Qualitative Data Analysis Methods 101 - Top 6 + Examples - Grad Coach

6/24/22, 1:36 PM Qualitative Data Analysis Methods 101: Top 6 + Examples - Grad Coach
Qualitative Data Analysis Methods

101:
The “Big 6” Methods + Examples
By: Kerryn Warren (PhD) Expert Reviewed By: Eunice Rautenbach (D.Tech) |
May 2020
Qualitative data analysis methods. Wow, that’s a mouthful.
If you’re new to the world of research, qualitative data analysis can

look rather intimidating. So much terminology, so many abstract, fluffy
concepts. It can be a minefield!
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https://gradcoach.com/qualitative-data-analysis-methods/ 1/32
Fear not – in this post, we’ll unpack the most popular analysis
methods, one at a time, so that you can approach your analysis with
confidence and competence – whether that’s for a dissertation, thesis
or really any kind of research project!
What (exactly) is qualitative data

analysis?
To understand qualitative data analysis, we need to first understand
qualitative data – so let’s take a step back and ask the question,
“what exactly is qualitative data?”.
Well, qualitative data refers to pretty much any data that’s “not
numbers”. In other words, it’s not the stuff you measure using a fixed
scale or complex statistics or mathematics.
So, if it’s not numbers, what is it?
Words, you guessed? Well… sometimes, yes. Qualitative data can,

and often does, take the form of interview transcripts, documents and
open-ended survey responses – but it can also involve the
interpretation of images and videos. In other words, qualitative isn’t

just limited to text-based data.
So, how’s that different from quantitative data, you ask?
Simply put, qualitative research focuses on words, descriptions,

concepts or ideas – while quantitative research focuses on
numbers and statistics. Qualitative research investigates the “softer
side” of things to explore and describe, while quantitative research
focuses on the “hard numbers”, to measure differences between
variables and the relationships between them. If you’re keen to learn
more about the differences between qual and quant, we’ve got a
detailed post over here.
So, qualitative analysis is easier than quantitative,

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Well…. not quite. In many ways, qualitative data can be challenging

and time-consuming to analyse and interpret. At the end of your data
collection phase (which itself takes a lot of time), you’ll likely have
many pages of text-based data or hours upon hours of audio to work
through. You might have subtle nuances of interactions or discussions
that have danced around in your mind, or that you scribbled down in
messy field notes.
Making sense of all of this is no small task and you shouldn’t

underestimate it. Long story short – qualitative analysis can be a lot of
work!
In this post, we will explore qualitative data analysis by looking at the

general methodological approaches used for dealing with qualitative
data. We’re not going to cover every possible qualitative approach and
we’re not going to go into heavy detail – we’re just going to give you the
big picture. These approaches can be used on primary data (that’s
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collected From
yourself) Awesome,
or secondary datatell(data
me that’s
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already
been published by someone else).
Without further delay, let’s get into it.
The Qualitative Data Analysis Methods

“Big 6”
There are many different types of qualitative data analysis (QDA for
short), all of which serve different purposes and have unique
strengths and weaknesses. We’ll start by outlining the analysis
methods and then we’ll dive into the details for each one.
The 6 most popular QDA methods – or at least the ones we see at

Grad Coach – are:
1. Qualitative content analysis

2. Narrative analysis
3. Discourse analysis
4. Thematic analysis
5. Grounded theory (GT)
6. Interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA)
Let’s take a look at them…
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QDA Method #1: Qualitative Content

Analysis
2:38
Content analysis is possibly the most common and straightforward
QDA method. At the simplest level, content analysis is used to
evaluate patterns within a piece of content (for example, words,
phrases or images) or across multiple pieces of content or sources of
communication. For example, a collection of newspaper articles or
political speeches.
With content analysis, you could, for instance, identify the frequency
with which an idea is shared or spoken about – like the number of
times a Kardashian is mentioned on Twitter. Or you could identify
patterns of deeper underlying interpretations – for instance, by
identifying phrases or words in tourist pamphlets that highlight India
as an ancient country.
Because content analysis can be used in such a wide variety of ways, it’s
important to go into your analysis with a very specific question and
goal, or you’ll get lost in the fog. With content analysis, you’ll group
large amounts of text into codes, summarise these into categories, and
possibly even tabulate the data to calculate the frequency of certain
concepts or variables. Because of this, content analysis provides a small

splash of quantitative thinking within a qualitative method.
Naturally, while content analysis is widely useful, it’s not without its
drawbacks. One of the main issues with content analysis is that it can
be very time consuming, as it requires lots of reading and re-reading
of the texts. Also, because of its multidimensional focus on both
qualitative and quantitative aspects, it is sometimes accused of losing
important nuances in communication.
Content analysis also tends to concentrate on a very specific

timeline and doesn’t take into account what happened before or after
that timeline. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though – just
something to be aware of. So, keep these factors in mind if you’re
considering content analysis. Every analysis method has its drawbacks,
so don’t be put off by these – just be aware of them!
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QDA Method
A Friendly, PhD-Qualified Grad Coach. #2: Narrative
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As the name suggests, narrative analysis is all about listening to people

telling stories and analysing what that means. Since stories serve a
functional purpose of helping us make sense of the world, we can gain
insights into the ways that people deal with and make sense of reality
by analysing their stories and the ways they’re told.
You could, for example, use narrative analysis to explore whether how
something is being said is important. For instance, the narrative of a
prisoner trying to justify their crime could provide insight into their
view of the world and the justice system. Similarly, analysing the
ways entrepreneurs talk about the struggles in their careers or cancer
patients telling stories of hope could provide powerful insights into
their mindsets and perspectives. In other words, narrative analysis is
about paying attention to the stories that people tell – and more
importantly, the way they tell them.
Of course, the narrative approach has its weaknesses, just like all
analysis methods. Sample sizes are generally quite small due to the
time-consuming process of capturing narratives. Because of this, along
with the multitude of social and lifestyle factors which can influence a
subject, narrative analysis can be quite difficult to reproduce in
subsequent research. This means that it’s difficult to test the findings of
some of this research.
Similarly, researcher bias can have a strong influence on the results

here, so you need to be particularly careful about the potential biases
you can bring into your analysis when using this method. Nevertheless,
narrative analysis is still a very useful qualitative method – just keep
these limitations in mind and be careful not to draw broad conclusions.
QDA Method #3: Discourse Analysis

Discourse is simply a fancy word for written or spoken language or
debate. So, discourse analysis is all about analysing language
within its social context. In other words, analysing language – such as
a conversation, a speech, etc – within the culture and society it takes
place in. For example, you could analyse how a janitor speaks to a CEO,
or how politicians speak about terrorism.
To truly understand these conversations or speeches, the culture and

history of those involved in the communication is important. For
example, a janitor might speak more casually with a CEO in a
company that emphasises equality among workers. Similarly, a
politician might speak more about terrorism if there was a recent
terrorist incident in the country.
So, as you can see, by using discourse analysis, you can identify how
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the way concepts spoken about. So, if your research aims and
objectives involve understanding culture or power dynamics, discourse

analysis can be a powerful method.
Because there are many social influences in how we speak to each

other, the potential use of discourse analysis is vast. Of course, this
also means it’s important to have a very specific research question
(or questions) in mind when analysing your data and looking for
patterns and themes, or you might land up going down a winding
rabbit hole.
Discourse analysis can also be very time consuming as you need to

sample the data to the point of saturation – in other words, until no
new information and insights emerge. But this is, of course, part of
what makes discourse analysis such a powerful technique. So, keep
these factors in mind when considering this QDA method.
QDA Method #4: Thematic Analysis

Thematic analysis looks at patterns of meaning in a data set – for

example, a set of interviews or focus group transcripts. But what
exactly does that… mean? Well, a thematic analysis takes bodies of
data (which are often quite large) and groups them according to
similarities – in other words, themes. These themes help us make
sense of the content and derive meaning from it.
Let’s take a look at an example.
With thematic analysis, you could analyse 100 reviews of a popular

sushi restaurant to find out what patrons think about the place. By
reviewing the data, you would then identify the themes that crop up
repeatedly within the data – for example, “fresh ingredients” or
“friendly wait staff”.
So, as you can see, thematic analysis can be pretty useful for finding
out about people’s experiences, views, and opinions. Therefore, if
your research aims and objectives involve understanding people’s
experience or view of something, thematic analysis can be a great
choice.
Since thematic analysis is a bit of an exploratory process, it’s not

unusual for your research questions to develop, or even change as
you progress through the analysis. While this is somewhat natural in
exploratory research, it can also be seen as a disadvantage as it
means that data needs to be re-reviewed each time a research question
is adjusted. In other words, thematic analysis can be quite time-
consuming – but for a good reason. So, keep this in mind if you
choose to use thematic analysis for your project and budget extra
time for unexpected adjustments.
QDA Method #5: Grounded theory (GT)

Grounded Theory is powerful qualitative analysis method where the
intention is to create a new theory (or theories) using the data at
hand, through a series of “tests” and “revisions.” For example, you
could try to develop a theory about what factors influence students to
read watch a YouTube video about qualitative analysis… The important
thing with grounded theory is that you go into the analysis with an
open mind and let the data speak for itself – rather than
dragging existing hypotheses or theories into your analysis. In other
words, your analysis must develop from the ground up (hence the
A Friendly, name)…
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In Grounded Theory, you start with a general overarching question

about a given population – for example, graduate students. Then you
begin to analyse a small sample – for example, five graduate students
in a department at a university. Ideally, this sample should be
reasonably representative of the broader population. You’d then
interview these students to identify what factors lead them to watch the
video.
After analysing the interview data, a general hypothesis or pattern

could emerge. For example, you might notice that graduate students
are more likely to read a post about qualitative methods if they are just
starting on their dissertation journey, or if they have an upcoming
test about research methods.
From here, you’ll look for another small sample – for example, five
more graduate students in a different department – and see whether
this pattern or this hypothesis holds true for them. If not, you’ll look
for commonalities and adapt your theory accordingly. As this
process continues, the theory develops. What’s important with
grounded theory is that the theory develops from the data – not from
some preconceived idea. You need to let the data speak for itself.
So, what are the drawbacks of grounded theory? Well, some argue that
there’s a tricky circularity to Grounded Theory. For it to work, in
principle, you should know as little as possible regarding the
research question and population, so that you reduce the bias in your
interpretation. However, in many circumstances, it’s also thought to be
unwise to approach a research question without knowledge of the
current literature. In other words, it’s a bit of a “chicken or the egg”
situation.
Regardless, grounded theory remains a popular (and powerful) option.

Naturally, it’s a very useful method when you’re researching a topic
that is completely new or has very little existing research about it, as
it allows you to start from scratch and work your way from the
ground up.
QDA Method #6:

Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis
(IPA)
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Try saying that three times fast… Let’s just stick with IPA, okay?
IPA is designed to help you understand the personal experiences of

a subject (for example, a person or group of people) concerning a
major life event, an experience or a situation. This event or
experience is the “phenomenon” or phenomena that makes up the “P”
in IPA. These phenomena may range from relatively common events
– such as motherhood, or being involved in a car accident – to those
which are extremely rare – for example, someone’s personal
experience in a refugee camp. So, IPA is a great choice if your research
involves analysing people’s personal experiences of something
that happened to them.
It’s important to remember that IPA is subject–centred. In other

words, it’s focused on the experiencer. This means that, while you’ll
likely use a coding system to identify commonalities, it’s important not
to lose the depth of experience or meaning by trying to reduce
everything to codes. Also, keep in mind that since your sample size will
generally be very small with IPA, you often won’t be able to draw
broad conclusions about the generalisability of your findings. But
that’s okay as long as it aligns with your research aims and objectives.
Another thing to be aware of with IPA is personal bias. While

researcher bias can creep into all forms of research, self-awareness is
critically important with IPA, as it can have a major impact on the
results.
For example, a researcher who was a victim of a crime himself could

insert his own feelings of frustration and anger into the way he
interprets the experience of someone who was kidnapped. So, if you’re
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IPA, you Awesome,
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could
muddy the analysis.
Keep these limitations and pitfalls in mind though, and you’ll have a
powerful analysis tool in your arsenal!
How to choose the right analysis method

Now, you’re probably asking yourself the question, “how do you choose
the right one?”
Well, selecting the right qualitative analysis method largely depends

on your research aims, objectives and questions. In other words,
the best tool for the job depends on what you’re trying to build. For
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1. Perhaps your research aims to analyse the use of words and

what they reveal about the intention of the storyteller and the
cultural context of the time.
2. Perhaps your research aims to develop an understanding of the
unique personal experiences of people that have experienced
a certain event.
3. Or perhaps your research aims to develop insight regarding the
influence of a certain culture on its members.
As you can see, all these research aims are distinctly different, and
therefore different analysis methods would be suitable for each one.
Also, remember that each method has its own strengths, weaknesses
and general limitations. No single analysis method is perfect.
Therefore, it often makes sense to adopt more than one method (this is
called triangulation), but this is, of course, quite time-consuming.
As we’ve seen, these approaches all make use of coding and theme-
generating techniques, but the intent and approach of each analysis
method differ quite substantially. So, it’s really important to come into
your research with a clear intention before you start thinking about
which analysis method (or methods) to use.
Start by reviewing your research aims, objectives and research

questions to assess what exactly you’re trying to find out – then select
a method that fits. Never pick a method just because you like it or have
experience using it – your analysis method (or methods) must align
with your broader research aims and objectives.
Let’s recap on QDA methods…

In this post, we looked at the six most popular qualitative data analysis
methods, namely:
1. Firstly, we looked at content analysis, a straightforward

method that blends a little bit of quant into a primarily qualitative
analysis.
2. Then we looked at narrative analysis, which is about
analysing how stories are told.
3. Next up was discourse analysis – which is about analysing
conversations and interactions.
4. Then we moved on to thematic analysis – which is about
identifying themes and patterns. more!
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5. From there, we went south with grounded theory – which is

about starting from scratch with a specific question and using the
data alone to build a theory in response to that question.
6. And finally, we looked at IPA – which is about understanding
people’s unique experiences of a phenomenon.
Of course, these aren’t the only approaches to qualitative data

analysis, but they’re a great starting point if you’re just dipping your
toes into qualitative research for the first time.
Psst… there’s more (for free)

This post is part of our research writing mini-course, which covers
everything you need to get started with your dissertation,
thesis or research project.
Check out the free course
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57 Comments
Richard N on November 19, 2020 at 8:05 am
This has been very helpful. Thank you.
Reply
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on May 25, 2021 at 3:22 pm
Thank you madam,
Reply
Mariam Jaiyeola on June 29, 2021 at 11:21 pm
Thank you so much for this information
Reply
Nzube on February 15, 2022 at 7:38 pm
Great 👍
Reply
ayalneh on April 16, 2022 at 7:18 am
I wonder it so clear for understand and

good for me.
can I ask additional query?
Hemantha Gunasekara on September 8, 2021 at 5:26 am
Thanks madam . It is very important .
Reply
Gumathandra on March 22, 2022 at 2:53 pm
thank you very good
Reply
Pramod Bahulekar on December 7, 2020 at 7:12
more!am
A Friendly, PhD-Qualified Grad Coach.
This has been very well explained in simple language . It is

useful even for a new researcher.
Reply
Derek Jansen on January 4, 2021 at 9:27 am
Great to hear that. Good luck with your qualitative data

analysis, Pramod!
Reply
Adam Zahir on April 23, 2021 at 9:06 am
This is very useful information. And it was very a clear

language structured presentation. Thanks a lot.
Reply
Rashida on January 12, 2021 at 6:01 pm
very informative sequential presentation
Reply
Shahzada on January 22, 2021 at 8:15 am
Precise explanation of method.
Reply
Alyssa on February 10, 2021 at 5:49 am
Hi, may we use 2 data analysis methods in our qualitative

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Reply
py
Derek Jansen on February 17, 2021 at 12:04 pm
Hi Alyssa
Thanks for your comment. Most commonly, one would

use one type of analysis method, but it depends on your
research aims and objectives.
Derek
Reply
Dr. Manju Pandey on June 1, 2022 at 11:07 am
You explained it in very simple language, everyone

can understand it. Thanks so much.
Reply
Phillip on February 12, 2021 at 10:49 am
Thank you very much, this is very helpful. It has been explained
in a very simple manner that even a layman understands
Reply
Anne on February 17, 2021 at 11:27 am
Thank nicely explained can I ask is Qualitative content analysis

the same as thematic analysis?
Reply
on February 17, 2021 at more!
Derek Jansen
A Friendly, PhD-Qualified Grad Coach. 12:02 pm
Hi Anne
Thanks for your comment. No, QCA and thematic are two
different types of analysis. This article might help clarify
– https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nhs.12048
Derek
Reply
Rev. Osadare K . J on October 29, 2021 at 10:45 pm
This is my first time to come across a well explained

data analysis. so helpful.
Reply
udayangani on March 7, 2021 at 12:19 pm
i need a citation of your book.
Reply
khutsafalo on August 21, 2021 at 1:33 pm
Thanks a lot , remarkable indeed, enlighting to the best
Reply
jas on March 24, 2021 at 5:17 pm
Hi Derek,
What other theories/methods would you recommend when the

data is a whole speech?
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M on May 5, 2021 at 11:22 pm
Keep writing useful artikel.
Reply
Adane on May 11, 2021 at 3:20 pm
It is important concept about QDA and also the way to express

is easily understandable, so thanks for all.
Reply
Carl Benecke on May 29, 2021 at 8:13 am
Thank you, this is well explained and very useful.
Reply
Ngwisa on June 3, 2021 at 11:53 pm
Very helpful .Thanks.
Reply
Hajra Aman on June 15, 2021 at 4:42 pm
Hi there!
Very well explained. Simple but very useful style of writing.

Please provide the citation of the text.
warm regards
Reply
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Your Mophethe
Research on
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June 18, 2021 atAwesome,
8:46 pm tell me No, I don't need help
The session was very helpful and insightful. Thank you
Reply
Hillary Mophethe on June 18, 2021 at 8:47 pm
This was very helpful and insightful. Easy to read and

understand
Reply
Catherine on July 10, 2021 at 7:04 pm
As a professional academic writer, this has been so informative

and educative. Keep up the good work Grad Coach you are
unmatched with quality content for sure.
Reply
Catherine on July 10, 2021 at 7:07 pm
Keep up the good work Grad Coach you are unmatched with
quality content for sure.
Reply
Abdulkerim on March 5, 2022 at 1:10 pm
Its Great and help me the most. A Million Thanks you Dr.
Reply
Emanuela on July 18, 2021 at 8:16 am
It is a very nice work

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Noble Naade on July 22, 2021 at 3:02 pm
Very insightful. Please, which of this approach could be used

for a research that one is trying to elicit students’
misconceptions in a particular concept ?
Reply
Karen on July 23, 2021 at 7:54 pm
This is Amazing and well explained, thanks
Reply
amirhossein on July 30, 2021 at 9:10 pm
great overview
Reply
Tebogo on August 7, 2021 at 6:32 pm
What do we call a research data analysis method that one use to

advise or determining the best accounting tool or techniques
that should be adopted in a company.
Reply
Catherine Shimechero on September 1, 2021 at 3:02 pm
Informative video, explained in a clear and simple way. Kudos
Reply
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Your Research
Hmung From
on September Awesome,
13, 2021 at 8:57 am tell me No, I don't need help
Waoo! I have chosen method wrong for my data analysis. But I

can revise my work according to this guide. Thank you so much
for this helpful lecture.
Reply
BRIAN ONYANGO MWAGA on September 14, 2021 at 9:29 am
This has been very helpful. It gave me a good view of my

research objectives and how to choose the best method.
Thematic analysis it is.
Reply
Livhuwani Reineth on September 23, 2021 at 8:39 pm
Very helpful indeed. Thanku so much for the insight.
Reply
Storm Erlank on October 29, 2021 at 11:55 am
This was incredibly helpful.
Thank you!
Reply
Jack Kanas on October 30, 2021 at 11:10 pm
Very helpful.
Reply
catherine on November 7, 2021 at 6:46 pm
very educative
Reply
Wan Roslina on November 13, 2021 at 3:15 am
Nicely written especially for novice academic researchers like

me! Thank you.
Reply
Talash on November 26, 2021 at 8:28 am
choosing a right method for a paper is always a hard job for a

student, this is a useful information, but it would be more
useful personally for me, if the author provide me with a little
bit more information about the data analysis techniques in type
of explanatory research. Can we use qualitative content analysis
technique for explanatory research ? or what is the suitable
data analysis method for explanatory research in social studies?
Reply
ramesh on November 27, 2021 at 3:48 am
that was very helpful for me. because these details are so
important to my research. thank you very much
Reply
Kumsa Desisa on December 7, 2021 at 7:47 am
I learnt a lot. Thank you

Get 1-On-1 Help With Your Research From Awesome, tell me No, Reply
I don't need help
Tesfa NT on December 15, 2021 at 3:11 pm
Relevant and Informative, thanks !
Reply
norma on February 17, 2022 at 3:37 am
Well-planned and organized, thanks much! 🙂
Reply
Nyi Nyi Lwin on April 15, 2022 at 4:01 pm
Clear explanation on qualitative and how about Case study
Reply
Alicia on April 21, 2022 at 8:01 am
This was really of great assistance, it was just the right

information needed. Explanation very clear and follow.
Wow, Thanks for making my life easy
Reply
C. U on April 24, 2022 at 9:24 pm
This was helpful thanks .
Reply
Dr. Alina Atif on April 30, 2022 at 12:02 pm
Get 1-On-1 Help WithVery

Your Research
helpful…. From
clear and written in an easily
Awesome, understandable
tell me No, I don't need help
manner. Thank you.
Reply
Herb on May 4, 2022 at 8:30 pm
This was so helpful as it was easy to understand. I’m a new to

research thank you so much.
Reply
cissy on May 5, 2022 at 2:29 pm
so educative…. but Ijust want to know which method is coding

of the qualitative or tallying done?
Reply
Tesfaye on May 12, 2022 at 6:11 am
precise and clear presentation with simple language and thank

you for that.
Reply
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6/24/22, 1:36 PM Qualitative Data Analysis Methods 101: Top 6 + Examples - Grad Coach

Qualitative Data Analysis Methods

Qualitative data analysis methods. Wow, that’s a mouthful.

If you’re new to the world of research, qualitative data analysis can

What (exactly) is qualitative data

So, if it’s not numbers, what is it?

Words, you guessed? Well… sometimes, yes. Qualitative data can,

interpretation of images and videos. In other words, qualitative isn’t

So, how’s that different from quantitative data, you ask?

Simply put, qualitative research focuses on words, descriptions,

So, qualitative analysis is easier than quantitative,

Well…. not quite. In many ways, qualitative data can be challenging

Making sense of all of this is no small task and you shouldn’t

In this post, we will explore qualitative data analysis by looking at the

Without further delay, let’s get into it.

The Qualitative Data Analysis Methods

The 6 most popular QDA methods – or at least the ones we see at

1. Qualitative content analysis

Let’s take a look at them…

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QDA Method #1: Qualitative Content

concepts or variables. Because of this, content analysis provides a small

Content analysis also tends to concentrate on a very specific

Get 1-On-1 Help With Your Research From

As the name suggests, narrative analysis is all about listening to people

Similarly, researcher bias can have a strong influence on the results

QDA Method #3: Discourse Analysis

To truly understand these conversations or speeches, the culture and

objectives involve understanding culture or power dynamics, discourse

Because there are many social influences in how we speak to each

Discourse analysis can also be very time consuming as you need to

QDA Method #4: Thematic Analysis

Thematic analysis looks at patterns of meaning in a data set – for

Let’s take a look at an example.

With thematic analysis, you could analyse 100 reviews of a popular

Since thematic analysis is a bit of an exploratory process, it’s not

QDA Method #5: Grounded theory (GT)

In Grounded Theory, you start with a general overarching question

After analysing the interview data, a general hypothesis or pattern

Regardless, grounded theory remains a popular (and powerful) option.

QDA Method #6:

IPA is designed to help you understand the personal experiences of

It’s important to remember that IPA is subject–centred. In other

Another thing to be aware of with IPA is personal bias. While

For example, a researcher who was a victim of a crime himself could

How to choose the right analysis method

Well, selecting the right qualitative analysis method largely depends

Get 1-On-1 example:

1. Perhaps your research aims to analyse the use of words and

Start by reviewing your research aims, objectives and research

Let’s recap on QDA methods…

1. Firstly, we looked at content analysis, a straightforward

5. From there, we went south with grounded theory – which is

Of course, these aren’t the only approaches to qualitative data

Psst… there’s more (for free)

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This has been very helpful. Thank you.

Thank you madam,

Mariam Jaiyeola on June 29, 2021 at 11:21 pm

Thank you so much for this information

Nzube on February 15, 2022 at 7:38 pm