Analysis and write-up of

qualitative data

Data
Transcripts
Observations of nonverbals
Contextual information
Specifics of contact
Historical info

Verbatim of written material, speeches, etc.

Info on observer

The problem with qualitative

data
Often a mass of data with no rules for the
researcher to apply
There are no pre-defined categories,
dimensions, etc. to tally up
The language used by interviewees, etc. has
multiple meanings and interpretations
Analysis is inherently subjective

Types of analysis
Dialectical analysis
Search for the most powerful conflicts in the
data

Metaphor analysis
Identifiy metaphors and how they vary

Fantasy theme analysis

Looks at the stories shared among people

Grounded theory and analysis

Grounded theory is the most common form
of organized qualitative data analysis
Developed as a means to bring rigor and
therefore greater acceptance of qualitative
methods in social science (sociology)

Grounded theory is:

An inductive, comparative, and interactive
approach to inquiry that offers several openended strategies for conducting emergent
inquiry.
Charnaz

How did grounded theory

develop?
1967 Glaser and Strauss book The
Discovery of Grounded Theory
1990, 1998 Strauss and Corbin prescriptive
form with predetermined categories and
concerns about reliability and validity
2000 Charmaz introduces Constructivist
method
Educational
Research 2e:
Creswell

Key characteristics of grounded

theory designs

A process approach
Theoretical sampling
Constant comparative method
Series of coding and recoding data
Memoranda
Theory generation

Educational
Research 2e:
Creswell

Role of the researcher

The researcher serves as both data collection
instrument and analysis method
The two are linkedadjust data collection as analysis
leads in certain ways

The researcher is trying to develop theory

induction
Theory built upward from the data (grounded), not
downward from premises to theory to hypotheses to
testing
Keeps theory close to the data
Avoids imposing inappropriate theory on reality

Coding
Three stages:
Open coding
Coding line-by-line original data into codes that the
researcher determines to be valuable
Extremely subjective

Axial coding
Combining original codes into major categories and
defining subcategories and their relations to the
majors

Restricted coding
Identifying relationships among codes and
categories

Zig-zag approach to data

collection and analysis
Data Collection
Close to Saturated
Categories
Third
Interview

Data Analysis

More Refined
Categories

Second
Interview

Refined
Categories

First
Interview

Preliminary
Categories

Educational
Research 2e:
Creswell

Toward
Saturation of
Categories

Coding for what is happening

So part of it has been good because
I can see that I'm not the only one
that has good days and bad days,
everybody does.
They might not be physical, as
much as psychological, but
everybody has kind of good days
and bad days, as moods and things
too.
Example from Charnaz

Identifying a
positive
Recognizing other
peoples good
and bad days
Qualifying their
good and bad
days
Viewing good and
bad days as
universal

Comparing Statements: Sara Shaw

Taking a broader view beyond self
So part of it has been good because I can
see that I'm not the only one that has good
days and bad days, everybody does.
They might not be physical, as much as
psychological, but everybody has kind of
good days and bad days, as moods and
things too

Seeing beyond self

Discerning the content

of
good and bad
days

Comparing statements: Nancy Swensen dealing with

her illness on a bad day and her mother with
AlzheimersBeing caught in chaos
And if Im trying to get dinner
ready and Im already feeling bad,
shes in front of the refrigerator.
Then she goes to put her hand on
the stove and I got the fire on.
And then shes in front of the
microwave and then shes in front
of the silverware drawer. And-and
if I send her out she gets mad at
me. Thats when I have really a
really bad time.

Making a bad day

worse
Escalating chaos
See also,
Arthur Frank
(1995): The
Chaos Nar-rative

Comparing responses to bad days: Marty

Dealing with bad days
Were [a friend who has
multiple sclerosis] kind of like
mutual supporters for each
other. And when she has her bad
days or when we particularly
feel poor me, you know, Get
off your butt! You know, we
can be really pushy to each
other and understand it.

Reciprocal
supporting
Having bad days
Disallowing selfpity
Issuing reciprocal
orders
Taking the
criticism

Realizing that once bad days have become

good daysJohn
What used to be bad days
[laughing] now are good days
but the quality of things, I think, is
declining, you know, from , say a
couple of years ago when I didnt
think about it that much. And
there would be isolated days when
I had a lot of congestion and things
like that. But thats all.

Shifting criteria of
good and bad
days
Defining declining
health
Comparing past
and present

 Eventually, new data . . . add little to the

development of new descriptive categories.
At this point, the categories are considered
saturated. The researcher then reviews the
theoretical memoranda and conceptualizes
higher level (more abstract) generalizations
that subsume the initial set of categories yet
are grounded in them.
P. 282

Memoranda
Memos are notes the researcher writes
throughout the research process to elaborate
on ideas about the data and the coded
categories. In memos, the researcher
explores hunches, ideas, and thoughts, and
then takes them apart, always searching for
the broader explanations at work in the
process.
Educational
Research 2e:
Creswell

 The grounded theory generated in this

manner reflects the researchers
development of categories of meaning and
the relationships she perceives among them.
It should also provide some explanation for
those relationships.
Usually not higher-order theory, but midlevel theory

 One test of the theory is to have the

interviewees react to it. Does it make sense
to them? Do they think it reflects the world
as they see it?

 The theory developed through this method

should be compared to the scholarly
literature to see how it fits within the field.
Does it add, support, contradict? The
researcher should provide his thoughts
about how the grounded theory should be
interpreted with regard to existing theory.

Write-up
Write-up of a grounded theory study
follows more of a narrative format than
traditional quantitative research reports.
While the concerns of the researcher that
led to the study usually open the piece, they
are often more closely tied to the researcher,
personally, than in quantitative studies.

 The discussion of the scene to be studied is

often quite detailed, while a theoretical
literature review is limited or absence. The
methods and results are more integrated and
the author will often discuss the evolution
of her thinking over time, tying it to
particular findings in narrative format
over time.

 Evidence is often provided in direct quotes

and examples, and the development of the
researchers thinking over time is
commonly revealed.
The latter portion may discuss a comparison
of the grounded theory with existing theory
to a greater extent than is often the case.

Write-up and presentation

Provide a detailed description of the data
collection methods
Describe the subjects and context carefully

Evaluating a grounded theory study

Does the researcher gather extensive data so
as to develop a detailed conceptual theory
as well saturated in the data?
Does the model emerge through phases of
coding? (e.g. initial codes to more
theoretically oriented codes or open coding
to axial coding to selective coding)?

Educational
Research 2e:
Creswell

 Does the study show how the researcher

validated the evolving theory by comparing
it to the data, examining how the theory
supports or refutes existing theories in the
literature, or checking theory with
participants?
Creswell

Evaluating a grounded theory study

Is there an obvious connection between the
categories and the raw data?
Is the theory useful as a conceptual
explanation for the process being studied?
Does the theory provide a relevant
explanation of actual problems and a basic
process?
Can the theory be modified as conditions
change or further data are gathered?
Educational
Research 2e:
Creswell