1. Qualitative Research Overview of Qualitative Research Gery W. Ryan
RAND Corporation
&
Tracy Van Holt
East Carolina University

2. What is Qualitative Data Analysis?
It can mean:
“the analysis of qualitative data”
“the qualitative analysis of data”

3. What is Qualitative Data Analysis?
Interpretive text studies.
Hermeneutics, Grounded
Theory
Search for and presentation of
meaning in results of
quantitative processing
Turning words into numbers.
Classic Content Analysis,
Word Counts, Free Lists,
Pile Sorts, etc.
Statistical & mathematical
analysis of numeric data
Analysis
Qualitative
Quantitative
(Texts)
(Ordinal/Ratio Scale)
Data
Adapted from: Bernard, H. Russell Qualitative data, quantitative analysis. Cultural Anthropology Methods Journal 8(1):9-11.

4. Where Does Qualitative Research Fit In Terms of Research Goals?
Navajo, Hopi, & White American Babies (Dennis 1940)

5. What are examples of qualitative data?
Objects
Video
Text
Sound
Images
List all the examples you can think of of qualitative research or qualitative data analysis?
This is an example of a free list
Typically I get lists like this.
Now I want you to look at this list and figure out how to best categorize these examples. This is a kind of pile sort. If I where doing it for real, I’d have write each example on a card and have you sort them in piles of your choice.
Obviously, there are many ways to sort this list. One of the problems, however with qualitative data analysis is that we don’t know how what “qualitative” modifies.
Russ Bernard and I believe it modifies both.

6. What are some data collection methods?
Techniques for Producing Qualitative Data
Elicitation Techniques
Indirect
Observations
Direct
Semi-Structured
Unstructured
Structured
Spot
Sampling
Continuous
Monitoring
Case Studies
& Participant
Observation
Mixed
Methods
There are many ways to categorize qualitative data. This is just one of them.
Interview-Based
Informal
Participant observation, casual conversations
Ethnographic
Clear data collection plan, but minimal control over type of material covered. Good when informants can be interviewed multiple times.
Semi-structured
Written list of topics and questions in particular order. Open & close-ended. Good for one-shot data collection.
Systematic
Identical questions/stimuli. Surveys, free lists, piles sorts, etc.
Key issue is who has control of the interview and whether informants are all getting asked the same questions.
Structured = the probability that interviewees will get asked the same questions in the same order

7. Responses from a Semi-Structured Interview
Grand-Tour Question
Question: “Please describe the last time that you had a cold or the flu.”
Answer: “This happened exactly 31 days ago. I remember this so well because the 1st day was also the 1st day that I quit smoking. My girlfriend and young child had already been affected and were recovering from the following symptoms: itchy throat and cough, stomach cramps, fever. The 1st day was not bad right away. I called in sick to work but I was really planning to use the opportunity to study for an exam the next day. To my surprise, by 5 PM I was bed ridden. The next day I was worse. I went to my exam, but I performed poorly. I skipped the rest of my classes. It was at this time that I realized I could use this as an opportunity to quit smoking. So far I have been successful. By Wednesday evening I was fine.”
Rarely do people talk about the last example. That is what I will discuss today.

8. Why Use Grand-Tour Questions?
Question: “Please describe the last time that you had a cold or the flu.”
Answer: “This happened exactly 31 days ago. I remember this so well because the 1st day was also the 1st day that I quit smoking. My girlfriend and young child had already been affected and were recovering from the following symptoms: itchy throat and cough, stomach cramps, fever. The 1st day was not bad right away. I called in sick to work but I was really planning to use the opportunity to study for an exam the next day. To my surprise, by 5 PM I was bed ridden. The next day I was worse. I went to my exam, but I performed poorly. I skipped the rest of my classes. It was at this time that I realized I could use this as an opportunity to quit smoking. So far I have been successful. By Wednesday evening I was fine.”
Grand-tour answers often place event in a larger context and elicit data you would never have thought to ask about.
Rarely do people talk about the last example. That is what I will discuss today.

9. Responses from a Semi-Structured Interview
Mini-Tour Questions
Signs/Symptoms: “What signs and symptoms did you have?”
Answer: “Sore throat, stomachache, fever.”
Causation: “What you think caused the illness and why?”
Answer: “Some sort of infection, b/c I believe I caught this sometime after the rest of my family.”
Treatment: “Please describe what you did about the illness from start to finish.”
Answer: “I rested when I felt like I needed it and took a lot of vitamins C and E.”
Social Support: “Please describe how other people assisted you in your illness (e.g., giving advice or helping you).”
Answer: “Emotional support.”
Answers to mini-tour questions supplement and further focus grand-tour answers
Note additional info not in grand-tour question.

10. Course Overview The Basics Grounded Theory & Schema Analysis
General Data Collection Techniques, Theme ID, Codebooks, Descriptions, and Building & Testing Models & Data Archiving
Grounded Theory & Schema Analysis
Word-Based Analyses
KWIC, Word Counts, Semantic Network Analysis
Content Analysis
Classic Content Analysis, Content Dictionaries, Ethnographic Content Analysis