David L. Morgan (1993)
Early guide mapping alternative routes and underused options in qualitative content analysis for health research.
Morgan’s article positions qualitative content analysis as a flexible analytic family rather than a single procedure, highlighting multiple legitimate “paths” researchers can take. It is useful for making analysts more explicit about their choices (e.g., how they move from text to categories and interpretations) and for clarifying what content analysis is—and is not—within qualitative inquiry. For readers using content analysis in applied fields like health research, it helps frame methodological decisions and reporting in a more transparent way.
Methodological/conceptual guide that compares alternative approaches to qualitative content analysis.
Basic understanding of qualitative research and the idea of coding textual data into categories/themes.