In qualitative data analysis via content analysis, the term for the number of observations within each category is referred to as what?

In qualitative data analysis, particularly in the context of content analysis, the term used to describe the number of observations or occurrences within each category is known as frequency. Frequency measures how often specific themes, concepts, or keywords are present in the data being analyzed.

This concept is crucial because it helps researchers understand the importance or prominence of different categories in the data. By examining frequency, analysts can identify which categories are more prevalent or significant, thereby drawing insights from the data that may help shape conclusions or support hypotheses.

The other terms, while related to data analysis, do not accurately capture the idea of counting occurrences within categories as frequency does. Magnitude generally refers to the size or extent of something, incidence pertains to the occurrence of events within a specified frame, and distribution refers to how values or frequency of observations are spread across different categories or groups. These concepts serve different analytical purposes and are distinct from the straightforward counting represented by frequency.