Sheffield Hallam University by K S Ho (SCOPE) Research Methods (HK) 2015-16 Phase One Lecture 5 Analysis of Qualitative Data Sheffield Hallam University by K S Ho (SCOPE)

Analysis of Qualitative Data Comparing Methods of Data Analysis Similarities Adequacy of data collected Make accessible to others what the researcher did Compare features of the evidence Avoid errors, false conclusion & misleading inferences

Differences Quantitative data analysis: specialized & standardized Qualitative data analysis: less standardized Quantitative data analysis: after data collection Qualitative data analysis: early in a research Quantitative data analysis: hypothesis testing Qualitative data analysis: concepts & theory construction Quantitative data analysis: numbers Qualitative data analysis: words

Qualitative analysis: methods for examining social research data without converting them into a numerical format I. Discovering patterns II. Grounded theory method III. Semiotics IV. Conversation analysis

I. Discovering patterns Six ways of looking for patterns (John & Lyn Lofland 1995): Frequencies Magnitude Structure Process Causes Consequences

II. Grounded theory method (GTM) Firstly developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss (1967) Four stages: Comparing incidents applicable to each categories Integrating categories and their properties Delimiting the theory Writing theory

III. Semiotics Semiotics is commonly defined as the “science of signs” and has to do with symbols and meanings. SIGN MEANING 1. Poinsettia a. Good luck 2. Horseshoe b. First prize 3. Blue ribbon c. Christmas

IV. Conversation analysis To uncover the implicit assumptions and structure in social life through an extremely close scrutiny if the way we converse with one another. e.g. interviewaudio recordingstranscriptions coding and analytic induction

Qualitative Data Processing Coding Memoing Concept Mapping

Coding: classifying or categorizing individual pieces of data Coding units E.g. Earl Babbie (2010) sentences, paragraphs, chapters or whole books E.g. Bruce L. Berg (2014) words, themes, characters, paragraphs, items, concepts, semantics

Memoing Writing memos or notes to yourself and others involved in the project. Code notes Theoretical notes Operational notes

Concept Mapping Relationships among concepts in a graphical format.

Example of Analysis Cultural explanation (Cheng 1994) Institutional explanation (Ho 1999) Rational action theory RAT (Ho 1999)

Typology of Parent Involvement School based involvement Family based involvement Complete involvement + Traditional involvement - Spurious involvement +: involvement -: no involvement

References: Berg, Bruce L. 2014. Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (H61.B4715 2014)  Lichtman, Marilyn. 2014. Qualitative Research for the Social Sciences. Thousand Oaks, California : SAGE (H62.L482 2014)  Ritchie, Jane. 2014. Qualitative Research Practice: a guide for social science students and researchers. Los Angeles, California : SAGE (H62.Q355 2014)  Scott, Greg and Roberta Garner. 2013. Doing Qualitative Research: designs, methods, and techniques. Upper Saddle River, N. J.: Pearson Education. (H62.G256 2013)