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Dates of tutorials 11 Oct 17:30-20:00 18 Oct 17:30-19:30 26 Oct EXAM

The research process Stage 1: Definition of the problem Stage 2: Obtaining the information Stage 3: Analysing and interpreting the data Stage 4: Communicating the results

The research process STAGE 1: DEFINING THE PROBLEM Deciding on the research topic Conducting a literature review Specify a research question Formulating a hypothesis Operationalizing concepts

The research process STAGE 2: Obtaining the information Ethics Research design Sampling Data collection STAGE 3: Analysing and interpreting the information Describing and interpreting quantitative data Analyses and interpretation of qualitative data

The research process STAGE 4: Communicating the results Report

Qualitative data analysis and interpretation

Outcomes The purpose of qualitative data analysis Data analysis in qualitative research process Analysis and interpretation of qualitative data

Purpose of qualitative data analysis Qualitative research Any type of research that produces findings not arrived at by statistical procedures Persons, lives, experiences, emotions Qualitative data analysis – an inductive process of organising data into categories / themes and identifying patterns among them

When does one start with data analysis in qualitative research? Data analysis is an ongoing process that routinely starts prior to the first interview When the process of data collection begins, they start with conducting interviews or observations In practice ~ Data analysis tends to begin when data saturation becomes noticeable Data Saturation ~ Patterns & themes start to recur, and no new information is added by more interviews. At the end of data collection, data analysis starts to take all information into account, taking on a more directed form.

How qualitative data are analysed and interpreted Steps, examples and pointers There is no standard procedure for qualitative analysis, but it does not mean that it is not systematic A linear procedure is not followed Occur in several cyclical, overlapping phases in which the researcher moves back and forth between different levels Researcher should identify the coding procedure to be used to reduce the information to themes or categories

Step-wise plan for qualitative data analysis 5. The collected data must be organised and prepared for analysis Transcribing the interview word-for-word, Optically scanning material, Typing field notes Sorting and arranging the data into different types depending on the sources of information

Step-wise plan for qualitative data analysis STEP 1: After preparing and organizing the data, read through all the transcriptions carefully. Make notes of ideas as they come to mind STEP 2: Select one document (transcribed interview) – the most interesting/shortest/ one on the top of the pile. Go through it asking yourself: what is it about. Think of the underlying meaning of the information. Write down your thoughts in the margin.

Step-wise plan for qualitative data analysis STEP 3: Make a list of all the topics. Put similar topics together. Form these topics into columns that might be grouped as “major topics, unique topics or leftovers”

Step-wise plan for qualitative data analysis Take the list of topics and assign to each topic an identifiable code. Codes are: ~ Tags or labels assigned to meaning units. ~ Usually attached to chunks of varying sized words, phrases, sentences or whole paragraphs ~ A shorthand method or way of identifying the theme/category in a transcription. ~ Typically take the form of strings of letters and/symbols.

Step-wise plan for qualitative data analysis Go back to your transcribed data and write the codes next to the data segments that correspond with the codes First-level / open coding or open coding – a combination of identifying meaning units, fitting them into themes and assigning code to the themes Meaning unit – segments (or chunks) of information that are the building blocks of a classification scheme

Step-wise plan for qualitative data analysis STEP 5: Find the most descriptive wording for your topics and turn them into themes/categories STEP 6: Make a final decision on the abbreviation for each theme/category and put these codes

Step-wise plan for qualitative data analysis STEP 7: Use the cut-and-paste method, assemble the data material belonging to each theme/category in one place and do a preliminary analysis STEP 8: If necessary, recode the existing data. If not, start on interpreting and reporting your research findings.