Content analysis involves a series of steps designed to code, categorize, and summarize the elements within the content of what is being studied. For example, we might want to analyze the statements that students make in evaluating faculty, the level of sophistication in students’ analyses of whatever they might be studying and reporting, the content of student newspapers, the content of Presidential candidates’ speeches, movie scripts, visual effects in TV news, and so forth. The methods are not simple, may be aided by the use of specific computer tools, and may be quite time-consuming to employ. Nevertheless, content analysis can serve researchers in a wide variety of ways and may provide insights into assessment results that we cannot otherwise capture.
Below are three sources worth reviewing for those wanting
to learn more about content analysis.
Colorado State University’s Writing
Guide: Content Analysis discussion,
history, methods, etc.
http://writing.colostate.edu/references/research/content/pop2a.cfm
Betty Van der Veer Martens,
Syracuse University, Content Analysis introduction:
http://web.syr.edu/~bvmarten/content.html
Content Analysis using analysis of
dreams as an example:
http://mind.ucsc.edu/dreams/Info/index.html
Content Analysis Software: