Categories as an Expression of an Identified Observer Perspective? A Constructive Proposal for a more Qualitative Qualitative Content Analysis

Abstract

Qualitative content analysis (QCA) is an established method in different fields of social and educational sciences. It can be located at the intersection of quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Although generally oriented towards hermeneutic-interpretive text comprehension, its categorical logic sometimes seems to follow a quantitative research logic. Against this background, and in order to better meet the criteria of qualitative research, I make a proposal for a more qualitative QCA. Specifically, I introduce a technique for the systematic explication of the prior knowledge relevant to the research and the construction of categories. The categories developed with this procedure can be seen as an expression of an identified observer perspective. This makes reconstructions of social constructions intersubjectively comprehensible.