Bayesian Quantitative Content Analysis

Bayesian quantitative content analysis systematically codes and counts features in textual or media content, then quantifies patterns and tests hypotheses using Bayesian statistical inference. Unlike classical frequency-based content analysis, it incorporates prior knowledge or domain expectations into the estimation process, producing posterior probability distributions over content parameters rather than single point estimates with p-values. The approach is particularly valuable when prior research, expert knowledge, or pilot data exist and when uncertainty quantification around content proportions and category frequencies is important.