Search term validation in agricultural economics: conceptual background and application

Abstract Agricultural and environmental economists frequently use content analysis of textual data to gain a deeper understanding of public discourses that reflect the conflicting interests and attitudes of various stakeholders with regard to agricultural issues. These discourses encompass topics such as nitrogen leaching, climate change, biodiversity loss, and animal welfare. However, the procedural standards of content analysis established in communication studies are rarely fully adhered to due to a lack of interdisciplinary communication. This paper provides applied agricultural economists with a conceptual background to systematic search term validation to facilitate the transparent generation of high-quality databases for the content analysis of large datasets.