Qualitative Analysis In Financial Studies: Employing Ethnographic Content Analysis

Abstract

To the extent that relevant variables are well-defined or readily observable, empirical studies in finance typically employ classical investigative techniques and positivistic methodologies to measure and analyze financial phenomena.  Many unanswered questions in modern finance however, rely critically on insight into the behavior or intentions of various agents, for which there may be no easily discernible proxy that lends itself to traditional quantitative analysis. Alternatively then, Patton (1990) notes that qualitative methods may be employed to discover “what people do, know, think, and feel”.  A particularly promising qualitative approach,  recently introduced into financial studies to discover the encoded investment objectives and activities of fund managers, is Ethnographic Content Analysis (ECA).  In this paper, we review the literature on ECA and offer an instructional set on the use of ECA in an analysis of official disclosure documents.