Quite a broad term, textual analysis refers to the understanding, interpretation and analysis of texts. Different information like the literal meaning, subtext, assumptions, values etc., can be gathered from a text. Depending on the field and the research, the method used to analyse texts is determined and aims to associate the text with the broader context.

What is a text?

Text is a term that is relatively broader than it seems. Any piece of writing, including publications, email, and transcriptions, can be considered as a text. But in the context of this article, a text is the object whose depth and meaning would be interpreted using textual analysis.

Depending on the type of object and the purpose for its analysis, you will determine the method to analyse it. These include:

• A short story analysis with a focus on the structure, imagery and the perspective of narration of the text
• A film analysis with a focus on the dialogues and the cinematography, including the background scores used.
• When analysing a building, focus on the architectural features and how the visitors would navigate it.
• When analysing a game, focus on the rules and the behaviour expected from the players.

Though text analysis is the analysis of written language, it is essential to remember that text is quite a broad term that determines the methods of analysis.

Textual analysis in media and cultural studies

Analysis of texts is a critical component of research in the field of cultural studies and media studies. Researchers analyse cultural and media objects. It includes social media content, advertising content, music videos etc. which can be considered texts for its analysis.

Generally, researchers, when working within a theory like semiotics, robotics, postcolonial theories, etc., seek to connect modern-day issues with the several elements of their texts. Several different aspects of the text might be analysed. These include

• Choice of words
• The design elements
• Text Location
• Intended audience
• Connection with other relevant texts.

In this context, the analysis of the text should be qualitative and creative in its approach, as researchers aim to describe and analyse the underlying context of the object they are investigating.

Textual analysis in social sciences

In the context of social sciences, interview transcripts and surveys form the base of the textual analysis. These data are used to draw empirical conclusions and the social relations between the variables.

A quantitative approach is more common in social sciences, where the text features are numerically measured. For example, a researcher might look into the most commonly used words in a specific language or which colours help to highlight the product better.

Thematic analysis, discourse analysis and content analysis are some of the most common text analysis methods in social sciences.

Textual analysis in literary studies

One of the most common and perhaps the most prevalent use of text analysis can be found in literary studies. Almost every work of this field, like novels, stories, poems, plays etc., involve an in-depth analysis.

Since the subject deals with literary texts, this kind of textual analysis has a greater emphasis and focus on elements that are deliberately constructed, like the narrator’s perspective in a story, the rhyming scheme in a poem, etc. Understanding these attributes lend more to the meaning of the text.

However, this does not only mean describing what the author meant. It also explores what the text reveals about the perspective in which the topic was written, seek potential connections between other contemporary and relevant texts or a new and unexpected way to analyse classic text.

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