The quantitative application of content analysis was dominated by communication and media studies at its early age. Their primary goal was to quantify the words or phrases from the text for objective and systematic description of the content.

Klaus Krippendorff's (1980) Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology describes the historical perspective and development of this method. The Content Analysis Guide by Kimberly A. Neuendorf's (2002) provides a step-by-step approach on how to conduct this method. Both materials are available in their second editions display in the catalog view below.

For other quantitative methods in social sciences, consult the SAGE Research Methods collection for books, videos, and case studies.