Quali Data Analysis

Question 1

Key stages in analytical process

Answer 1

Data management
Generation of findings — descriptive accounts (mapping and defining, classifying and grouping), explanatory accounts (searching for patterns or associations, identifying explicit and implicit reasons), drawing wider inference (for policy/practice/industry etc…, for theory)

Question 2

Data processing and management

Answer 2

Verbatim transcripts or note and quote
Coding — aiding in labelling, separating, compiling and organising data. Aiding data management and interpretation.
* coding is not interpreting the data for you but it helps researcher in finding interpretation: assesses significance of coded material for subjects’ lives, forge connections between codes, reflect on overall importance of findings for research question and existing literature

Question 3

Contradiction and discontinuities in data?

Answer 3

Value of triangulation in assessing relative weight in of views/experiences
Look for continuities/consensus, discontinuities/dissessus and potential explanations for different experiences or viewpoints
Highlight outstanding (or new) issues as avenues warranting further research

Question 4

Main strategies of data analysis

Answer 4

• analytic induction — researcher seeking universal explanations of phenomena by collecting data until not finding anymore results that are inconsistent with their hypothesis
• grounded theory — generating theory out of research data by achieving a close fit between the two
• thematic analysis — extraction of key themes in one’s data. Diffuse approach with few agreed principles for defining core themes in data
• narrative analysis — approach to analysis and elicitation of data based on how people tell stories about their lives (understanding how people tell their stories considering the order of events and how they make sense of them). (Critiqued cause they cannot be understood without considering the context, they exist within a social setting and are shaped by the context. There are no single widely accepted method to be followed)

Question 5

Quali Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklists (CASP)

Answer 5

Are the results valid?
* clear statement of aims?
* quali method appropriate?
* design appropriate to aims?
* recruitment strategy appropriate?
* data collection addressing issue?
* consideration of relationship between researcher and participants?

What are the results?
* ethical issues taken into considerations?
* clear statement of findings?

Will the results help/make a difference?
* how valuable is the research?