Semiotic analysis is a method of analyzing signs (e.g., words) to reduce non-numeric data to their component parts without losing essential meanings. Semiotics dates back to Aristotle's analysis of language; it was much advanced by nineteenth-century analyses of style and logic and by Whitehead and Russell's description in this century of the role of language in logic. Recent writers have applied semiotics to sociological data and content analysis. The method of semiotic analysis comprises, first, definition reduction and, second, identification of interrelationships. In definition reduction, a frequency dictionary of all words used is created, from which synonyms are drawn and categories created. The categories are then combined in a symmetrical matrix and logical decision rules are used to identify their interrelationships. An example of semiotic analysis illustrates how to apply it to a set of descriptive propositions concerning a new administrator in a school organization. Semiotic analysis may be used in case or policy studies or in any area where many words are used to describe phenomena. Organizational theorists can use semiotic analysis to reduce inconsistencies, identify central issues or parameters, and analyze observational notes. (Author/RW)