L17 - Content and Thematic Analysis Flashcards
what is CONTENT ANALYSIS? - PT 1
CONTENT ANALYSIS is a TYPE of OBSERVATIONAL TECHNIQUE which involves STUDYING PEOPLE INDIRECTLY through QUALITATIVE DATA
QUALITATIVE DATA collected in a RANGE OF FORMATS can be used, such as VIDEO OR AUDIO RECORDINGS (interview TRANSCRIPTS) and WRITTEN RESPONSES
CONTENT ANALYSIS helps to CLASSIFY RESPONSES in a way that is SYSTEMATIC, which can allow CLEAR CONCLUSIONS TO BE DRAWN
what is CONTENT ANALYSIS? - PT 2
RESEARCHERS must FAMILIARISE themselves with the DATA BEFORE CONDUCTING ANY ANALYSIS, so that they are CONFIDENT that their CODING SYSTEM is APPROPRIATE FOR THE TASK AHEAD
Content analysis is particularly useful when CONDUCTING RESEARCH THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE CONSIDERED UNETHICAL. For material that is of a SENSITIVE NATURE, such as EXPERIENCE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, CONTENT ANALYSIS CAN PROVE USEFUL as pps can WRITE A REPORT of their EXPERIENCE.
WHICH CAN BE USED IN ANALYSIS so that their ACTUAL WORDS AREN’T USED but HIGH QUALITY DATA CAN STILL BE COLLECTED, even in these DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES
what is CODING?
CODING is an IMPORTANT STEP in CONDUCTING CONTENT ANALYSIS and involves the researcher DEVELOPING CATEGORIES for the DATA TO BE CLASSIFIED
QUALITATIVE DATA can be EXTENSIVE IN ITS NATURE, e.g INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS, and so CODING can be helpful in REACHING SUCCINCT CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE DATA
These CATEGORIES provide a FRAMEWORK to CONVERT THE QUALITATIVE MATERIAL into QUANTITATIVE DATA, which can then be USED FOR FURTHER (STATISTICAL) ANALYSIS
how does CODING ACTUALLY WORK? - EXAMPLE
1) select material to be coded
2) read through and HIGHLIGHT KEY POINTS OF REFERENCE
3) using KEY POINTS CATEGORISE EACH according to what IT CONTAINS
4) repeat this for ALL MATERIAL THAT NEEDS TO BE ANALYSED
5) define the FINAL CATEGORIES that REOCCUR throughout ALL THE MATERIAL
6) READ THROUGH AGAIN and TALLY EACH BEHAVIOUR CATEGORY AS THEY ARE SEEN IN THE TEXT
7) THIS DATA CAN THEN BE ANALYSED FURTHER USING STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
what is THEMATIC ANALYSIS?
THEMATIC ANALYSIS is a technique that helps IDENTIFY THEMES THROUGHOUT QUALITATIVE DATA
A THEME is an IDEA or a NOTION, and can be EXPLICIT (such as stating you feel depressed) or IMPLICIT (such as using the metaphor of a BLACK CLOUD for feeling depressed)
THEMATIC ANALYSIS will PRODUCE FUTHER QUALITATIVE DATA, but this will be MUCH MORE REFINED
how is THEMATIC ANALYSIS CARRIED OUT?
1) READ THROUGH THE MATERIAL and CATEGORISE THE MATERIAL USING KEY POINTS AS IN CONTENT ANALYSIS
2) Decide if any of the CATEGORIES CAN BE LINKED INTO A BIGGER CATEGORY - i.e ‘stereotypical views’
3) once the THEMES are SUCCESSFULLY IDENTIFIED, HIGHLIGHT ASPECTS OF THE DATA, FITTING THEM INTO THE THEMES
4) do this for ALL MATERIAL
5) QUALITATIVE COMPARISONS are THEN DRAWN BETWEEN MAJOR and MINOR THEMES OF THE ANALYSIS
+ HIGH ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY (EVALUATION OF CONTENT ANALYSIS AND THEMATIC ANALYSIS)
+ a STRENGTH of BOTH CONTENT ANALYSIS and THEMATIC ANALYSIS is HIGH ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY
Much of the analysis that takes place is BASING CONCLUSIONS on OBSERVATIONS OF REAL LIFE BEHAVIOUR and WRITTEN AND VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS
E.g analysis can take place on BOOKS people have read - since RECORDS OF THESE QUALITATIVE SOURCES REMAIN, REPLICATION OF THE CONTENT/THEMATIC ANALYSIS CAN BE CONDUCTED. If results were found to be CONSISTENT on RE ANALYSIS then they would be said to be RELIABLE
- SUBJECTIVE (EVALUATION OF CONTENT ANALYSIS AND THEMATIC ANALYSIS)
- There is the POSSIBILITY that CONTENT ANALYSIS can produce FINDINGS that are VERY SUBJECTIVE
E.g the RESEARCHER MAY INTERPRET some things SAID IN AN INTERVIEW in a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MANNER FROM HOW THEY WERE INTENDED, due to THEIR OWN PRECONCEPTIONS, JUDGEMENTS or BIASES
- CULTURAL DIFFERENCES (EVALUATION OF CONTENT ANALYSIS AND THEMATIC ANALYSIS)
- CULTURAL DIFFERENCES may CONTRIBUTE to INCONSISTENT INTERPRETATION of BEHAVIOUR CODING since LANGUAGE MAY BE TRANSLATED and therefore INTERPRETED DIFFERENTLY by someone of a DIFFERENT NATIONALITY
As a result, the VALIDITY OF FINDINGS from a CONTENT ANALYSIS can be QUESTIONED since it MAY NOT HAVE BEEN MEASURING WHAT IT INTENDED TO WITH ACCURACY
