The Current State and Future Prospects of Content AnalysisResearch

Abstract

　In content analysis, which is defined as a scientific method for objectively

analyzing messages in communication, there are various rules that must be

adhered to―similar to the methods in other social sciences. In this article, the

author focuses on whether reliability tests are carried out and verifies the current

status of content analysis in Journal of Mass Communication Studies. As a

result, the author found that the reliability tests required in content analysis

were not sufficiently carried out, and that stricter adherence to the rules was

necessary. Furthermore, when considering the proliferation of data analysis utilizing

computers with higher reproducibility, it becomes difficult to define content

analysis as only a quantitative and empirical method. Because of this, there

will be a need in the future to consider the tradeoff between reliability and

validity, which is an issue in content analysis, in order to establish a new role

for it as a method for achieving a balance between the two.