CODING TIPS

Setting / Context Codes: General information on the setting, topic or participants.

Definition of the Situation codes: You may have a coding category for each type of
participant. Students, teachers. Or an orientation that defines participants feminists,
social class, political.
Perspectives held by participants: Shared rules, norms and points of view. For example you can never tell. Or be honest but not cruel.
Participants ways of thinking about people and objects: immature, trouble makers, pit
stops, ready for school, reading readiness.
Process codes: any words and phrases that facilitate categorizing sequences of events,
change over time. For example: stages, periods, phases, passages, steps, careers,
benchmarks, turning points, transitions.
Activity codes: Codes that are directed at regularly occurring behavior. For example:
student smoking, joking, morning exercises in school, lunch, attendance, special
education conference.
Event codes: Happenings that occur only once or infrequently. For example: firing of
teacher, strike, the riot, a school pageant.
Strategy codes: methods, techniques, maneuvers, ploys.
Relationship and Social structure codes: Cliques, friendships, coalitions, enemies,
mentors etc. Social roles, positions, role sets etc.
Narrative codes: Structure of talk. How does a person construct the narrative of her/his
life? Contradictions that emerge.
Methods codes: design, choosing a site, establishing rapport.