Progress in Communication Sciences – serie

The researcher in computer content analysis is often faced with a paucity of guidance in conducting a study. Published exemplars of best practice in computer content analysis are rare, and computer content analysis seems to have developed independently in a number of disciplines, with researchers in one field often unaware of new and innovative techniques developed by researchers in other areas. This volume contains numerous articles illustrating the current state of the art of computer content analysis. Research is presented by scholars in political science, natural resource management, mass communication, marketing, education, and other fields, with the aim of providing exemplars for further research on the computer analysis and understanding of textual materials.The studies presented in Applications of Computer Content Analysis offer a varied spectrum of exemplary studies, Researchers can, due to the breadth of the studies presented here, find methodological, theoretical, and practical suggestions which will significantly ease the process of creating new research--and will significantly reduce the duplication of effort which has, until now, plagued computer content analytic research. Intended for an audience of graduate students, scholars, and in-field practitioners, this will serve as an invaluable resource, full of useful examples, for those interesting in using computers to analyze newspapers articles, emails, mediated communication, or any other sort of digital communication.

In recent years, computer content analysis has undergone something of a renaissance. Inexpensive and powerful desktop computers mean that computer analysis of texts is available to most researchers. The availability of software to do analyses, however, is not always linked to clear theoretical and methodological understandings. This volume seeks to deal with this concern by providing, from scholars in a variety of disciplines, perspectives upon the theoretical and methodological issues which arise when conducting content analysis via computer. Although it is not always obvious, computer content analysis is a method which inevitably calls for theoretical assumptions. Those theoretical assumptions in turn drive methodological considerations, and method in turn determines the form of the practice of computer content analysis.This volume includes ten articles by well-known scholars utilizing computer content analysis. A variety of methodological, theoretical, and practical issues are here addressed, presenting unique methods and perspectives for the consideration of computer content analysis. Intended for an audience of graduate students, scholars, and in-field practitioners, Theory, Method and Practice of Computer Content Analysis will serve as an invaluable resource of ideas and practices for those interested in using computers to analyze textual material.