Includes bibliographical references (pages 391-414) and index.

History -- Conceptual foundation -- Uses and inferences -- The logic of content analysis designs -- Unitizing -- Sampling -- Recording/coding -- Data languages -- Analytical constructs -- Analytical/representational techniques -- Computer aids -- Reliability -- Validity -- A practical guide. Since the publication of the first edition of Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology, the fabric of contemporary society has undergone a radical transformation: the ongoing information revolution. Today, content analysis has become an efficient alternative to public opinion research--a method of tracking markets, political leanings, and emerging ideas, a way to settle legal disputes, and an approach to explore individual human minds. The Third Edition offers the ideal sourcebook for the history and core principles of content analysis as well as an essential resource for present and future studies. Organized into three parts, the book examines the conceptual and methodological aspects of content analysis as well as tracing several paths through content analysis protocols. References to The Content Analysis Reader provide easy access to canonical examples to enrich the reader's experience. This edition expands the coverage of computer aided content analysis and discusses the principles underlying the analysis of the huge volumes of electronic texts increasingly available from social media and the internet (so-called "big data"). Krippendorff condenses the methodological requirements and conceptual opportunities of content and text analysis into a practical guide, incorporating his experiences as researcher, teacher, and consultant to academic and commercial projects, and providing readers with an entry into the use of the research method. A glossary of technical terms provides a further understanding of relevant concepts.