. Coding in content analysis
Codes derive from theoretical concepts
e.g. resource allocation theory mentions 10 varieties of resource, use that list as coding categories
Must be exhaustive and mutually exclusive

5. Intercoder reliability
More than one coder checks that constructs are shared
Can be used to check coding reliability over time
Aim for Cohen’s kappa (k) of 0.70 or higher
k =
Observed – chance
_______________
1 - chance