Content Analysis, Construct Validity, and Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Technical and Professional Communication and Graduate Research Preparation

Abstract

Artificial intelligence tools are being increasingly used to do content analysis in technical and professional communication (TPC). The authors consider some of the affordances and constraints of these tools and suggest that construct validity is an underdiscussed form of validity within TPC research that will become more important as artificial intelligence research tools become increasingly prevalent. But construct validity is an important idea for graduate programming on research methods regardless of the type of method, technique, or tool used—whether qualitative or computational. Thus, training in construct validity is important for strengthening graduate research preparation in TPC.