RESEARCH METHOD COHEN ok

HOW DOES CONTENT ANALYSIS WORK 481
There are several computer packages that can help
the coder here (e.g. ETHNOGRAPH, N-Vivo),
though they require the original transcript to be
entered onto the computer. One such, Code-A-
Text, is particularly useful for analysing dialogues
both quantitatively and qualitatively (the system
also accepts sound and video input).
Having performed the first round of coding, the
researcher is able to detect patterns, themes and
begin to make generalizations (e.g. by counting
the frequencies of codes). The researcher can also
group codes into more general clusters, each with
acode,i.e.beginthemovetowardsfactoringthe
data.
Miles and Huberman (1994) suggest that it is
possible to keep as many as ninety codes in the
working memory at any one time, though they
make the point that data might be recoded on a
second or third reading, as codes that were used
early on might have to be refined in light of
codes that are used later, either to make the codes
more discriminating or to conflate codes that are
unnecessarily specific. Codes, they argue, should
enable the researcher to catch the complexity and
comprehensiveness of the data.
Perhaps the biggest problem concerns the
coding and scoring of open-ended questions. Two
solutions are possible here. Even though a response
is open-ended, an interviewer, for example, may
precode the interview schedule so that while an
interviewee is responding freely, the interviewer is
assigning the content of the responses, or parts of it,
to predetermined coding categories. Classifications
of this kind may be developed during pilot studies.
Alternatively, data may be postcoded. Having
recorded the interviewee’s response, for example,
either by summarizing it during or after the
interview itself, or verbatim by tape-recorder,
the researcher may subject it to content
analysis and apply it to one of the available
scoring procedures – scaling, scoring, rank scoring,
response counting, etc.
Step 9: Conduct the data analysis
Once the data have been coded and categorized,
the researcher can count the frequency of each
code or word in the text, and the number of
words in each category. This is the process of
retrieval, which may be in multiple modes, for
example words, codes, nodes and categories. Some
words may be in more than one category, for
example where one category is an overarching
category and another is a subcategory. To ensure
reliability, Weber (1990: 21–4) suggests that it is
advisable at first to work on small samples of text
rather than the whole text, to test out the coding
and categorization, and make amendments where
necessary. The complete texts should be analysed,
as this preserves their semantic coherence.
Words and single codes on their own have
limited power, and so it is important to move to
associations between words and codes, i.e. to look
at categories and relationships between categories.
Establishing relationships and linkages between
the domains ensures that the data, their richness
and ‘context-groundedness’ are retained. Linkages
can be found by identifying confirming cases, by
seeking ‘underlying associations’ (LeCompte and
Preissle 1993: 246) and connections between data
subsets.
Weber (1990: 54) suggests that it is preferable
to retrieve text based on categories rather than
single words, as categories tend to retrieve more
than single words, drawing on synonyms and
conceptually close meanings. One can make
category counts as well as word counts. Indeed,
one can specify at what level the counting can
be conducted, for example, words, phrases, codes,
categories and themes.
The implication here is that the frequency of
words, codes, nodes and categories provides an
indication of their significance. This may or may
not be true, since subsequent mentions of a word
or category may be difficult in certain texts (e.g.
speeches). Frequency does not equal importance,
and not saying something (withholding comment)
may be as important as saying something. Content
analysis analyses only what is present rather than
what is missing or unsaid (Anderson and Arsenault
1998: 104). Further, as Weber (1990) says:
pronouns may replace nouns the further on one goes
through a passage; continuing raising of the issue may
Chapter 23