Bita Akram Julia Zochodne Open coding Bita Akram Julia Zochodne

index Background Steps Tips Qualitative research Open coding Open coding and grounded theory When and where Steps Conceptualization Categorization Category properties and dimensions Patterns Theory Tips What to code How to code

Index cont. Benefits and problems Coding Styles Coding Tools Team Coding Solo Coding Coding Tools Coding manually vis. Electronically CAQDAS In class example References

Qualitative research A research method used in many disciplines Social sciences Aims to understand Human behavior The reason behind this behavior Answering questions like: Why/how/when/where/what Methods used for qualitative research Interviews Participant observation field notes Journals Documents Photographs

Open coding Analytic Process Idea discovery Data should be examined thoroughly for: Concepts Thoughts Meanings http://meetingsnet.com/cme-design/7-faqs-about-qualitative-research-and-cme

Open coding and grounded theory http://www.revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/profile/article/view/20559/36831

When and where Where When Qualitative research approach Idea generation Evaluation http://konigi.com/book/export/html/2300

steps Conceptualization Categorization Category Properties and Dimensions Patterns Theory

conceptualizing Naming a phenomena Labeling events, happenings and concepts based on their shared characteristics Showing the essence of a phenomena Performing detailed analysis, comparison, classification and discussion on the phenomena There are more than one way to classify an object based on Researcher point of view Research context Conceptualization happens by The meaning a phenomenon reflects in researcher’s mind “In vivo”: The name is directly taken form participants data It is necessary to be innovative in looking at phenomena

Example Here is an interview with a young woman, early 20s, about teenagers using drugs: Interviewer: Tell me about teens and drug use. Respondent: I think teens use drugs as a release from their parents [“rebellious act”]. Well, I don’t know, I can only talk for myself. For me, it was an experience [“experience”] [in vivo code]. You hear a lot about drugs [“drug talk”]. You hear they are bad for you[“negative connotation” to the drug talk”]. There is a lot of them around [“available supply”]. You just get into them because they are accessible [“easy access”] and because it is kind of a new thing [“novel experience”].   http://drugabuse.com/library/teen-drug-abuse/

categorization Arranging things in a systematic manner Moving from words in data to more general and abstract view Grouping codes based in their shared characteristics Different shared characteristics might be considered based on our perspective Naming a category: Answering what is going on here based on the mutual characteristics of codes in the same category Established names Using in vivo codes Coming up with new names

Example cont. From our previous example we have: easy access novel experience rebellious act What is going on here? Teenagers are experiencing drug use according to the above reasons. As a result, the previous mentioned concepts could be gathered under the category of reasons for experiencing or shortly experience http://teensdrugsalcoholparty.blogspot.ca/

Category properties and dimensions A category can be defined based on its properties and characteristics Dimension: Defining the position of a property on a specified range A subcategory inherits the general properties of its parent category while the its properties are restricted to a specific range

Example Of a concept,properties and dimensions Concept: Color Properties: Shade, Intensity and Hue Dimensions: The particular range defined for each of these properties http://warrenmars.com/visual_art/theory/colour_wheel/hsv_cylinder.png

Example cont. Category Frequency Limited Experimenting– Hard-core use Drug usage Frequency Property Limited Experimenting– Hard-core use Dimension range for the property Interviewer: Do teens experiment a lot with drugs? Respondent: Most just try a few [“Limited experimenting”]. It depends on where you are [and] how accessible they are [“degree of accessibility”]. Most don’t really get into it hard- core [good in vivo concept] [“hard-core use” vs. “limited experimenting”]. A lot of teens are into pot, hash, a little organic stuff [“soft core drug types”]. It’s kind of progressive [“progressive using”]. You start off with the basic drugs like pot[“basic drugs”] [in vivo code]. Then you go on to try more intense drugs like hallucinogens[“intense drugs”][in vivo code].

Patterns “Analysis is the search for patterns in data and for ideas that help explain why those patterns are there in the first place”[3] Patterns are frequent happening of an action or behavior in human affairs A research primarily tries to find patterns in data Patterns leads us to finding the theory lay behind a specific behavior Patterns have following characteristics: Likeness Predictable variation Frequency Order Relations Dependency Cause and effect

Theory Theory is the overall research goal based on: Relations between categories and subcategories The simplified procedure schematic of reaching to a theory [1]

Example cont. Easy access to the drugs and putting too much control on teens motivate them to become a hard-core drug user

Tips What to Code How to Code

What to code Social life recorded in data Participant activities Perceptions As a novice code every piece of data As an expert you probably know what parts to omit

How to code Leave enough space Pre-coding Between paragraphs Use three columns Data Real time coding Final coding Pre-coding Circle/highlight/bold potential words/phrases/sentences Title/organizational framework Evidence for your theory Start coding while collecting data Separate them from original data Keep your research goal in front of you

How to code Cont. Code using one method before the other to see the influence Codes should be categorized in a minimum number of categories preserving the essence of their subset Keep a record of all of your coding cycles Your codes Their content Data example Can be used as a standard for team Can help in categorization

Benefits and problems

Benefits and problems Benefits Problems [4] Theories generated through coding grounded directly in the data Expands the focus of the research process Captures participants’ perceptions and the personal meanings they give to others’ actions Problems Theories are generated to (over)fit the data Findings may not be generalization Time consuming and labor intensive [4]

Coding styles Team coding Solo coding

Team coding Depends on the size of the project Joint Research Involving more than one way perspective and interpretation of data in research Ideas are built on top of each other Team coding can occur by: Inviting a participant to the team Coding each others data to double check their reality There should be a minimum range of 85%-90% of agreement between coworkers

Solo coding Depends on the size of the project Single coding Seek peer support Involve participants Start coding from initial stages Maintain a reflective journal

Coding Tool Coding manually vs. Electronically coding Common CAQDASes

Coding manually vis. electronically Learning basics of coding and qualitative analysis Complex instructions Multiple functions Coding electronically (CAQDAS) Storing Organizing Reconfiguring It is good to code first manually and after mastering the method use software

COMMON caqdas ATLAS.ti:www.atlasti.com MAZQDA:www.maxqda.com NVivo:www.qsrinternational.com Coding in NVivo Image Coding

In class Example Research on the effect of classroom technology on children’s communication with the outside world.

references

references [1] Saldaña, Johnny. The coding manual for qualitative researchers. No. 14. Sage. (2012). [2] Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. Basics of Qualitative Research, 2nd Edition. Sage Publications. (1998). [3] Denzin, Norman K. & Lincoln, Yvonna S. (Eds.). (2005). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ISBN 0-7619-2757-3 [4] Corbin, Juliet M., and Anselm Strauss. "Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria." <i>Qualitative sociology</i> 13.1 (1990): 3-21.