Content analysis in leadership research: Examples, procedures, and suggestions for future use

Content analysis is a method for analyzing written and oral textual materials which is used sparingly by organizational researchers. This paper reminds leadership researchers that content analysis is in their methodology toolbox and reviews: what content analysis is and how it has evolved; examples of its use in leadership research; the variety of analysis techniques for which the results are suitable; and the strengths and weaknesses associated with this method. In addition, a suggested procedure is presented to assist researchers in using content analysis. Finally, the role of content analysis in future leadership research is considered.