How to plan and perform a qualitative study using content analysis

A method of analysing qualitative interview data is outlined as a stage-by-stage process. Some of the problems associated with the method are identified. The researcher in the field of qualitative work is urged to be systematic and open to the difficulties of the task of understanding other people's perceptions.

Counting codes makes qualitative content analysis a controversial approach to analyzing textual data. Several decades ago, mainstream content analysis rejected qualitative content analysis on the grounds that it was not sufficiently quantitative; today, it is often charged with not being sufficiently qualitative. This article argues that qualitative content analysis is distinctively qualitative in both its approach to coding and its interpretations of counts from codes. Rather than argue over whether to do qualitative content analysis, researchers must make informed decisions about when to use it in analyzing qualitative data.