In response to a frequently articulated call for "ecological" validity from instructional communication investigations, this paper reports on methodological issues which evolved during the development and application of a coding scheme for content analyzing teacher compliance-gaining messages. Starting with a consideration of the standard research design for producing the "to-be-coded" teacher compliance-gaining messages, the paper examines: (1) the unitizing of raw message data which requires the imposition of some uniform structure onto verbal passages; and (2) the evolutionary refinement of categories which represent a valid, yet feasible coding scheme. Also relevant to this examination was a consideration of the application of criteria to the coder/rater selection process. The paper presents the heuristic implications of this examination as a set of guidelines which investigators should consider when attempting to develop concrete schemes, while simultaneously dealing with the harsh realities of the actual project. In this way, instructional researchers are provided a roadmap for future explorations and a typology of the pitfalls which may lie ahead. Seventeen references are attached. (Author/SR)