Content analysis of web sites from 2000 to 2004: a thematic meta-analysis

Abstract

The rise of the World Wide Web attracted concerns among social science scholars, especially those in the communication school who studied it by various methods like content analysis. However, the dynamic environment of the World Wide Web challenged this traditional research method, and, in turn, scholars tried to figure out valid solutions, which were summarized in the literature review section. After 2000, few studies focused on the content analysis of Web sites, while the World Wide Web developed rapidly and affected people??s everyday life. This study conducted a thematic meta-analysis to examine how researchers apply content analysis to the World Wide Web after 2000. A total of 39 studies that used content analysis to study Web sites were identified from three sources. Then data were collected and analyzed. This study found that, from 2000 to 2004, content analysis of the World Wide Web proliferated. The content analytical scholars had created new strategies to cope with challenges posed by the WWW. The suggestions made in this study forms some guidelines in the steps of content analysis research design, potentially aiding the future research of content analysis to Web sites in developing their own valid methods to study the rapid-paced WWW.