Qualitative data analysis

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Qualitative data analysis




Introduction


As we discussed in Chapters 2, 3 and 10, the aim of qualitative research is to provide evidence for understanding experiences of health and illness from the perspective of the participants. Qualitative data are collected through techniques such as in-depth interviews, focus groups and participant observation (Chs 11–13). Qualitative data analysis refers to the processes by which researchers organize the information collected and analyse the meanings of what was said and done by the participants. When conducting qualitative data analysis we bring our values, experiences and theories when analysing and constructing the meaning of what our respondents are telling us about their lives.


The specific aims of this chapter are to:




Understanding meaning in everyday life


Understanding people involves discovering their beliefs, desires, intentions. We do this by listening to them and observing what they say and do, taking into account the social settings in which these actions occur.


For instance, one person says to another: ‘Would you like to come in for a coffee?’ What are the intentions of the speaker? Does he or she simply want to prepare the coffee and consume it in silence? Or should we look for ‘hidden’ or ‘latent’ meanings in order to understand the speaker’s true intentions? Consider these two everyday scenarios:



1. You have been given a lift by a workmate who had to go out of his way to drive you home. Although you are tired, it seems the right thing to offer the driver refreshments. However, your intention is to be polite and acknowledge the colleague’s effort; in fact you are hoping that the invitation will be refused. The ‘hidden message’ here is ‘Thank you and goodbye!’ The worst-case outcome is that the colleague is too insensitive to read your intentions and stays around gossiping until midnight. Bad luck!


2. The British film ‘Brassed Off’ (1996) has a scene where a young woman is escorted home after a date by a young man. A dialogue was (approximately) as follows:


    She: Come up for a cup of coffee.


    He: I don’t drink coffee.


    She: That’s alright; I don’t have any.


The above dialogue shows the nuances in the everyday use of language. Just as we sometimes misunderstand meanings and intentions in everyday life, we can also misinterpret the data produced by qualitative data collection. To avoid error we need to cross-check the accuracy of our interpretation.



Coding qualitative data


At the conclusion of the data collection process, qualitative researchers are confronted by transcripts which record the narratives expressed by the participants. The first step of analysis is to thoroughly read the transcripts, that is to ‘immerse’ oneself in the text. Once we have acquired an overall understanding of the narratives the next step is to code the text. To do this the researchers develops a coding system which is used to organize the data (what was said) into categories based on similarities of words, concepts and themes. There are two main approaches to coding: predetermined and emerging with thematic analysis.



Predetermined coding


Predetermined coding uses predetermined categories to organize and analyse the transcripts.


For example, you might do a survey to study clients’ experiences of a rehabilitation program at your workplace. Say that you conducted 20 in-depth interviews and produced a 100-page transcript representing what people said in these interviews. Considering your research aims, you might code the statements into three categories:



At the simplest level, analysing the first two categories would enable us to understand the reasons why the clients found the rehabilitation programs to be satisfactory or unsatisfactory. This information could be useful for improving the program. In most studies the coding system would be more elaborate.



Coding and thematic analysis


An alternative approach to using predetermined codes is to develop a coding system that identifies common themes as they emerge from the text. Different qualitative researchers advocate different approaches to coding but it typically involves the following steps. The researchers first study their transcripts, and develop a close familiarity with them. During this process, all the concepts, themes and ideas are noted to form major categories. Often, the researcher will then attach a label and/or number to each category and record their positions in the transcript. Coding is an iterative process (we retrace our steps), with the researcher coding and re-coding as the interpretation progresses. The researchers, having developed the codes and coded the transcripts, then attempt to interpret their meanings in the social context of the participants (see Ch. 10).


Coding is rather like cutting and pasting together similar things; it is an essential process for identifying segments of a text which convey similar meanings. There are a number of units of analysis that can be used to examine meanings in the text. These units reflect the way language is structured and used for communication and can be the bases for coding.



Consider the following (Polgar & Swerissen 2000):



We can identify in the above text, words, phrases and sentences that contain synonyms (words that mean the same thing). These terms can be coded together and are therefore grouped. Moving, walking, shifting weight: these are aspects of the same concept, as representing aspects of physical activity not achievable by those who are severely disabled. In this text, these terms have been used several times. Move when others are moving; join in group activities that involve some mobility; participate in sport: these are phrases conveying synonyms of physical disadvantage that can reduce the ability of some people with severe disabilities to participate. Also, there are sentences about physical activities with others. When identity can be gained from joining in physical group activities, people with disabilities can face disadvantage. If it is participation or just companionship that is desired, physical activities do not provide opportunities for some of those with disabilities and can lead to a sense of separation. These sentences convey similar themes about the disadvantage faced by some people with disabilities through their inability to participate in physical activity. Disadvantage and separation are two emotive terms signifying problems faced by some people with disabilities. These terms can be coded together, demonstrating the way concepts can be used to code qualitative data.



Content analysis


Content analysis enables the identification of units of meaning occurring in a text. Content analysis is a technique which can be seen as a blending of quantitative and qualitative methods. The recognition and coding of meaning are qualitative, while the counting of the meaningful ‘chunks’ is quantitative. The ‘meaningful chunks’ can be words, sentences or paragraphs: that is, the units of language that were coded by the researchers from the narratives and dialogues.


To illustrate content analysis, consider the following unpublished study. One of the authors was interested in how leading newspapers were representing the use of stem cells in medical research. The following research questions were asked:


Related posts:

  1. Surveys and quasi-experimental designs
  2. Measurement
  3. Standard scores and normal distributions
  4. Measures of central tendency and variability

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Apr 12, 2017 | Posted by in MEDICAL ASSISSTANT | Comments Off on Qualitative data analysis

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