Performing qualitative content analysis

Abstract

Although content analysis has traditionally been considered a quantitative method, it has been advocated in the methodological literature for its use in qualitative form as early as the middle of the 20th century. Nevertheless, much less methodological knowledge is available on the characteristics of qualitative content analysis and its application than on quantitative content analysis. The subject of this paper is a presentation of performing qualitative content analysis. First, different views of the qualitative form of the method are given, since there is no unique definition. Then, the basic steps of qualitative content analysis are presented, that is, the stages of application of the procedure, on which there is also no agreement, but no essential differences. Particular attention has been paid to the deductive and inductive approach of determining the categories of classification. The application of qualitative content analysis is illustrated by a survey of nostalgia of Serbian immigrants living in the Nordic countries. Finally, concluding considerations on performing a qualitative content analysis are summarized and the challenges ahead.