Qualitative Data Analysis: Emerging from the Data

Erlinda Castro-Palaganas

Objectives:
At the end of the session, we will be able to: 1. Describe the intellectual processes and subprocesses that can play a role in qualitative analysis; 2. Describe activities that qualitative researchers perform to manage and organize their data; 3. Discuss the procedures used to analyze qualitative data (general procedures); and 4. Describe interpretation and writing concerns in qualitative inquiry.

Qualitative Analysis: General Considerations

Qualitative analysis is a labor-intensive activity that requires creativity, conceptual sensitivity, and sheer hard work. Qualitative analysis is more complex and difficult to do well than quantitative analysis because it is less formulaic.

Qualitative Analysis: General Considerations

Data Analysis is particularly challenging for qualitative researchers, for three major reasons: 1. there are no universal rules for analyzing and summarizing qualitative data ; 2. the enormous amount of work required; and 3. reducing the data for reporting purposes

Nature of qualitative data: Writing Research methodology

In the forms of words rather than numbers They are rich and sexy They are a source of well grounded, rich descriptions and explanations of processes in identifiable local contexts Preserve chronological flow See precisely which events lead to what consequences, derive fruitful explanation

Nature of qualitative data: Writing Research methodology

Get beyond initial conceptions/pre-determined research methodology Generate and revise conceptual frameworks/ methodology WORDS, especially organized into incidents or stories, have a concrete, meaningful flavor that often proves for more convincing to a reader-a policy maker, a practitioner, another researcherthan pages of summarized numbers

Soback to the question: How do we go about analyzing the data?

Qualitative Analysis
Involves the process of: Data Management Data Analysis

What is Data Management?

Operations needed for a systematic, coherent process of data collection, storage and retrieval

These Operations Are Aimed At Ensuring:

a) high-quality, accessible data b) documentation of just what analyses have been carried out; and c) retention of data and associated analyses after the study is complete.

What is Data Analysis?

A process that requires astute questioning, a relentless search for answers, active observation, and accurate recall. A process of piecing together data, of making the invisible obvious, of recognizing the significant from the insignificant, of linking seemingly unrelated facts logically, of fitting categories one with another, and of attributing consequences to antecedents.

What is Data Analysis?

It is a process of conjecture and verification, of correction and modification, of suggestion and defense. It is a creative process of organizing data so that the analytic scheme will appear obvious.

What is Data Analysis?

It is a matter of describing, summarizing, and interpreting data obtained for each study unit or for each group of study units To make sense of massive amounts of data, reduce the volume of information, identify significant patterns and construct a framework for communicating the essence of what the data reveal

What is Data Analysis?

Unlike quantitative approach which have well developed data management and reduction and interpretation, Qualitative analysis depends on researchers theoretical perspectives: 1) Interpretivism (meanings) Human being make sense of their place in the world, understand from the point of view of participants, we can understand meanings, symbolic meanings within its context) 2) Constructionism: how we see things is the result of historical, social, political processes, how phenomena are constructed, which are the process in which phenomena become classified in particular ways, who has the power to produce legitimate classification

Theoretical Perspectives/approaches
Feminist Approach Critical Approach Political Economy Approach etc

Theoretical Concepts

Empirical Data

Research Questions

General Principles: What are we looking for?

Experiences and feelings Perceptions, attitudes Meanings, symbols Expressive modes (social acts, social practice rather than just behavior) Power relations Macro level: more than laws and policies, but also underlying worldviews and ideologies. Historical, economic and political context

What is Data Analysis?

Involves four cognitive processes namely: 1. Comprehending; 2. Synthesizing; 3. Theorizing and 4. Recontextualizing

Data Analysis
Comprehending
Early in the analytical process, qualitative researchers strive to make sense of the data to learn what is going on. When comprehension is achieved, researchers are able to prepare a thorough description of the phenomenon under study, and new data do not add much to that description. Thus, comprehension is completed when saturation has been attained.

Data Analysis
Synthesizing
Synthesizing involves a sifting of the data and inductively putting pieces together. At this stage, researchers get a sense of what is typical with regard to the phenomenon and what variation is like. At the end of the synthesis process, researchers can make some generalized statements about the phenomenon and about study participants.

Data Analysis
Theorizing
Involves a systematic sorting of the data. During the theorizing process, researchers develop alternative explanations of the phenomenon under study and then hold these explanations up to determine their fit with the data. The theorizing process continues to evolve until the best and most parsimonious explanation is obtained.

Data Analysis
Recontextualizing
The process of recontextualization involves the further development of the theory such that its applicability to other settings or group is explored. In qualitative inquiries whose ultimate goal is theory development, it is the theory that must be recontextualized and generalized.

Data Analysis
Contains three linked sub-processes: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification

Fig. 1: COMPONENTS OF DATA ANALYSIS: INTERACTIVE MODEL

Data Collection Data Display Data Reduction

Conclusions: Drawing/verifying

Data Analysis is a continuous interactive process.

Components of Qualitative Data Analysis

1.Data collection period: ----------------------2.DATA REDUCTION -------------|-----------------------------------------Anticipatory During Post

3.DATA DISPLAYS -----------------------------------------During Post 4.CONCLUSION DRAWING --------------------------------------------During Post

 BEFORE These processes occur before data collection, during study design and planning; DURING data collection as interim and early analyses are carried out; AFTER data collection as final products are approached and completed.

What is Data Reduction?

The process of selecting, focusing , simplifying, abstracting and transforming, the data that appear in written-up FIELDNOTES or TRANSCRIPTIONS Data reduction occurs continuously through out the life of any qualitative research project even before the data are actually collected Make decision which conceptual framework, which case, which research questions, which data collection approaches to choose Interviews/FGDs fieldnotes-fragment, bulky,jump from one topic to another

Data reduction: As data collection proceeds, continue after fieldwork until final report is completed
Sorting Data: 1) People met, events, situations (mundane) experienced, exact context, 2) main issues being discussed,(analytical) 3) writing memos, reflexivity:feelings, observation, reactions,thoughts (researchers/informants (fieldwork) Selection, exclusion Coding, index-categoriesmechanism to organize and classifying data-compare between cases, identify patterns, domain evidences, themes Identify themes and patterns Summarizing data: Making clusters, writing summaries, list data belong together

Data reduction
It is part of analysis The researchers decisions---which data chunks to code and which to pull out, which patterns best summarize a number of chunks, which evolving story to tell---are all analytical choices A form of analysis that sharpens, sorts, focuses, discards, and organizes data in such a way that final conclusions can be drawn and verified Data condensation

Data Reduction
Data is reduced in an anticipatory way as the researcher chooses a conceptual framework research question/s cases instruments

Data Reduction
Tell me how your life has changed since you had the baby? It s a lot harder now. There s so many things I have to do for her. Sometimes I wish I would ve waited longer. Most of the time I m glad I have her but I don t know. It s a Lot of work. I don t like to get up until noon but I can t now because I have to feed her and 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 Changes

More Responsibili ty Ambivalenc e

Interferes

Data Reduction
INFORMANT: 5 SV: REASON I: Can you help me understand some of the reasons this is happening? IN-5: the reason that it happened to me is because my stepfather, he wouldn t let me go out or anything and. I guess I got snotty or something. But I did love the guy I married and that s why it happened. It s really not because my stepfather pushed it, but it really was because we were in love and that s why is happened. I: Uh huh. Did you feel that by having a baby then that would force the issue. IN-5: yeah, it did force it. Cause we were going married, but not that soon. 29 30 *Marriage 14 15 16 17 18 19 #Reason *Parent *Love

Actual Field Notes, Interviews, Tapes, Other Data

Available

Data Summaries, Coding Finding Themes Clustering Writing Stories

Data Selection and Condensation

What is Data Display?

An organized, compressed assembly of information that permits conclusion drawing and action Let the data/phenomena speak for itself Case studies, stories, verbatim (narrative), matrices, graphs,charts, pictures, (sexual) networks, etc.

What is Data Display?

an organized, compressed assembly of information that permits conclusion drawing and/or action taking second, inevitable part of analysis.

MORE FOCUSED DISPLAY INCLUDE:

Structured summaries Synopses Vignettes Network like or other diagrams Matrices with text rather than numbers in the cells

What is Conclusion Drawing and Verification?

Involve the researcher in interpretation: drawing meaning from displayed data After noting regularities, patterns, explanations, possible configurations, propositions Final conclusions, theorizing, reflexivities

Tactics used:
comparison / contrast noting of patterns and themes clustering use of metaphors to confirmatory tactics such as: triangulation looking for negative cases following up surprises checking results with respondents

Involves:
Reading and re-reading notes and transcripts, recalling observations and experiences, listening to tapes, viewing videotapes

Immerse yourself with the data or dwell with the data

This happens when you:

 transcribe the interviews yourself,  place codes and device coding methods,  make reflective remarks while dwelling with the data,  make memos and  develop propositions in the process.

Data Transformation
Information is condensed, clustered, sorted, and linked over time.

The actual process of data analysis usually takes the form of selecting, simplifying, abstracting and transforming the raw data or clustering data which are similar.
themes and subthemes categories and subcategories

Structural meaning units of data

Data could be further broken down into DOMAINS, TAXONOMIES and COMPONENTS to help the researcher cluster information and discover the meanings intended in what is observed and heard.

Once all the themes relevant to the study are explicated, the researcher will write them up in a way that is meaningful to the intended audience.

The combined process of REFLECTION, IMAGINATIVE THINKING, and SIFTING and ANALYSIS of evidence from the data could guide the analysis of the data.

A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS could be a starting point and the end point of analysis is the IDENTIFICATION of conceptual categories.

The categories and subcategories may reveal overlaps but will be confirmatory rather than contradictory

Descriptive Observations

Domain Analysis

Domain Analysis

Taxonomic Analysis

Components

Data Analysis involves:

Rearranging the different domains, taxonomies and components

Considerable time to immerse oneself with the data to be able to identify the theme and subthemes However, once done, these guide the presentation and interpretation of findings.

Data Analysis entails:

Data reduction as the reams of collected data are brought into manageable components for interpretation Making sense out of the files if a difficult task.

Fig. 2. INTERACTION BETWEEN DISPLAY AND ANALYTIC TEXT

Suggest Re-Analysis Integrate / Elaborate Suggest Comparison Make Sense DISPLAY ANALYTIC TEXT Summarize See Themes/Patterns/Clusters Discover Relationships Develop Explanation

Interpretation
From Field to Text to Reader

Writing or Story Telling

to self

significant others

public

Writing Concerns
Sense-making Representation Legitimation Desire

Sense - Making
Moving from field notes to actual writing process What will be written about What will be included Who will it be represented, etc.

Representation
voice, audience, the other the authors place in the reflexive texts that are produced self-presentation first person (I, we, our) emic vs. etic

Legitimation
understanding the phenomenon not generalizability audit trail demonstrate trustworthiness or rigor of data.

Desire
pleasure of the text writing as a creative of discovery and inquiry

Thin vs. Thick description

THIN DESCRIPTION
simply states a set of facts independent of intentions or circumstances

THICK DESCRIPTION
gives the context of an experience, states the intentions and meanings that organized the experience reveals the experience as a process Arises a texts claims for truth or its verisimilitude

Interpretation creates the conditions for authentic, or deep, emotional understanding Authentic understanding is created when readers are able to live their way into an experience that has been described and interpreted

Remember: Interpretation/s
Is/are not copyable Off - the - shelf patterns Custom - built, revised and choreographed
sample.doc

References:
Data Management and Analysis Methods by A. Michael Huberman and Matthew B. Miles in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. 2000. Handbook of Qualitative Research. Sage Publications, CA, USA.

Critical Issues in Qualitative Research Methods: Edited by J.M. Morse. 1994. Sage Publication