Qualitative Content Analysis as a Research Tool: A Systematic Review of Approaches, Challenges, and Future Directions

Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) has emerged as an important research tool for studying and understanding textual data from a variety of domains. Despite its extensive use, researchers frequently struggle to ensure methodological rigour and reproducibility. This comprehensive study investigates the theoretical foundations, methodological techniques, and problems of QCA to improve its reliability as a research tool. The study focusses on the inconsistent application and reporting of QCA methodologies, which has generated doubts regarding the validity and trustworthiness of the results.

The research is based on Grounded Theory, which is consistent with QCA's iterative coding and categorisation approach for generating theoretical insights. A full literature evaluation will be undertaken, with a focus on qualitative research that employs QCA in fields like as education, health sciences, and social sciences. The study will use a purposive sample technique, including peer-reviewed articles produced between 2019 and 2024. Data will be collected by a systematic search of academic databases, with thematic analysis used to uncover repeating trends, methodological shortcomings, and areas for improvement.

Preliminary findings are likely to show that, while QCA remains a flexible tool, difficulties such as subjectivity in interpretation, coding uniformity, and reporting transparency continue. The assessment recommends a more systematic approach to QCA, including established coding frameworks and improved inter-coder reliability checks. Furthermore, ethical issues such as confidentiality and data integrity will be discussed. This review seeks to provide practical and theoretical ideas to improve the future use of QCA in research.