CONTENT ANALYSI S I N STUDI ES USI NG THE CLI NI CAL–QUALI TATI VE METHOD:
APPLI CATI ON AND PERSPECTI VES
Claudinei José Gom es Cam pos1 Egber t o Ribeir o Tur at o2
Cam p os CJG, Tu r at o ER. Con t en t an aly sis in st u d ies u sin g t h e clin ical- q u alit at iv e m et h od : ap p licat ion an d per spect iv es. Rev Lat ino- am Enfer m agem 2 0 0 9 m ar ço- abr il; 1 7 ( 2 ) : 2 5 9 - 6 4 .
Cont ent analy sis com pr ises a set of t echniques for or ganizing com m unicat ion/ infor m at ion – a pr ocedur e used w i t h q u al i t at i v e d at a t o m ak e t h em es/ t o p i cs an d co n cep t s/ k n o w l ed g e em er g e. Co m m u n i cat i o n co n t en t , consider ing hum an w r it t en or spok en discour se, is com plex and pr esent s v aluable poly sem ous char act er ist ic. Wit h t he dissem inat ion of t he clinical- qualit at ive m et hod, t he use of cont ent analysis, consider ed an im por t ant m et hodological t ool, raises t heoret ical- pract ical issues t hat need t o be t aken int o considerat ion for it s academ ically pr ecise u se. Th u s, t h is ar t icle aim ed t o en u m er at e specif ic elem en t s of t h e con t en t an aly sis t ech n iqu e an d discuss it s suit abilit y for t he clinical- qualit at ive m et hod t hat com bines generic qualit at ive m et hods from Hum an and Cult ural Sciences wit h t he area of Healt h Sciences. Concept s were select ed due t o t heir pert inence, use and ev ent ual adapt at ion t o t he m et hod focused on.
DESCRI PTORS: m et hods; qualit at iv e r esear ch; nur sing m et hodology r esear ch
ANÁLI SI S DE CONTENI DO EN I NVESTI GACI ONES QUE UTI LI ZAN LA METODOLOGÍ A
CLÍ NI CO-CUALI TATI VA: APLI CACI ÓN Y PERSPECTI VAS
El análisis de cont enido incluye un conj unt o de t écnicas de organización de com unicaciones/ inform aciones – un procedim ient o frent e a dat os cualit at ivos para hacer surgir t em as/ t ópicos y concept os/ conocim ient os. El cont enido de una com unicación, consider ando el discur so hum ano hablado y escr it o, es com plej o y pr esent a una valiosa car act er íst ica polisém ica. Con la difusión del m ét odo de inv est igación clínico- cualit at iv o en nuest r o m edio, la u t ilización del an álisis de con t en id o, u n a im por t an t e h er r am ien t a m et odológica, t r ae cu est ion es t eór icas y pr áct icas qu e n ecesit an ser bien obser v adas par a obt en er u n a u t ilización académ icam en t e pr ecisa. Así, n os proponem os, en est e art ículo, enum erar elem ent os part iculares de la t écnica de análisis de cont enido, discut iendo su adecuación a la m et odología Clínica- Cualit at iv a que une los m ét odos cualit at iv os genér icos, const r uidos en las Cien cias d el Hom b r e y d e la Cu lt u r a, con el cam p o d e las Cien cias d e la Salu d . Fu er on seleccion ad os concept os t om ando en cuent a su per t inencia, em pleo y ev ent uales adapt aciones par a el m ét odo cit ado.
DESCRI PTORES: m ét odos; inv est igación cualit at iv a; inv est igación m et odológica en enfer m er ía
ANÁLI SE DE CONTEÚDO EM PESQUI SAS QUE UTI LI ZAM METODOLOGI A CLÍ NI
CO-QUALI TATI VA: APLI CAÇÃO E PERSPECTI VAS
An álise de con t eú do abr an ge u m con j u n t o de t écn icas de or gan ização de com u n icações/ in f or m ações - u m p r oced im en t o f r en t e a d ad os q u alit at iv os p ar a f azer em er g ir t em as/ t óp icos e con ceit os/ con h ecim en t os. O cont eúdo de um a com unicação, consider ando o discur so hum ano falado ou escr it o, é com plex o e apr esent a v aliosa car act er íst ica p olissêm ica. Com a d if u são d o m ét od o d e p esq u isa clín ico- q u alit at iv o d en t r e n ós, a u t ilização da an álise de con t eú do, im por t an t e f er r am en t a m et odológica, t r az qu est ões t eór ico- pr át icas qu e n ecessit am ser bem apr eciadas par a a u t ilização academ icam en t e pr ecisa. Dessa for m a, obj et iv ou - se n est e ar t ig o en u m er ar elem en t os p ar t icu lar es d a t écn ica d e an álise d e con t eú d o, d iscu t in d o su a ad eq u ação à m et odologia clínico- qualit at iva, que casa os genéricos m ét odos qualit at ivos, const ruídos nas Ciências do Hom em e da Cu lt u r a, com o cam po das Ciên cias da Saú de. For am selecion ados con ceit os v isan do su a per t in ên cia, em pr ego e ev ent uais adapt ações par a o cit ado m ét odo.
DESCRI TORES: m ét odos; pesquisa qualit at iv a; pesquisa m et odológica em enfer m agem
Fa cu l d a d e d e Ci ê n ci a s Mé d i ca s d a Un i v e r si d a d e d e Ca m p i n a s, Br a zi l : 1RN, Ph . D. i n Me d i ca l Sci e n ce s, Co l a b o r a t i n g Re se a r ch e r, e - m a i l :
cj cam pos@fcm .unicam p.br; 2Psychiat rist , Free Lect urer, Facult y, e- m ail: ert urat [email protected] .br.
I NTRODUCTI ON
T
h e co n st r u ct i o n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o f a scien t if ic r esear ch r esou r ce b ased on t w o alr ead ye s t a b l i s h e d m e t h o d o l o g i c a l m o d e l s : t h e
com pr ehensiv e- int er pr et at iv e appr oach of sy m bols in
Hu m an Scien ces an d clin ical ap p r oach es in h ealt h .
These t wo m odels, j oint ly wit h psychodynam ics, in t he
underst anding of int erpersonal relat ions, com prise t he
so- called clinical- qualit at iv e m et hod( 1). I t is based on
t hr ee pr inciples: on t he m illennial clinical at t it ude of
look in g at t h ose w h o car r y a p ain , on t h e secu lar
p sy ch oan aly t ical at t it u d e of list en in g t o t h ose w h o
ex p er ien ce em ot ion al con f lict s an d on t h e classical
exist ent ialist at t it ude of reflect ing on hum an anguishes.
The clinical- qualit at iv e r esear ch m et hod can
be underst ood as: “ …t he st udy and t he const ruct ion of
epist em ological lim it s of a cert ain qualit at ive m et hod,
p ar t i cu l ar i zed i n h eal t h car e set t i n g s, i n cl u d i n g a
d iscu ssion on a r an g e of ad eq u at e t ech n iq u es an d
procedures t o describe and underst and t he relat ion of
m eaning r egar ding hum an phenom ena r efer r ed t o in
t his field”( 1).
Th e m et h od’s ov er lappin g aspect s m ak e u s
reflect on how t o apply t he several research t echniques
it com pr ises and how t o m ak e connect ions bet w een
t he set t ing char act er ist ics, w her e t he phenom ena of
t h e h e a l t h - d i s e a s e p r o c e s s t a k e p l a c e , a n d
psychodynam ic concept ions of t he relat ions est ablished
i n t h a t se t t i n g , i n a b r o a d p i ct u r e o f t h e o r e t i ca l
f r a m e w o r k s t o a n ch o r a n d co l l a t e , a m o n g o t h e r
par t icular it ies.
The use of dat a analysis t echniques shows it s
im port ance as, aft er dat a collect ion, it requires accurat e
r eadings and int er pr et at iv e and cr eat iv e discussions.
I t is known t hat , in t he universe of qualit at ive research,
t h e ch oice of a m et h od an d it s t ech n iq u es of d at a
collect ion and analysis should be carried out under a
m u lt if acet ed p er sp ect iv e on t h e t ot alit y of r esu lt s,
in clu din g obser v at ion s an d in t er v iew s – t h e cor pu s.
Such requirem ent is due t o t he m ult iplicit y of senses
a t t r i b u t e d b y t h e s u b j e c t s w h o e x p e r i e n c e t h e
phenom ena under st udy – t he poly sem ous nat ur e of
r esear ch( 2 ).
Cont ent analysis is a widely used st rat egy for
d iscou r se t r eat m en t in q u alit at iv e in v est ig at ion . I t
com pr ises a set of st r at egies w h ose obj ect iv e is t o
search for m eanings cont ained in docum ent s, m at erial
collect ed t hrough int erview s( 2), or observat ion in field
diar ies( 3).
This r ev iew aim ed t o enum er at e t he specific
e l e m e n t s o f c o n t e n t a n a l y s i s a n d d i s c u s s t h e i r
su it abilit y f or t h e clin ical- qu alit at iv e m et h od, w h ich
inser t s t he gener ic qualit at iv e m et hods built in Hum an
and Cult ur al Sciences int o t he Healt h Sciences ar ea.
Br ief hist or y of t he cont ent analy sis m et hod
A r em ot e at t em pt t o under st and t he m eaning
of a giv en m essage happened t hr ough t he so- called
e x e g e s i s, d e t a i l e d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , s p e c i f i c a l l y
e m p l o y e d i n b i b l i c a l t e x t s f o r a p o s s i b l e
u n d e r st a n d i n g o f w h a t u n d e r l i e s m e t a p h o r s a n d
par ables of t h ese docu m en t s( 4 ).
How ever, it seem s t hat it w as only in t he m
id-20t h Cent ur y t hat t his analy t ic st r at egy w as pr esent ed
in a m or e sy st em at ized w ay w it h t r ue r esear ch r igor
f o r s c i e n t i f i c k n o w l e d g e . Au t h o r s l i k e Be r e l s o n ,
Lazar sf eld an d Lassw ell ar e con sid er ed lan d m ar k s
in t he cr eat ion of cont ent analy sis t ools( 5), w hich w er e
st r ongly influenced by posit iv ist t hink ing t hough.
Th is p h ilosop h ical r ed u ct ion ist b ias can b e
obser v ed in a concept r epor t ed by one of it s aut hor s:
“ con t en t an aly sis is a r esear ch t ech n iqu e t h at aim s
t o o b j e ct i v e l y, sy st e m a t i ca l l y a n d q u a n t i t a t i v e l y
descr ibe t he m anifest com m unicat ion cont ent ”( 6 ). At
t h e t im e, t h e ob j ect iv e w as t o an aly ze j ou r n alist ic
m at er i al f o r p o l i t i cal i n v est i g at i o n – t h e so - cal l ed
subv er siv e pr opaganda – t hus, hidden senses, w hich
t he st at us quo w ant ed t o unv eil, w er e sought .
Ref i n em en t o f t h e co n t en t a n a l y si s t ech n i q u e f o r
clin ical an d qu alit at iv e r esear ch
St ag e of f r ee- f loat in g r ead in g t o g et im p r eg n at ed
w it h cont ent
Fr ee- float ing r eading, t er m used in analogy
t o t he psy choanaly t ical concept of float ing ( unifor m ly )
at t ent ion( 1), is under st ood her e as a w ay of list ening,
w h i ch , a p r i o r i, sh o u l d n o t p r i v i l e g e a n y o f t h e
discur siv e elem ent s. I t im plies a w ay of oper at ing in
w hich y our ow n unconscious act iv it y is let as fr ee as
p o ssi b l e an d y o u r m o t i v at i o n s t h at u su al l y d i r ect
at t en t ion ar e su spen ded( 7 ).
The set of r ecor ded int er v iew s w ill r esult in
sev er al h ou r s of casset t e t ape r ecor din gs an d t h eir
t r an scr ip t ion s of p ag es b y t en s. To d eal w it h su ch
abundance of m at er ial, one should use som e specific
t h e y d o n o t r e q u i r e a n y e x t r a o r d i n a r y m e a n s ,
basically consist ing of dir ect ing one’s obser v at ion t o
s o m e t h i n g s p e c i f i c , b u t m e r e l y “ t o u c h i n g ” w i t h
unifor m at t ent ion, all t hat is hear d and/ or r ead. This
w ay, one saves m ent al effor t t o per sist ent ly m aint ain
acu t e at t en t ion , w h ich w ou ld be v er y st r essf u l an d
u n p r o d u ct i v e f o r t h e p u r p o se s o f g e t t i n g t o t h e
su bj ect s’ lat en t discou r se.
Fr om “ m ut e” cont ent t o “ eloquent ” int er pr et at ions
I t r efer s t o t he lim it s of m anifest ed and lat ent
con t en t of a m essag e. Th e an aly sis h as t o in it iat e
w it h t h e m an if est ed ( ex plicit ) con t en t an d n ot t alk
t h r o u g h i t , i n a n e x e r c i s e o f m e r e s u b j e c t i v e
p r o j ect i on( 8 ). Of t en , w h at i s r eco r d ed d u r i n g d at a
collect ion is n ot w h at t h e in t er v iew ee r eally m ean t
t o say. One st ar t s by t he init ially enigm at ic lev el of
sy m b o l i sm , w h i ch b e l o n g s t o t h e l a t e n t co n t e n t
( im plicit ) .
Th e cr u cial poin t f or t h e clin ical- qu alit at iv e
r esear cher is t o av oid pot ent ial dualist ic or ex t r em e
at t it udes, t he choice of one cont ent t o t he det r im ent
of anot her. One should be car eful not t o deny hum an
s u b j e c t i v i t y o r i m p o s e o n e ’ s o w n v a l u e s t o t h e
d e t r i m e n t o f t h e b a s i c p r i n c i p l e o f q u a l i t a t i v e
r esear ch , t h at is, an aly zed d at a t ak e in t o accou n t
t h at m ean in g s ar e alw ay s at t r ib u t ed b y t h e st u d y
s u b j e c t. T h u s , c o n t e n t a n a l y s i s s h o u l d n o t b e
t em er ar iously or r igidly link ed t o t he t ex t or t o t he
t ech n iq u e, t o t h e p oin t of h in d er in g t h e scien t ist ’s
cr eat iv it y, a con siderat ion t ak en in ph en om en ology :
Not t o disr upt t he r esear cher ’s peculiar int uit iv e and
t h er ef or e n ot t r u ly su bj ect iv e capacit y.
T h e i d e a t h a t c o n t e n t a n a l y s i s , a s a n
inv est igat ion t ool, should lead t he clinical- qualit at iv e
r esear cher bey ond t he descr ipt ion of r esult s is licit .
I f on t he one hand dat a ar e silent and iner t , on t he
ot her hand, it is t he scient ist w ho giv es t hem v oice.
Th i s p r o ce ss t a k e s p l a ce t h r o u g h i n t e r p r e t a t i v e
a c t i v i t y, w h i ch cr e a t e s a t h e o r e t i ca l m o d e l a n d
r e v e a l s a n i n v i s i b l y e x i s t e n t o r d e r, b a s e d o n a
t h eor et ical r ef er en ce est ablish ed in lit er at u r e( 1 ).
I n f er en ce in con t en t an aly sis
Cont ent analy sis is usually car r ied out based
on r ecor d s an d p er m it s w h at w e m et h od olog ically
call in f er en ce, g en er ically r an g in g f r om a p assag e
of pr em ises in r ev iew t hr ough t he t ex t up t o t he st udy
conclusion. We st r ess t hat t he “ act of infer r ing m eans
t o p e r f o r m a l o g i ca l o p e r a t i o n , t h r o u g h w h i ch a
p r op osit ion is ad m it t ed d u e t o it s con n ect ion w it h
ot h er pr oposit ion s alr eady accept ed as t r u e”( 4 ).
Pr oducing infer ences fr om a t ex t , such as a
set o f i n t er v i ew s, g r a n t s t h eo r et i ca l r el ev a n ce t o
t h e m e t h o d , f o r i n s t a n c e , l i n k i n g u p a s e t o f
st at em ent s t o som e t heor y t o be est ablished( 9 ). And,
in a w ay, b ased on t h e su b j ect s’ d iscou r se, on e is
r esp ect in g t h e em ic p r in cip le of r esear ch , i. e. t h e
int er pr et at ion is car r ied out fr om t he per spect iv e of
indiv iduals under st udy and not fr om t he scient ist ’s
w o r l d v i e w .
Ac c o r d i n g t o t h i s c o n c e p t i o n , p r o d u c i n g
i n f e r e n c e s i n c o n t e n t a n a l y s i s m a i n l y m e a n s
pr oducing k now ledge subj acent t o a cer t ain m essage
a n d a l so a n ch o r i n g t h e m t o a se t o f t h e o r e t i ca l
f r a m e w o r k s , s i t u a t i n g t h e m i n a n a c a d e m i c
par adigm , a concr et e sit uat ion t hat is v iew ed in t he
hist or ical and social cont ex t of t heir pr oduct ion.
Con t en t an aly sis h as t o be adapt ed for t h e
in t en t ion al u se of sy m bols an d lan gu age, pr ov idin g
obj ect iv e and sy st em at ic m eanings, leading t o v alid
in f er en ces as f r om sev er al t y p es of ob t ain ed d at a,
aim in g t o dem on st r at e specif ic ph en om en a( 1 0 ). Yet ,
t h e s a m e a u t h o r r e i n f o r c e s t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f
c o n t e x t u a l i z a t i o n a n d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e
e n v i r o n m e n t w h e r e d a t a a r e p r o d u c e d , w h i c h
i n cr e a se s t h e r a n g e o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d p r o v i d e s
infer ent ial analy sis of r esult s in t he cont ex t t hey w er e
pr odu ced in .
Th e set t in g in clin ical- q u alit at iv e r esear ch ,
under st ood as t he m icr oenv ir onm ent of int er per sonal
r elat ions, is st r ongly psy chological( 1), conv ey ing m uch
m or e t han t he phy sical space ut ilized, w hat w e call
n a t u r a l i st i c e n v i r o n m e n t i n q u a l i t a t i v e r e se a r ch
applied t o h ealt h car e set t in gs.
I n t his cont ex t ualizat ion, dat a fr om t his t y pe
o f st u d y a r e co l l e ct e d a n d , a m i d st i n t e r p e r so n a l
r el a t i o n s p o ssi b l e d u e t o f a ce- t o - f a ce i n t er v i ew s,
m u ch m or e t h an t h e su m of w r it t en in f or m at ion is
pr odu ced. Th e r esear ch er is ex ist en t ially in t er est ed
in t h e an g u ish an d an x iet y t h at is g en er at ed , n ot
only for t his hum an r elat ion but also for t he sev er al
r epor t s of t heir life ex per iences in t he healt h- disease
p r o c e s s , t h e c l i n i c a l t r e a t m e n t , o u t c o m e s a n d
r elat ions w it h healt h pr ofessionals in gener al( 11).
As on e can con clu d e, t h e in f er en t ial f ocu s
can and should st ar t ver y ear ly, oft en in t he way of
w h en t h e r esear ch er, t h r ou g h p r ev iou s t h eor et ical
k n ow led g e an d in t u it ion , p er ceiv es t h at ( s) h e can
focus on sit uat ions t hat ar e not obj ect iv ely ex posed
b u t t h a t c o u l d c e r t a i n l y p r o v i d e m a t e r i a l f o r
d iscu ssion .
I f one t ak es int o account t hat t he infer ent ial/
int er pr et at iv e pr ocess leads t o t he subj ect iv e r eading
of non- m anifest ed cont ent , t his discussion can begin
ev en befor e t he m at er ial is collect ed and t r anscr ibed.
Th e co n t a ct p e r se d u r i n g t h e i n t e r v i e w a l r e a d y
pr ov ides m at er ial for cr escent analy sis. Any t hing t hat
can be r ecor ded in a field diar y, pr eferably r ight aft er
t h e in t er v iew , m igh t becom e u sefu l.
The concur r ent nat ur e of t he collect ion and
analy sis of qualit at iv e dat a is not ed in lit er at ur e. This
c o n c o m i t a n t p r o c e s s o f f e r s t h e r e s e a r c h e r t h e
oppor t u n it y t o dev elop in cipien t con clu sion s, r ef in e
q u est i on s an d sear ch f or n ew av en u es of i n q u i r y,
now w it h gr eat er dept h( 12).
Cat eg or izat ion p r ocess b y r elev an ce cr it er ia
T h e c a t e g o r i z a t i o n p r o c e s s c a n b e
u n d e r s t o o d a s a p r o c e s s o f d i d a c t i c - s c i e n t i f i c
p r e se n t a t i o n o f r e su l t s a n d d i scu ssi o n r e l a t e d t o
d at a an aly sis. I t is d id act ic as a cer t ain or d er f or
a n a p p a r e n t l y “ c h a o t i c m a s s ” o f m e a n i n g s i s
r e q u i r e d s o a s t o m a k e i t s p r e s e n t a t i o n m o r e
p a l a t a b l e a n d p l a u s i b l e f o r t h e p a t t e r n s o f
u n d e r st a n d i n g o f t h e p h e n o m e n o n cl a i m e d b y a
r esear ch er. An d it is scien t if ic as it can b e b ased
o n t h e o r e t i ca l a n d p h i l o so p h i ca l k n o w l e d g e a n d
f ollow s r u les alr eady u n iv er sally est ablish ed by t h e
sci en t i f i c co m m u n i t y.
A s c a t e g o r y w e u n d e r s t a n d “ g r e a t
st at em ent s t hat include a v ar iable num ber of t hem es,
accor d in g t o t h eir d eg r ee of closen ess, an d w h ich
c a n , t h r o u g h t h e i r a n a l y s i s , e x p r e s s i m p o r t a n t
m eanings t hat m eet t he st udy obj ect iv es and cr eat e
n ew k n ow led g e, p r ov id in g a d if f er en t iat ed v iew of
t h e pr oposed t h em es”( 2 ).
The elabor at ion of cat egor ies, w hich is based
o n t h e t o p i cs t h a t e m e r g e d u r i n g r e - r e a d i n g s( 1 ),
a n a l y si s o r t h e m a t i c u n i t s( 4 ), ca n b e co n f i g u r e d
accor din g t o r elev an ce cr it er ia. Th e t er m r elev an ce
d en ot es an im p or t an t t h em e. Ev en t h ou g h it d oes
n ot pr esen t n u m er ical r epet it ion am on g r epor t s, it s
i m p o r t a n c e t o a n s w e r t h e i n i t i a l l y f o r m u l a t e d
hy pot heses is of gr eat pot ent ial and r ichness for t he
dev elopm en t of n ew k n ow ledge, assu r in g, by it self,
c o n s i s t e n t m a t e r i a l t o g e t d e e p e r i n t o t h e
p h en o m en o n .
Sequ en t ial u se of in du ct iv e an d dedu ct iv e r at ion ale
in t h e an aly sis
I n d u c t i v e r a t i o n a l e i n t h e a n a l y s i s o f
qualit at iv e dat a is w idely k now n and endor sed( 1, 3, 13).
I n du ct ion con f igu r es a m en t al at t it u de f r om w h ich ,
b a se d o n sp e ci f i c d a t a , o n e i n f e r s a g e n e r a l o r
universal t rut h, which is not cont ained in t he exam ined
p a r t s o n l y, a n d w h o s e o b j e c t i v e i s t o p r e s e n t
g en er alizab le con clu sion . I n d u ct ion is a b old ( an d
t em er ar iou s) st ep f r om w h er e I am t o w h er e I am
not , from t he m om ent in w hich I live t o m om ent s in
which I do not , from m y research set t ing t o a sit uat ion.
Th e o r e t i ca l a b st r a ct i o n s a r e f o r m e d a n d
co n so l i d a t e d b a se d o n t h e d i scu ssi o n o f r e su l t s
ev en bef or e it , w h en dat a ar e bein g collect ed, an d
t h e r e se a r ch e r co n st r u ct s h i s( e r ) t h e o r y m o v i n g
f r o m t h e p ar t i cu l ar t o t h e g en er al. “A f r am ew o r k
i s g a i n i n g f o r m a s p a r t s a r e b e i n g co l l e ct e d a n d
ex a m i n ed”( 1 4 ).
On t h e o t h er h a n d , a d ed u ct i v e r esea r ch
p r ocess w ou ld occu r in an in v er se w ay. Var iab les,
concept s, const r uct s and hy pot heses ar e der iv ed or
or igin at ed f r om t h e t ot al r elat ion s obser v ed du r in g
t h e d at a cod in g p r ocess( 3 ). Th e r esear ch er in t h is
c a s e w o r k s f r o m a g e n e r a l u n i v e r s e a l r e a d y
e l a b o r a t e d f o r a c e r t a i n p a r t i c u l a r i t y( 1 ). I t i s
sp ecu l at ed o n t h at d ed u ct i v e t h i n k i n g i s t h e r eal
e p i st e m o l o g i ca l p a t h t o sci e n t i f i c k n o w l e d g e , a s
t h e o r i e s a r e co n ce i v e d b y t h e g e n i a l i t y o f so m e
scien t ist s, w h o n eed t o p r ov e t h e con cep t ion t h ey
c r e a t e d i n p r a c t i c a l s i t u a t i o n s s o a s t o s a t i s f y
academ ic can on s an d be accept ed by peer s.
An in t er est in g w ay t o con st r u ct k n ow led g e
in clinical- qualit at iv e r esear ch w ould be t o adm it and
a t t e m p t t o u s e a d i a l e c t i c i n d u c t i v e - d e d u c t i v e
pr ocess, under st ood in it s t ot alit y, also including it s
r elat ed in t u it iv e ch ar act er( 1 , 1 5 ).
No n et h el ess, i n t h e g l o b a l p er sp ect i v e o f
scien t if ic r esear ch an d ep ist em olog ically ex am in in g
t h e r i g o r o f t h e m et h o d s u sed b y r esea r ch er s i n
N a t u r a l Sci e n ce s a n d H u m a n Sci e n ce s, o n e ca n
obser v e t h at t h e dedu ct iv e an d in du ct iv e r at ion ales
occupy t heir pr oper places. The t able below pr esent s
an ov er v iew of t he m et hodological pat hw ay s in w hich
t he dat a analy sis t echnique, discussed in t his ar t icle,
Figur e 1 – Met hodological pat hw ay s used by r esear cher s, including Cont ent Analy sis, consider ing qualit at iv e
st u d ies
Validat ion of analy sis r esult s as t he m et hod’s st r ong
at t r ibu t e
One can say t hat t he st r engt h of qualit at iv e
st u dies, con sider in g r esear ch in h u m an scien ces, is
based on t heir sound validit y, t hat is, what is st udied
a n d u n d e r st o o d b y t h e r e se a r ch e r ’ s co n sci e n ce ,
reflect ed and elaborat ed in his( er) inner world, would
be ver y close t o t he phenom enon under exam inat ion
in t he out er world( 1). This is due t o t he peculiarit y of
dat a collect ion t hat highly respect s t he nat ural flow of
d i sco u r se a n d t h e su b j ect s’ b eh a v i o r i n sci en t i f i c
r esear ch .
I n t he sam e way as a research proj ect needs
t o be validat ed, t he dat a collect ion process also needs
validat ion of dat a t reat m ent by t he researcher. There
ar e sev er al w ay s of per for m ing t his v alidat ion, such
as t he t riangulat ion of m et hods and t heories, in which
sev er al m et hodological r esour ces ar e used and dat a
ar e analy zed t hr ough sev er al t heor ies.
Ex t er nal v alidit y is also car r ied out t hr ough
t h e i n t e r a ct i o n o f j u d g e s a n d p e e r s, t h a t i s, b y
su p er v i si on of an ad v i sor an d sen i or r esear ch er s,
ack n ow led g ed f or t h eir ex p er ien ce w it h t h eor et ical
fram ew or k s and m et hods used. Validit y can be also
i m p r o v e d t h r o u g h t h e p r e se n t a t i o n o f r e su l t s t o
r e s e a r c h g r o u p s , p r e s e n t i n g a n d d i s c u s s i n g
pr elim inar y r esult s in ev ent s and so for t h( 2).
Finally, it is r elevant t o st r ess t hat t her e ar e
m an y possibilit ies of t h eor et ical con st r u ct ion s m ade
by t h e sam e r esear ch er, an d also t h at f in din gs can
be int er pr et ed differ ent ly by ot her r esear cher s, giv en
t h e p oly sem ou s ch ar act er of h u m an scien ces. Th e
pr inciple is not t o r est r ict int er pr et at iv e ideas, t hough
on e h as t o b e car ef u l in id en t if y in g p r esen t b iases
and elim inat e t hem if possible; if not possible, t hey
sh ou ld b e t ak en in t o accou n t w h en t h e m at er ial is
a n a l y zed .
CONCLUSI ONS
Aft er reading t his brief discussion, one m ight
get an inst igat ing per cept ion t hat ot her elem ent s of
t he cont ent analysis could be addressed and discussed
in t h e lig h t of t h e n eed s of t h e clin ical- q u alit at iv e
Raised questions: empirical reality + scientific literature
Non-elaborated hypotheses
Incipient theory
Field observation
Deductive reasoning Data collection
Hypotheses testing
Results (which were mathematized) are
generalized. For experimental and quantitative research
Inductive reasoning Content Analysis Theory elaboration Assumptions review New settings in new
situations There is generalization of
m et h od. How ev er, t h e aim w as t o addr ess differ en t
v i e w p o i n t s r e g a r d i n g t h e u se o f a m e t h o d b e i n g
est ablish ed. Addr essin g t h e con t en t an aly sis m ean s
sh ow in g it s v er sat ilit y a s w ell as it s oper at in g
lim it s. The dev elopm ent of a m et hod inv ar iably goes
t hr ough t he cr eat iv it y and capacit y of t he qualit at iv e
r esear ch er in dealin g w it h u n u su al sit u at ion s in t h e
st udy of hum an phenom ena.
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