what is content analysis in history

Content analysis is a research tool used to determine the presence of certain words, themes, or concepts within given qualitative data, such as text, images, or other forms of communication. It is a data analysis technique that can be used to study documents and communication artifacts, including texts of various formats, pictures, audio, or video. Content analysis has been applied in many fields of the human sciences, such as linguistics, anthropology, and history. In its beginnings, content analysis was done manually by measuring the number of columns given a subject in the first newspapers at the end of the 19th century. Today, the text must be coded, or broken down, into manageable code categories for analysis. There are two general types of content analysis: conceptual analysis and relational analysis. Conceptual analysis determines the existence and frequency of concepts in a text, while relational analysis examines the relationships among concepts in a text. Content analysis is a powerful tool when combined with other research methods such as interviews, observation, and use of archival records. It is very useful for analyzing historical material, especially for documenting trends over time. However, content analysis can be extremely time-consuming and is subject to increased error, particularly when relational analysis is used to attain a higher level of analysis.