1 Referência completa para citação: FREITAS (H.), MOSCAROLA (J.), and JENKINS (M.). Content and lexical analysis: a qualitative practical application. ISRC, Merrick School of Business, University of Baltimore (MD, EUA), WP ISRC No. 070498 , April 1998. 35 p. CONTENT AND LEXICAL ANALYSIS: A QUALITATIVE PRACTICAL APPLICATION 1 ISRC Working Paper 070498, April 1998 Henrique Freitas Visiting Researcher at ISRC, University of Baltimore (USA) Associate Professor, GESID - PPGA - Escola de Adm. da UFRGS and CNPq Researcher (Brazil) Docteur "nouveau régime" – Université Pierre Mendès France (Grenoble, France) hf@ea.ufrgs.br Jean Moscarola Director of Ecole de Commerce, Vente, Economie et Gestion, Université of Savoie, Annecy (France), Doctor in Management (Université de Paris), Sphinx’s software Author moscarola@univ-savoie.fr Milton Jenkins Professor and Director of ISRC, University of Baltimore Ph.D. on Management Information Systems, University of Minnesota (USA) mjenkins@ubmail.ubalt.edu Abstract This paper presents content analysis and lexical analysis: starting with general notions, it emphasizes their application and use. Its main contribution on is the organization and selection of the topics, and especially the illustrative cases. First, the technical stages of the content analysis are described, pointing out its value as a research instrument. Second, seven levels of lexical analysis are presented in a creative and evolutionary way, considering the use of computer software. Since the AIS 97 and ICIS 97 conferences, the IS world community has been debating the use of qualitative research by itself or preceding quantitative research studies. The potential contribution of these methods of data analysis will be made clear. Keywords Lexical Analysis - Content Analysis - Qualitative and Quantitative Data Analysis - Sphinx® Software 1 This is an working-paper prepared in cooperation between the ISRC (Information Systems Research Group, University of Baltimore, USA), the IREGE (Institut de Recherche en Gestion, Université de Savoie, Annecy, France) and the GESID (Grupo de Estudos em Sistemas de Informação e Apoio à Decisão), a research group from the School of Management (PPGA/UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil), coordinated by Professor Henrique Freitas, whose focus is the discussion and accomplished meetings in Brazil, in France and in The USA, between Professor Jean Moscarola (France) and Professor Henrique Freitas, from 1994 to 1998; besides several contacts through Internet. The software Sphinx ® served as support to the accomplishment of the content and lexical analysis in this study. It is a software to help survey research and quantitative-qualitative data analysis, designed by Professor Moscarola and partners, and being improved with the support of the Brazilian team (Professor Freitas and his partner M. Cunha Jr.). The authors strongly acknowledge Mrs. Oveta Popjoy, Assistant Researcher at the ISRC, for the editing of this last text version. The research assistants CNPq of GESID/PPGA/UFRGS, Amarolinda Costa, Ângela Werner and Ionara Rech, as well as doctorate student Mirian Oliveira, and M.Sc. student M. Cunha Jr., also collaborated in an early edition of this text. This work is part of a research project and is supported by several Brazilian Government Research Agencies (CNPq, Fapergs, Propesp/UFRGS, PPGA/EA/UFRGS, and CAPES/COFECUB), by FULBRIGHT (USA), by Gereg (Université de Savoie, France), and by the ISRC/Univ. of Baltimore (Maryland, USA).