content analysis

(noun)

Content analysis or textual analysis is a methodology in the social sciences for studying the content of communication.

Related Terms

Examples of content analysis in the following topics:

  • Documents

    • Content analysis refers to the study of recorded human communications, such as paintings, written texts, and photos.

  • PhD Degree Occupations

    • It also often includes training in qualitative research methods, like content analysis.
    • Additionally, graduate training includes much more in depth analysis and discussion of many of the topics discussed in your undergraduate training.

  • Determining the Research Design

    • They also often deliberately give up on quantity, which is necessary for statistical analysis, in order to reach a greater depth in analysis of the phenomenon being studied.
    • While quantitative methods involve experiments, surveys, secondary data analysis, and statistical analysis, qualitatively oriented sociologists tend to employ different methods of data collection and hypothesis testing, including participant observation, interviews, focus groups, content analysis, and historical comparison .

  • Quantitative and Qualitative

    • Quantitative sociologists tend to use specific methods of data collection and hypothesis testing, including: experimental designs, surveys, secondary data analysis, and statistical analysis.
    • Qualitatively oriented sociologists tend to employ different methods of data collection and analysis, including: participant observation, interviews, focus groups, content analysis, visual sociology, and historical comparison.
    • Similarly, qualitative patterns in society can reveal missing pieces in the mathematical models of quantitative research while quantitative patterns in society can guide more in-depth analysis of actual patterns in natural settings.

  • Sociology and Science

    • The qualitative approach uses in-depth interviews, focus groups, or the analysis of content sources (books, magazines, journals, TV shows, etc.) as data sources.
    • While there are some individuals who begin analyzing data without a theoretical orientation to guide their analysis, most begin with a theoretical idea or question and gather data to test that theory.

  • Bibliography

    • Distinguishing relational contents. pp. 35-74 in Burt and Minor (eds.)
    • Socal structre and network analysis.
    • Network analysis Beverly Hills: Sage
    • Social structure and network analysis.
    • Social Network Analysis: A Handbook.

  • Introduction: What's different about social network data?

    • Social network analysts do use a specialized language for describing the structure and contents of the sets of observations that they use.
    • This is the first major emphasis of network analysis: seeing how actors are located or "embedded" in the overall network.But a network analyst is also likely to look at the data structure in a second way -- holistically.
    • This is the second major emphasis of network analysis: seeing how the whole pattern of individual choices gives rise to more holistic patterns.It is quite possible to think of the network data set in the same terms as "conventional data. " One can think of the rows as simply a listing of cases, and the columns as attributes of each actor (i.e. the relations with other actors can be thought of as "attributes" of each actor).
    • But the special purposes and emphases of network research do call for some different considerations.In this chapter, we will take a look at some of the issues that arise in design, sampling, and measurement for social network analysis.

  • What is a matrix?

    • Just for the moment, ignore the contents of the cells (e.g. 1,1).
    • The matrices used in social network analysis are frequently "square. " That is, they contain the same number of rows and columns.

  • Analyzing Data and Drawing Conclusions

    • Data analysis in sociological research aims to identify meaningful sociological patterns.
    • In statistical applications, some people divide data analysis into descriptive statistics, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and confirmatory data analysis (CDA).
    • In a confirmatory analysis, clear hypotheses about the data are tested.
    • The type of data analysis employed can vary.
    • Sociological data analysis is designed to produce patterns.

  • Preface

    • This book began as a set of reading notes as Hanneman sought to teach himself the basics of social network analysis.
    • It then became a set of lecture notes for students in his undergraduate course in social network analysis.
    • Through a couple extensions and revisions, it has evolved to cover more of the basic approaches to the analysis of social network data.
    • The book may also be suitable as course-support for undergraduate or introductory graduate training in social network analysis.
    • The concepts and techniques of social network analysis are informed by, and inform the evolution of these broader fields.