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Content analysis is a family of systematic approaches used to measure and extract meaning from complex archival data. It requires researchers to specify keywords, phrases, or ideas of interest and then locate all occurrences of them within the data so they can be counted, timed (e.g., the amount of time devoted to a specific topic on a news show), or analyzed in a variety of other ways.

Content Analysis

Archival research can involve complex measurement and analysis of historical qualitative data. In one study, researchers examined the relationship between optimism and health by analyzing open-ended questionnaires about wartime experiences completed by college students in the 1940s. They used content analysis to extract an explanatory style score for each participant, and then assessed the statistical relationship between these early optimism scores and archival measures of the men’s health at age 60, finding a positive correlation (Pearson’s $$r = +.25$$).

Example of Archival Research: Optimism and Health

Which systematic approach is used to measure and extract meaning from complex archival data by locating and analyzing occurrences of specific keywords, phrases, or ideas of interest?

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