著者

上野 栄一

出版者

福井大学

雑誌

福井大学医学部研究雑誌 (ISSN:13488562)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.9, no.1, pp.1-18, 2008-12

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Qualitative and quantitative research design models present the nurse researcher with complex issues to sort through beforeresearch can be started. Content analysis is a linguistic, systematic and replicable technique for compressing many words andsentences of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding. Content analysis is a hybrid (mixed ormulti-method) research approach which contains both qualitative and quantitative research.In contrast with qualitative methods such as grounded theory, content analysis allows inferences to be made which can then becorroborated using other methods of data collection. This method employs various state-of-the-art fields such as linguistics,information science and social science. Krippendorff, who is a professor at Pennsylvania University, notes that computer-drivencontent analysis tools such as Wincha ( morphological analysis software ) and KWIC Finder have been motivated by the search fortechniques and skills for making inferences from symbolic data that would be either too costly, no longer possible, or too obtrusive bythe use of other techniques. Therefore, content analysis appears to be promising for nurses to discover and describe the topic focusof individuals (especially patients), interest groups, institutions and societies.This methodology, which arose from the analysis of anthems, enhances research quality across a broad spectrum of professionalfields. In particular, computer utilization offers a realistic coupling of quantitative research with qualitative research in the field ofnursing. In Japan, the development of content analysis is now being conducted by nursing researchers.By introducing computer analysis into conventional and qualitative research methods, word-level analysis becomes a practical tool.Such analysis offers the power to produce objective, quantitative displays enabling the researcher to categorize the content ofinterviews. Furthermore, content analysis makes possible generalizations about critical components of the relationship betweennurses and patients within a reasonable time frame. This paper will present the method of the content analysis, its history, andspecific analytical procedures involved in computer utilization.Experience with content analysis suggests that this method has the potential to contribute greatly to nursing research in the nearfuture.