Use, Misuse, and Abuse of Content Analysis in Public Policy/Consumer Interest Research

While possessing a long and respected history as a research method, content analysis studies attempting to address issues of the consumers' interests often are published with invalid conclusions or implications. This essay offers that the source of these problems is rooted in inferring causal relations from what is nothing more than descriptive data.

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	Carlson, Les Interim Department Chair & Professor of Marketing Expertise: Consumer Behavior Consumer Socialization Marketing Communication Services Marketing Marketing CBA 310 P.O. Box 880492 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68588-0492, USA Phone: (402) 472-3156 Fax: (402) 472-9777 lcarlson3@unl.edu	Carlson, Les	Marketing