Abstract

Content analysis is a widely used qualitative Researchers regard content analysis as a flexible method for analyzing text data The differentiation of content analysis is usually limited to classifying it as primarily a qualitative versus quantitative research method. A more thorough analysis of the ways in which qualitative content analysis can be used would potentially illuminate key issues for researchers to consider in the design of studies purporting to 1277 AUTHORS' NOTE: We wish to express our gratitude to Drs. Pamela L. Jordan, Carol J. Leppa, and J. Randall Curtis for their feedback and support in writing this article. QUALITATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH, Vol. 15 No. 9, November 2005 1277-1288 DOI: 10.1177/1049732305276687 © 2005 use content analysis and the analytic procedures employed in such studies, thus avoiding a muddling of methods Our purpose in this article is to present the breadth of approaches categorized as qualitative content analysis. We have identified three distinct approaches: conventional, directed, and summative. All three approaches are used to interpret text data from a predominately naturalistic paradigm. We begin with a brief review of the history and definitions of content analysis. We then illustrate the three different approaches to qualitative content analysis with hypothetical studies to explicate the issues of study design and analytical procedures for each approach.