Coding Choices for Textual Analysis: A Comparison of Content Analysis and Map Analysis

Carley, Kathleen. 1993. Coding choices for textual analysis: A comparison of content analysis and map analysis. Sociological Methodology 23: 75-126

In this article, Kathleen Carley discusses the importance of textual analysis to social science research. She discusses the limitations of textual analysis techniques, claiming many to be time-consuming, costly, and non-generalizable. Carley compares and contrasts content analysis and map analysis, while offering coding scheme choices and guidelines to be used in each.

Both content analysis and map analysis have their advantages and disadvantages. Content analysis can be automated, but it may not reveal differences in meanings between texts. Map analysis, however, is more difficult to automate, but it does allow for a deeper understanding as it focuses on the relationships between concepts and the meaning of texts. This process helps researchers to see patterns and differences graphically and statistically.

I found this article helpful and it definitely gave me a better understanding of textual analysis. Carley was very detailed in her explanations of the two processes and of coding and classification schemes. She discussed certain attributes researchers should look for in their analysis, and used plenty real-life examples and illustrations to make her point.