What is qualitative content analysis primarily focused on?

Qualitative content analysis is primarily focused on interpreting and analyzing textual or visual data. This method revolves around understanding the underlying meanings, themes, and patterns within qualitative data, which often comes from sources such as interviews, open-ended survey responses, media content, and other narrative formats.

The essence of qualitative content analysis lies in examining the nuances of language and symbolism to draw deeper insights that quantitative methods might overlook. It typically involves coding the data to identify themes and categories, enabling researchers to explore complex phenomena in depth. This approach is particularly useful in fields like criminal justice, where understanding individual perspectives and societal issues can provide valuable context and inform policy decisions.

Options that emphasize quantitative measurement, statistical evidence, or standardized surveys do not align with the core focus of qualitative content analysis, as these approaches primarily aim at numerical data and statistical relationships rather than the qualitative richness and depth provided by textual and visual materials.