Longitudinal Qualitative Content Analysis

Longitudinal qualitative content analysis (LQCA) applies systematic content analysis to text data gathered from the same participants, settings, or documents at two or more points in time. The method preserves the interpretive rigour of qualitative content analysis while adding an explicit temporal dimension, enabling researchers to track how meanings, experiences, categories, or discourse shift, deepen, or stabilise across time rather than producing a single-point-in-time description.