JOB / CONTENT ANALYSIS TOOL

Click here to download a ClarisWorks 3.0 version of the Job / Content Analysis Tool.
Click here to download a Microsoft Word 6.0 version of the Job / Content Analysis Tool.

Instructions For Use

  1. The "Job/Content Analysis" tool will help you collect and organize the information regarding the nature of a specific job or specific content or subject areas.

  2. Information for the "Job/Content Analysis" can be conducted in several ways, e.g., observations, interviews, or analysis of existing documents. It is usually appropriate to collect information for an analysis in several ways. Suppose you want to design a multimedia program that will show workers the proper procedures for taking care of a chemical spill in the workplace. You might start by reviewing documentation provided by government agencies (such as the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA)) or your client (such as Delta Airlines). Then, you might interview the people in your client's organization who are responsible for safety concerning problems that have occurred in the past. Later, you might take a tour of the workplace to observe the work practices regarding the handling, storage, and disposal of chemicals. Finally, you might interview some workers to determine their present awareness of the safety procedures.

  3. Content analysis can be somewhat more difficult than job analysis because there is often no precise observations that can be made with respect to how knowledge is applied. But suppose you want to develop a multimedia program about the History of World War II for secondary school students. Such a historical event is very complex and even with the amazing storage capabilities of a CD-ROM, you cannot include everything known about World War II in your program. How do you decide which content to include? You might start by analyzing the content of some popular history books about the war. After you have prepared a draft outline of the topics, you could ask several historians to review your outline for gaps or inaccuracies. You would want to interview history teachers to find out what topics they consider most important about this war. More importantly, you would want to work with teachers to develop assignments that can be used with this content. How the information will be used is an important issue in deciding what to keep in the program. Suppose the assignment is to analyze why the United States military command decided to use the atomic bomb on Japan, but did not use this weapon on Germany. Obviously, you would want your program to include considerable material about the "Manhattan Project," time lines of the development of the bomb and the progress in the different theaters of the war, data about the attitudes of Americans toward their enemies in the conflict, and any other relevant archival material.

  4. A "Job/Content Analysis" is an important process within the overall multimedia development process. However, it is difficult to know when you are done, especially with respect to "content analysis" for a large subject area. A good rule of thumb is to continue the "Job/Content Analysis" until your job or content experts generally agree that you have specified the most important aspects of the job or content being analyzed.

Job / Content Analysis Tool

JOB ANALYSIS
Job Title:

Description of the Job:
Tasks Tools Used Standards for
Performance		 Conditions for
Performance
















































CONTENT ANALYSIS
Subject Area Title:

Content Description and Relevant Definitions:
Tasks Tools Used Standards for
Performance		 Conditions for
Performance
















































This page is presented by the
Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC)
at Georgia Tech's College of Sciences.