Content Analysis: the bridge from the Draft EIS to the final decision

Content analysis is utilized to help the USDA Forest Service clarify, adjust, or focus technical information to prepare the Final EIS.

Content analysis is a systematic method of compiling, categorizing, and capturing the full range of viewpoints and concerns expressed in public comments. Written letters, emails, and faxes received during the formal public comment period will be considered in the content analysis for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Proposed Forest Plans for the Chippewa and Superior National Forests.

In the content analysis process, the planning team will assign a unique identifier number to each comment received. This unique identifier allows analysts to track specific comments back to original letters. Often, one letter will contain several comments on various topics.

Each comment is reviewed and sorted into concerns and themes then entered into a computer database. The database allows the analysts to track and identify the range of and relationships between individual public concerns. From the database information, a summary report is prepared that includes a narrative describing public comment by topic, a list of public concerns, and supporting, sample excerpts from original letters.

It is important to understand that this process, in no way, treats comments as votes that attempt to sway decision-makers towards the will of an identifiable majority. In fact, if several hundred exact replica's of a form letter are received expressing a particular viewpoint, they will register in the database as one comment linked to several hundred address records.

Content analysis provides a means for evaluating large numbers of comments in an equitable and accountable way and addresses the full range of concerns expressed. The content analysis process and final summary report are not intended to replace original comments. Rather, they provide an index to the original comments and a tool for the planning team and decision-maker.

The planning team will then develop the appropriate response which may be to:

Modify the proposed Forest Plan or other alternatives
Construct additional alternatives, if needed
Revise analytical methods
Correct facts and revise conclusions

The responses to comments will be published in the Final EIS.