The Qualitative Report

Volume 23 | Number 4 Book Review 12

4-16-2018

Coding and Writing Analytic Memos on

Qualitative Data: A Review of Johnny Saldaña’s The
Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers
Richard Rogers
Columbus State University, ricky.alicia@comsouth.net

Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr

Part of the Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, and
the Social Statistics Commons

Recommended APA Citation

Rogers, R. (2018). Coding and Writing Analytic Memos on Qualitative Data: A Review of Johnny Saldaña’s The Coding Manual for
Qualitative Researchers. The Qualitative Report, 23(4), 889-892. Retrieved from https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol23/iss4/12

This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the The Qualitative Report at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in The
Qualitative Report by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact nsuworks@nova.edu.
Coding and Writing Analytic Memos on Qualitative Data: A Review of
Johnny Saldaña’s The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers
Abstract
Researchers in the field or doctoral students completing a qualitative or mixed methods study would highly
benefit from this book because it thoroughly covers the basics of coding, provides many different types of
coding, and explains the purpose of analytic memos. There are twenty-five different types of first cycle coding
and six types of second cycle coding. Analytic memos provide an avenue for the researcher to record his or her
thoughts during the research process and to code the memos as additional data for the study. The companion
website provides code lists, coding examples from journals, and sample interview transcripts to test your
coding skills.

Keywords
Qualitative Methodology, Data Analysis, Analytic Memos, Coding, First Cycle Coding, Second Cycle
Coding, Themes

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

This book review is available in The Qualitative Report: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol23/iss4/12

The Qualitative Report 2018 Volume 23, Number 4, Book Review 3, 889-892

Coding and Writing Analytic Memos on Qualitative Data:

A Review of Johnny Saldaña’s The Coding Manual for Qualitative
Researchers
Richard H. Rogers
Houston County School System, Perry, Georgia, USA
Columbus State University, Columbus, Georgia, USA

Researchers in the field or doctoral students completing a qualitative or mixed

methods study would highly benefit from this book because it thoroughly covers
the basics of coding, provides many different types of coding, and explains the
purpose of analytic memos. There are twenty-five different types of first cycle
coding and six types of second cycle coding. Analytic memos provide an avenue
for the researcher to record his or her thoughts during the research process and
to code the memos as additional data for the study. The companion website
provides code lists, coding examples from journals, and sample interview
transcripts to test your coding skills. Keywords: Qualitative Methodology, Data
Analysis, Analytic Memos, Coding, First Cycle Coding, Second Cycle Coding,
Themes

Reviewer’s Statement

As doctoral students partake in the dissertation journey, they look to their methodologist
and committee members to recommend books and articles that will help them gain the
necessary knowledge to complete a quality study. Since I mentor students who conduct
qualitative and mixed methods studies, many of them conduct interviews, observe natural
settings, and analyze documents for rich data and believe that coding is the best way to analyze
the data. The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers (3rd edition) by Johnny Saldaña
thoroughly covers the basics of coding, the purpose of analytic memos, twenty-five different
types of first cycle coding, and six types of second cycle coding. I used an earlier edition of
this book for my dissertation and have advised many of my students to purchase this book and
use it for their study. Because the book covers the background knowledge of coding and details
many different types of coding, the book meets the needs of a variety of qualitative and mixed
methods studies. In addition, the book offers online resources for students and professors at
https://study.sagepub.com/saldanacoding3e. The website provides guidance to qualitative data
analysis software, code lists, coding examples, and sample interview transcripts.

What Is a Code and What Is the Purpose of Coding?

According to Saldaña (2016), a code is “a word or short phrase that symbolically

assigns a summative, salient, essence-capturing, and/or evocative attribute for a portion of
language-based or visual data” (p. 4). Coding connects the qualitative data collection phase
with the data analysis phase of a study. It is important to note that coding is not an exact science
with right and wrong answers. The researcher is the main instrument in qualitative research,
and coding is primarily an interpretive, heuristic, and exploratory process that requires a
problem-solving process and a synthesis of the data. All coding is considered a judgment call,
and it is important that researchers identify their biases, subjectivities, and predispositions
within the research process. In addition, the gender, social class, age, and race/ethnicity of the
researcher and participants impact an analytic lens. It is very common to look for patterns
890 The Qualitative Report 2018

when coding data because patterns increase the trustworthiness (or validity) of the data.
Saldaña (2016) suggests, “As you code and recode, expect…your codes and categories to
become more refined and, depending on your methodological approach, more conceptual and
abstract” (p. 12). One challenge of qualitative methodologies is the quantity of data collected.
A codebook with a list of codes, a description of the code, and an example of data that matches
the code helps with the organization of the data. Many qualitative studies result in themes,
which are an outcome of the coding process and analytic reflection. Themes are typically
longer than codes and have several codes embedded within the theme resulting in conclusions
of the study.

What Purpose Do Analytic Memos Serve in the Research Process?

Analytic memos are comparable to journals, lab notebooks, and blogs by allowing
researchers to reflect and record on “coding processes and code choices; how the process of
inquiry is taking shape; and the emergent patterns, categories and subcategories, themes, and
concepts in your data…possibly leading toward theory” (Saldaña, 2016, p. 44). When you
reflect and write about data analysis and your thinking with the coding process, it increases
your critical thinking and challenges your own assumptions. It is not necessary to write
analytic memos in formal, academic jargon; memos should read like personal letters to a friend.
Charmaz (2014) challenges researchers to write what comes to mind, title it at the end, and
decide the importance of the memo at a later date. Once analytic memos are written, they
become data as well, and researchers are able to use the coding process to code and categorize
each memo. It is important to date each memo and write a descriptive title that helps with
classifying the memo. Analytic memos are not summaries of the data but helps with “future
directions, unanswered questions, frustrations with the analysis, insightful connections…”
(Saldaña, 2016, p. 45). Shenton (2004) discusses the importance of trustworthiness in
qualitative research by sharing four elements to achieve trustworthiness: credibility,
transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Reflective commentary is another name for
analytic memos and both methods increase the credibility of a study. Credibility in qualitative
research is comparable to internal validity in quantitative research (Shenton, 2004). Analytic
memos are a great way for researchers or doctoral students to record the research process. I
included a sample of my reflective commentary/analytic memos in my dissertation to help the
reader understand my thoughts on the dissertation journey (Rogers, 2012).

What Are First Cycle Coding Methods?

It is important to note that coding is not a one-time, linear event. The qualitative
analytic process is cyclical, and first cycle coding occurs during the initial coding of the data.
During my dissertation journey, I would code each interview transcript individually and then
recode it after coding the second interview transcript comparing the first interview with the
second interview (Rogers, 2012). I continued this process with each interview transcript and
document analysis, and I watched my themes develop through this ongoing analysis of data.
Saldaña (2016) divided the first cycle coding into seven subcategories: Grammatical,
Elemental, Affective, Literary and Language, Exploratory, and Procedural. Within each of
these subcategories are specific types of coding. For example, Elemental Methods consist of
Structural, Descriptive, In Vivo, Process, Initial, and Concept Coding. Many of my doctoral
students utilize In Vivo Coding because it uses participants’ exact words, which results in rich
data for studies. Other names for In Vivo Coding is literal coding, verbatim coding, natural
coding, and emic coding, which all emphasize the participants’ voices in the data. Saldaña
(2016, p. 106) shares an example of In Vivo Coding and how quotation marks are used for the
Richard H. Rogers 891

codes. In the example, an adult female interviews Tiffany, a 16-year-old teenage girl, about
her friendships at high school.

I hated school last year. “hated school”

Freshman year, it was awful, “freshman year awful”
I hated it. And this year’s a lot “this year’s better”
better actually. Um I don’t know why.
I guess over the summer I kind of
stopped caring about what other “stopped caring”
people thought and cared more about,
just, I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. “hard to explain”

Saldaña (2016) states that one coding method may suffice for a study, or a researcher may need
to select two or more coding methods to meet the needs of the study. Lastly, a researcher may
need to create his/her own type of coding to fulfill the needs of the study.

What Is the Goal of Second Cycle Coding?

Second cycle coding methods are not necessary for every study, but it is a way to
reorganize and reanalyze data that was coded in the first cycle coding. “The primary goal
during second cycle coding is to develop a sense of categorical, thematic, conceptual, and/or
theoretical organization from your array of first cycle codes” (Saldaña, 2016, p. 234). During
the second cycle, researchers may change codes, add new codes, or drop codes all together in
the pursuit of developing the themes for the study. Saldaña (2016) shares six different types
of second cycle coding methods: Pattern, Focused, Axial, Theoretical, Elaborative, and
Longitudinal. Focused Coding is an example of a second cycle coding that many of my
doctoral students use with their dissertations, and it is also known as selective coding and
intermediate coding. According to Saldaña (2016), Focused Coding searches for the most
frequent or significant codes to develop the most salient categories in the data corpus….” (p.
240).

Final Thoughts

The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers by Johnny Saldaña is my number one
recommended book to doctoral students who are completing a qualitative or mixed methods
dissertation. This book helped me understand how to code by explaining coding, thoroughly
covering many different types of coding, and providing examples to review. It is not often that
you find a book that helps you successfully complete your dissertation and then the author
continually updates it, which allows you to recommend the newer editions to your doctoral
students. My goal in this review was to share an overview of the most important content and
to connect the material with the completion of my dissertation and my students’ dissertation.
With the companion website, this book is a well-rounded resource for doctoral students and
researchers in the field.

References

Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Rogers, R. H. (2012). Principals’ perceptions of departmentalization and self-contained
classrooms at the elementary school level (Doctoral dissertation). Valdosta State
University, Valdosta, Georgia.
892 The Qualitative Report 2018

Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
Shenton, A. K. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects.
Education for Information, 22, 63-75.

Author Note

Dr. Richard H. Rogers is the assistant superintendent for school operations for the
Houston County School System in Georgia and a professor of curriculum with Columbus State
University. Dr. Rogers earned his doctorate degree in K-12 Executive Leadership from
Valdosta State University. His educational interests include education, leadership, curriculum
theory, and qualitative research. Dr. Rogers published a chapter in 2016 titled “Education,
Democracy, and Decency: Which Curriculum Ideology Best Addresses a Child’s Education
for Democracy” in the book titled Democracy and Decency: What Does Education Have to Do
With It? In addition, he presents to future education graduates at Middle Georgia State
University with the goal of instilling a passion for education. Correspondence regarding this
article can be addressed directly to: rickyalicia@comsouth.net, followed on twitter at
@drrhrogers, or connected through LinkedIn.

Copyright 2018: Richard H. Rogers and Nova Southeastern University.

Article Citation

Rogers, R. H. (2018). Coding and writing analytic memos on qualitative data: A review of
Johnny Saldaña’s The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. The Qualitative
Report, 23(4), 889-892. Retrieved from https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol23/iss4/12