ABSTRACT
The use of computers in content analysis has grown greatly in importance during the past 20 years. Content analysts have moved from inputting data into large mainframe computers with punch cards to using personal computers for a variety of research tasks. As "number-crunching" devices, computers will calculate all the statistics we discussed in chapter 8 (this volume) and many more using standard statistical programs such as Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Once data are entered, these programs allow for fast and flexible manipulation of these data. However, the ability to crunch numbers in multiple ways has little to do with the quality of the research. As Riffe (2003) concluded, "Ultimately, the success of the research enterprise depends less on the sophistication of the data analysis or the impenetrability of the statistical procedure used than it does on the clarity of the research questions or hypotheses and the effectiveness of the research design" (pp. 207-208).
