Qualitative Research Data Analysis Mary Jean Ronan Herzog Ann Alexander Western Carolina University Educational Leadership & Foundations Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Day Waynesville Country Club February 21, 2009

The Qualitative Research Continuum Reductive ………………….. Holisitic Structured ………………….Intuitive

Types of Qualitative Data Form of Data Collection Interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires Observations Documents, portfolios, journals Audiovisual materials Type of Data Transcriptions of open- ended interviews or questions Fieldnotes and drawings Notes about documents or scanned documents Pictures, photographs, videotapes, objects, sounds

Step 1: Collect Good Data Tape record and transcribe interviews Take fieldnotes during interviews and observations Fieldnotes include both observations and impressions Take or draw pictures during observations Keep a journal and/or log during the research study.

Levels of Analysis Whole – Parts – Whole  Data Reduction  Data Synthesis  Data Display  Conclusion Drawing/Verification Case Analysis Cross Case Analysis

Analysis is an Iterative Process That occurs During data collection process Immediately after an interview or site visit Simultaneously Continues till the end of the project

Constant Comparison Method Recursive process of: Comprehension Interpretation Deconstruction Synthesis

Basic Steps in Analysis Read and reread raw data Listen and listen again to the interviews, videos, etc. Watch and watch again the videos, photos, documents, etc.

Open Coding Naturalistic

Ask: What Jumps Out at You? Look/listen for  Issues  Recurring events  Repetition  Significant statements

Manual Analysis Write margin notes Write memos Cut text into individual segments Color code Sort into discreet units Group commonalities (within and across cases)

Intuitive Dimensions Develop:  Hunches  Hypotheses  Codes  Categories  Conclusions  Summaries

Qualitative Findings Themes Patterns Concepts Insights Understandings

Accuracy of Findings Referential Adequacy Triangulation Member checking External audit

Representing Findings Text Direct quotes Comparison table or matrix Hierarchical tree diagram Figures and flowcharts Maps