1. Welcome

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. The research process
STAGE 4: Communicating the results
Report

7. Qualitative data analysis and interpretation

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

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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.

14. 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”

15. 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.

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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.