ABSTRACT
Content analysis involves conceptualization, design, and execution phases. The research design of a study is its blueprint, the plan specifying how a particular content analysis will be performed to answer a specific research question or test a specific research hypothesis. Design considerations include time, comparisons with other media or data sources, operationalization and measurement decisions, sampling, reliability, and appropriate statistical analysis. Ultimately, good research design can be evaluated in terms of how well it permits answering the research question and fulfilling the study’s purpose. The more concrete the design, the more likely the project will produce reliable and valid data. This chapter provides a series of questions to help guide the design process. In addition, it discusses the relationship between a single study and a program of research.
