Qualitative Data Analysis

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Chapter 13

• Qualitative Data Analysis

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Qualitative Data Analysis

• Non-numeric ways of examining social research
  data
• Art or science?
• Difficult to teach, we learn by doing
• Books focus searches for explanatory patterns
  through qualitative analysis
• It is very useful for descriptive and exploratory
  examinations

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Six Ways to Discover Patterns

• What do we look for in the data?
• Frequencies
• E.g. how often does the father abuse drugs?
• Remember that some are self-reported
• Magnitudes
• We identify levels of the variables
• Structures
• What are the domains of the variable?
• Relationships and/or hierarchies exist?

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Six Ways to Discover Patterns

• Processes
• Identify the time sequence of the variables
• Causes
• Same criteria apply as with non-qualitative
  methods
• Consequences
• What changes occur because of the
  presence/absence of the variable?

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Finding Patterns

• Variable-oriented analysis (more nomothetic)
• Focus on several variables to find relationships
  and generate a partial explanation
• Case-oriented analysis (more ideographic)
• In in-depth analysis of a single case
• Researcher implies that patterns are
  generalizable to some extent
• Usually requires multiple observations (each
  builds on the results of the last)
• Can take months or years to gather enough data

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Grounded Theory Method (GTM)

• Employs the Constant Comparative Method
• Four steps
• Look for variables common to most cases
• Find relationships between the variables
• Delimit the theory.
• Ignore some, focus on the remaining to determine
  important variables and relationships. Simplify
• Write the theory.

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Semiotics Method

• Science of signs
• Not just language
• Signs have no inherent meaning
• We seek to understand the agreed upon meaning
  of signs
• Signs are ANYTHING that abstracts meaning

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Conversation Analysis

• Fundamental Assumptions
• Conversation is a socially structured activity
• Conversation has rules
• Conversations must be understood contextually
• Context varies meaning
• Structure and meaning of conversations must be
  transcribed

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Coding

• Purpose discovery of patterns and relationships
• Quantitative content analysis standardized text
  units
• Qualitative content analysis identifying
  concepts. No standardized units (open coding)
• Concept mapping - graphically classifying
  individual pieces of data
• Helps identify relationships, primary categories