Content Analysis

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The following discussion of steps that can be followed to code a text or set of texts during conceptual analysis use campaign speeches made by Bill Clinton during the 1992 presidential campaign as an example. To read about each step, click on the items in the list below:

1. Decide the level of analysis.
2. Decide how many concepts to code for.
3. Decide whether to code for existence or frequency of a concept.
4. Decide on how you will distinguish among concepts.
5. Develop rules for coding your texts.
6. Decide what to do with "irrelevant" information.
7. Code the texts.
8. Analyze your results.