Methodology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Methodology - Essay Example Holsti (1968, p. 608) defines content analysis as â€Å"any technique for making inferences by systematically and objectively identifying special characteristics of messages†. The later definition is broad and does not restricted content analysis to the domain of textual analysis. However, to allow for replication, content analysis technique can only be used on data that are durable in nature. Content analysis technique allows a researcher to test theoretical issues in order to enhance understanding of the data (Elo & Kynga 2008). It is possible to sieve words into fewer content related categories using content analysis. Cavanagh (1997) notes that when classified into the same categories, words, and phrases share the same meaning. According to GAO (1996), content analysis is important because it enables researchers to sift easily through large amounts of data. Weber (1990) noted that this technique can be used to allow for the description and discovery of the focus of individual, group, institutional, or social attention. The technique further allows inferences that can be later corroborated through other methods of data collection be made. As Krippendorff (2004) notes that "content analysis research is motivated by the search for techniques to infer from symbolic data what would be either too costly, no longer possible, or too obtrusive by the use of other techniques" (p . 51). Content analysis is a method that can be used in a number of disciples to study a number of issues. For instance in marketing, the method can be a very powerful tool in studying brand personalities of companies. A number of authors in marketing have used this method. These include Douglas & Mills (2006) who did a web content analysis of logging brand personality online using Aarker’s (1997) brand personality framework. Stemler (2001) noted that content analysis can be used to determine authorship. For example, he noted that Mosteller