Qualitative Data Collection & Analysis Methods
60 Summary
This chapter has focused on collecting and analyzing qualitative data. We explored some of the more traditional methods, such as interviews and focus groups, for collecting qualitative data. We also explored less popular methods such as oral histories and videography. Analyzing qualitative data requires time and commitment and, if possible, it is best that the researcher who undertakes the analysis and write-up of the data, also completes the transcription, in order to be totally immersed in the data. Time spent in these processes should result in a study that produces valuable, in-depth data that numbers alone (i.e. quantitative methods) cannot explain.
Key Takeaways
- In-depth interviews are semi-structured interviews where the researcher has topics and questions in mind to ask, but questions are open ended and flow according to how the participant responds to each;
- An interview guide is a list of topics or questions that the interviewer hopes to cover during the course of an interview;
- Open-ended questions are questions that a researcher poses but does not provide answer options for;
- A code is a shorthand representation of some more complex set of issues or ideas. The process of identifying codes in one’s qualitative data is more often referred to as coding;
- An oral history is a less traditional form of data collection that can take the form of an interview. Its purpose is to make a written record of material that might otherwise be forgotten, by those who are unlikely to themselves create a written record of material are produce archival materials;
- When multiple respondents participate in an interview at the same time, this is referred to as a focus group interview.
- Videography can be an effective means for collecting data, both during researcher-participant interviews and during focus groups. It can also be employed to collect data in more natural settings and therefore is a popular tool for those undertaking ethnographic studies.
- Deductive coding is the approach used by research analysts who have a well-specified or predefined set of interests. It includes descriptive and interpretive coding approaches.
- Inductive coding begins with the identification of general themes and ideas that emerge as the researcher reads through the data. It includes open and focused/axial coding approaches.
- NVivo and Atlas.ti are computer programs that qualitative researchers use to help them with organizing, sorting, and analyzing their data.
- Qualitative interviews allow respondents to share information in their own words and are useful for gathering detailed information and understanding social processes. However, they rely upon respondents’ accuracy and their intensity in terms of time, expense, and possible emotional strain.
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