Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Sep;7(3):93-99.
doi: 10.1016/j.afjem.2017.08.001. Epub 2017 Aug 21.

A hands-on guide to doing content analysis

Affiliations

A hands-on guide to doing content analysis

Christen Erlingsson et al. Afr J Emerg Med. 2017 Sep.

Abstract

There is a growing recognition for the important role played by qualitative research and its usefulness in many fields, including the emergency care context in Africa. Novice qualitative researchers are often daunted by the prospect of qualitative data analysis and thus may experience much difficulty in the data analysis process. Our objective with this manuscript is to provide a practical hands-on example of qualitative content analysis to aid novice qualitative researchers in their task.

Keywords: Content analysis; Qualitative data analysis; Qualitative research.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Example of analysis leading to higher levels of abstraction; from manifest to latent content.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Excerpt from interview text exploring “Patient’s experience of being admitted into the emergency centre”

References

    1. Graneheim U.H., Lundman B. Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures, and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Educ Today. 2004;24:105–112. - PubMed
    1. Mayring P. Qualitative content analysis. Forum Qual Soc Res. 2000;1(2) http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs/
    1. Hsieh H.F., Shannon S. Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qual Health Res. 2005;15(9):1277–1288. - PubMed
    1. Schilling J. On the pragmatics of qualitative assessment: designing the process for content analysis. Eur J Psychol Assess. 2006;22(1):28–37.
    1. Elo S., Kyngas H. The qualitative content analysis process. J Adv Nurs. 2007;62(1):107–115. - PubMed