Content analysis refers to the generally unobtrusive method of systematically examining human communication in documentation and text for the purpose of discovering themes, patterns, and trends in the use and application of language. This information is then critically examined and interpreted in order to elicit meaning, obtain understanding, and develop empirical knowledge in support of studying a research problem in international relations.
Content for analysis can be derived from books, government documents, newspapers, magazines, journals, web pages, social media, or the method can refer more broadly to analyzing the content of non-text-based sources, such as, photographs, sound recordings, or multimedia sources.
Content mining refers to the process by which you acquire information to be analyzed. If you are interested in applying this method of gathering information for your research, the following guide describes available text mining resources and tools and whether or not databases from the USC Libraries supports the mining of content.
Bowen, Glenn A. "Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method." Qualitative Research Journal 9 (2009): 27-40; Fairclough, Norman. Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research. New York: Routledge, 2003.Wodak, Ruth and Michal Krzyzanowski, eds. Qualitative Discourse Analysis in the Social Sciences. New York: Palgrace MacMillan, 2017; Prior, Lindsay. “Content Analysis. In The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research. Patricia Leavy, ed. 2nd edition. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), pp.541-568.