Coding qualitative research

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Coding qualitative research

• Dr. Edwin van Teijlingen

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Qualitative Methods

• Interpret peoples behaviours, opinions and
  interactions in their normal context.
• Make the link between what people say they do and
  what they actually do.

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Data analysis

• General principles
• Sift through the data
• Make sense of situation, event, etc.
• In a systematic way.

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Transcribing

• Tape recorded focus groups or interviews need to
  be transcribed.
• Transcribing takes five to six hours per hour
  recording!!

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Coding?

• Coding up or coding down
• Coding down making data fit pre-defined
  categories
• Coding up deriving categories from the data
  collected.

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CA open-ended questions

• Question place of residency in Nepal
• Where do you live at present?
• District
• -------------xxx---------------
• Question to health care professionals
• What type of physical activity are you most
  likely to recommend to your patients who are
  apparently healthy adults? (e.g. walking,
  cycling, swimming, etc.) ________
• __________________________________________________
  ____________________________________________

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Coding down

• Coding down is easiest to do. E.g. studies of
  media is USA. There are coding books available.

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Coding up I

• More creative art!
• More work (time consuming).
• Less objective.

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Coding up II

• Take a few of the first transcripts
• Code paragraph at a time.
• Use filing cards, highlight pens, to note down
  new responses or new features.

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Coding up III

• When all done sort filling cards into related
  categories.
• Continue with new set of transcripts.
• Repeat sorting.

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Coding up IV

• Repeat last step till no new categories arise.
• Note deviant cases.

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Example I

• Transcripts of focus groups with pupils at
  schools in Aberdeen and Lothian discussing issues
  around school-based sex education in Dec. 2003.

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Example II

• How do you code/assess?
• What are the main themes?
• How do you know what was meant? (i.e.
  interpretation?)

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Example III

• Some pupils feared teachers might not treat them
  as an adolescent, e.g.
• Sometimes if you speak to a teacher they might
  treat you like a kid and you get embarrassed.
  Males year S5.

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Example IV

• .. most of the teachers are too embarrassed to
  teach it and that sort of thing (interrupted)
• Totally
• It's like when they're speaking, they'll be
  talking to you in a completely normal tone and
  then it will be like (whispers) 'penis!
• (Laughter) Males S5

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Example V

• I think some of the teachers were quite
  embarrassed talking about it
• We had a man.
• ..
• I think that was the whole reason why they had
  videosone lesson when we had to say all the bad
  words for the human body bits..and the teacher
  was getting embarrassed.
• Female S1