ANALYZING

QUALITATIVE
DATA
DONALD ARY | LUCY CHESER JACOBS | CHRIS SORENSEN

Introduction to Research in Education (8th Edition)

 Analyzing • DATA ANALYSIS is the most complex and mysterious
phase of qualitative research.

Qualitative • Analysis involves , reducing and organizing data,

synthesizing, searching for significant patterns and

Data discovering what is important.

• 3 STAGES IN ANALIZING QUALITATIVE DATA
1. FAMILIARIZING & ORGANIZING
2. CODING & REDUCING
3. INTERPRETING & PRESENTING
“The experienced qualitative researcher
begins data analysis immediately after
finishing the first interview or
observation, and continues to analyze
the data as long as he or she is
working on the research, stopping
briefly to write reports and papers.”

MAXWELL (2005)
 “Qual. Analysis involves attempts to
comprehend the phenomenon under
study, synthesize information and
explains relationships, theorize about
how and why the relationships appear
as they do, and reconnect the new
knowledge with what is already
known.”
CRESWELL (2007)
Creswell’s • Once the data are collected, the researcher engaged
with the data through reading and reflecting.

Data • Creswell describes how this spiral fits.

Analysis
1. Narrative
2. Phenomenology

Spiral 3. Grounded Theory

4. Ethnography
5. Case Study
 STAGES OF QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT AUTHORITIES
STAGE CRESWELL (2007) MARSHALL & ROSSMAN MAXWELL (2005) WOLCOTT (1994)
(2006)

1.ORGANIZING & Data Managing, Organizing the Data Reading, Listening Describe and
FAMILIARIZING Highlight
Reading/ Memoing Immersion in the Data

2.CODING & Describing Generating categories & Coding, Memoing Analyze and identify
REDUCING Themes patterns

Classifying Coding the Data Categorizing

3. INTERPRETING Interpreting Offering interpretations Connecting Contextualize

& PRESENTING through analytic memos

Representing, Searching for alternative Reporting Display findings

Vizualizing understandings
Writing the report
PREPARATIONS 1. Books related to research topic/ problem (3-5 books)

before doing the 2. Audio Recorder (with 2 spare batteries) or

Interview Smartphones (with 4gb and up memory).

3. Video Recorder (it depends on the nature of data) or
Camera (for documentation, pictures)
1.
FAMILIARIZING
&
ORGANIZING
FIRST STEP IN ANALIZING QUALITATIVE DATA
 DATA • DATA ARE IN A FORM OF THE FF:
1. VIDEOTAPES

IMMERSION 2. AUDIOTAPES
3. OBSERVER COMMENTS
4. TRANSCRIPTIONS
5. NON-VERBAL INFO. (laughter, gestures)
*When transcribing, do not change the words/ phrases to
make them grammatically correct because it may
inadvertently change the sense or meaning.
6. Reflective Log- When transcriptions are
completed, read and re-read, while doing so make a reflective
log (ideas, thoughts or types of info. you see)
• Always have a back-up copy of the original data.
Photocopy it for the other members of the group.
7. Put the dates, names, times, place the data were
gathered.
2. CODING
&
REDUCING
SECOND STEP IN ANALIZING QUALITATIVE DATA
Coding & • This is the core of qualitative analysis and includes the
identification of categories and themes and their

Reducing refinement.
• Coding is analogous to getting ready for a rummage
sale: You sort the stuff for the sale into categories–
housewares, clothing, furniture, books and so on. You
might further subdivide the categories: The clothing
category would include children’s clothing, teenager’s
clothing, and adult’s clothing. Then each of these
clothing categories could be further subdivided; for
example, the children’s clothing could be categorize as
infants’, toddlers’, and school-age children’s clothes;
each of these categories could be subdivided into boys’
and girls’.- Wiersma (2000, p.203).
 Start • 1. Ask questions about the data (What does that mean?
Who is involved? How does that happen? How often

Coding
does it happen? Etc.) Who, What, When, Where, How
and Why?

Now!
• 2. Make comparisons. Look for comparisons and
differences.
-Corbin & Strauss (2008) • 3. Consider different meanings or implied meanings of
& Creswell (2007) words and phrases.
• 4. Use fip-flop technique. Consciously turning the
concept ‘inside out’ and ‘upside down’, looking at the
opposite term.
• 5. Draw on personal experience.
• 6. Wave the red flag. Certain words may provide hint-
ex: words such as “always”, “never”, “everyone knows”,
“secretly”, etc.
 Start • 7. Look at the language. How does the respondent use
terms like “I”, “we”, “it” can provide insights into their

Coding
views?
• 8. Look at the expressed emotion. Emotions and

Now!
feelings can be clues to meaning.
• 9.Look for words that indicate time. Ex: “when”,
-Corbin & Strauss (2008) “after”, “then”, “before” and “since”. Time can frame
& Creswell (2007) events, help identify context, or shifts of opinion.
• 10.Think in methapors and similes. The words can paint
vivid pictures that help our interpreting or
understanding.
• 11.Look for negative cases. Searching for negative can
help you consciously consider alternative explanations.
• 12.Consider narrative structure. How is the story
organized? How does it begin and end?
 Start • 13. Dismantle Dichotomies. Look for examples in which
there are distinctions drawn (e.g., nature/nurture and

Coding positive/negative)
• 14. Examine Silences. Look for what is not said, what is

Now! excluded.
• 15. Attend to disruptions. Are there places (in the
-Corbin & Strauss (2008)
& Creswell (2007) narrative) where something does not make sense,
where the respondent does not continue, or where
there are contradictions?

• *Note: consider also assumptions, cultural beliefs,

societal structures, and the knowledge levels of the
participants.
 After Coding, • Categorizing means, putting all the units having the

Start same coding.

• Encode it in the Microsoft Word and start connecting
Categorizing the codes to form categories.

Now!
• Categories are one level of abstraction above the
initial codes.
• After reducing the large number of codes into
categories, make themes or dimensions.
• Themes are a level of abstraction beyond categories.
Themes

Categories

Data Pieces
Example CATEGORY: Reporting Student Progress
(Parents indicated they were not informed when their child
was not being successful in school.)
P7: He’s right about whenever, the teachers you know, if you
want you get feedback from them as to the progress of your
child. Whenever I do want to get feedback as to how my child
is doing, where is it that he or she is lacking, I always call and
schedule an appointment with the teachers.
CATEGORY: Communicating about incidents
(Parents were concerned about poor communication about
incidents)
P6: In my girls classroom, all those kids were playing with a
used condom. They were throwing it to each other. And
when I tried to talk about it, they [the school] ignored us!
They do not want to talk about it because that was a very
delicate subject.
 Refine • After making the codes,
Categories categories, and themes; the
researcher will look for
relationships, or patterns
across categories, identifying
themes.
 Rigor in • 1. Are the data based on your observation or
hearsay?
Qualitative • 2. Is there corroboration by others of your

Research observations?
• 3. In what circumstances was an observation
-Dey (1993) made or reported?
• 4. How reliable are the people providing the
data?
• 5. What motivations might have influenced a
participant’s report?
• 6. What biases might have influenced a
participant’s report?
 Journals • 1. Describe in full details the place,
location, time and of interview
should have (setting/environment).
observations and
notes of the • 2. Describe the respondents in full
researcher details, physical attributes, age,
gender, social status, gestures,
emotions, roles, movements,
employment, etc. (background).
• 3. With this all descriptions, give
reflections or meanings that can be
related to your study (SO WHAT’S the
RELATIONSHIP?)
Notes from • VALIDITY / CREDIBILITY Check: Accomplish
the Transcriptions because this is one way of
the PR checking the validity/reliability of research.

Teacher
Encode in verbatim the interview session of
the respondent and let him/her sign it in the
last page with the date in place; this is what
we call “member checks”.
• ETHICS Check: With respondents 18 years old
and below ‘minors’, print out a consent form
to be approved by the Parent/ Guardian.
 AXIAL
• AXIAL CODING-Explore the relationship of categories,
making connection between them.

CODING
• MODELS IN AXIAL CODING
1. Causal Condition- What influences the central
^^^ phenomenon, events, and incidents.
THEORETICAL MODEL 2. Phenomenon- The central idea of event. Incident about
which a set of action or interaction is related.
3. Strategy- Goal oriented. Purpose of phenomenon.
4. Context- Location of events.
5. Intervening condition- An event that shape, facilitate or
constrain the strategies that take place within a specific
context.
6. Action/Interaction-Strategies devised to manage,
handle, carried out to respond to a phenomenon under a
set perceived conditions.
7. Consequences- Outcomes or result of action or
interaction, result from the strategies.
 EXAMPLE PREDISPOSING REINFORCING
FACTORS FACTORS

FIG.1 A MODEL OF SUICIDE IN A CASH

^^^
CROP ECONOMY
SELF AND THE
SUICIDE ACT

ENABLING
• Source: Batani et.al (2013).Pansig’dan: Understanding Suicide in
FACTORS
the Context of Cash Crop Farming. P26.Benguet State Univ.
 QUAL. • COMPARATIVE METHOD- combines inductive
category coding with simultaneous comparison of all

ANALYSIS units of meaning obtained. The researcher examines

each unit of meaning (topics or concepts) to determine

STRATEGY its distinctive characteristics. Then he/ she compares

categories and groups them with similar categories.
• NEGATIVE CASE ANALYSIS or DISREPANT DATA
ANALYSIS- look for data that are negative or
discrepant from the main body of data collected.
Negative cases contradict the main category or
pattern, and discrepant cases provide a different
perspective on a category or pattern.
3.
INTERPRETING
& PRESENTING

FINAL STAGE IN ANALIZING QUALITATIVE DATA

 Vi- COVER LETTER | vii- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
1. ABSTRACT

REPO
2. INTRODUCTION
a. Background of the Study
b. Statement of the Problem
c. Significance of the Study

RTING
d. Scope and Delimitations
3. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
4. METHODOLOGY

QUALIT
a. Research Design
b. Location of the Study
c. Source of Data

ATIVE
d. Data Collection Procedure
e. Analysis of Data
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

DATA
a. FINDINGS
6. CONCLUSIONS
a. INTERPRETATION AND IMPLICATIONS
7. RECOMMENDATIONS
8. REFERENCES
9. APPENDIX
10. THE AUTHORS
 • The abstract is a very brief summary of the major
aspects of the qualitative inquiry: the problem, design,
methods and outcomes. Complete and concise
abstracts are very helpful to readers who are
conducting literature reviews.
• The abstract is a short (about 100-500 words) summary
of the entire paper. It should include: goals and
objectives, results, and conclusions. It is usually the
first part of the paper yet last to be written.

ABSTRACT
 INT • In the introduction, the writer states the
purpose of the research study and provided
the reader with some background of the
problem and the need for the study. State

ROD
the focus of inquiry as a question or a
statement. Indicate hoe you become
interested in the topic and how the question
evolved. The introduction in a qualitative
report may also contain an interesting story

UCT
or quote to capture the reader’s interest.
• REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE-Present
and discuss any relevant research in this
section.

ION
• SCOPE & DELIMITATIONS-The researcher’s
preliminary biases or suppositions should be
revealed.
 REVIEW
OF  Other studies related to the research
problem should be located and their

RELATED
results briefly summarized. The
literature (of appropriate journals,
reports, monographs, etc.) should

LITERAT
shed light on what is already known
about the problem and should indicate
logically why the proposed study
would result in an extension of this

URE
prior knowledge.
METH
• In the methodology section, describe the research
method that was followed to obtain the findings. The
reader should not have to wonder about what was
done, to whom, or how it was done. Some aspects to
cover in the separate parts of the methods are as

ODOL
follows:

a. Research Design
b. Location of the Study

OGY
c. Source of Data
d. Data Collection Procedure
e. Analysis of Data
 a. • In the section on research
RESEARCH design, explain the qualitative
approach used and why you
DESIGN chose it to investigate the
problem. Also discuss the steps
taken to ensure credibility,
dependability, transferability,
and confirmability of the study,
such as triangulation, audit
trail, and member checks. It is
important to describe how bias
was controlled and the
limitations of the study.
 b . • The researcher describes the site of the study and the
participants (samples) involved. The investigator
LOCATION describes the participants demography, how they were
selected, and how entry was gained into the site; gives
OF THE a detailed description of the site; and so on.

STUDY Researchers generally USE FICTITIOUS NAMES of

people and places to protect the privacy of the
& participants and the site.

c.
SOURCE OF
DATA
 d. • The section on data collection procedure
DATA describes the methods used to gather the
data (interview, observation, document
COLLECTION analysis, and so on) and explains why these

PROCEDURE methods were chosen. Because the main

instrument in qualitative research is the
human instrument, it is important that the
writer give some personal or professional
information about him-or herself that
might be relevant to the inquiry. A
complete discussion of the methodology is
essential so that readers of the report can
understand how the researcher reached
conclusions and can agree or disagree with
those conclusions.
 e. • The researcher should describe the approach taken in
the analysis of the data.

ANALYSIS
OF DATA
 RESU • This section contains the major findings or propositions
relevant to the original focus of the inquiry that are
revealed in the data. Findings may be reported by data

LTS &
collection method (survey, interviews, documents,
etc.), by cases (School 1, School 2, etc.), or by theme or
topics (real-world connections, active learning,
extrinsic rewards, etc.). Because of the massive
amount of data in a qualitative inquiry, you cannot

DISCU
report everything you found.
• The researcher must rank the outcomes primarily on
the basis of their relevance and significance.
• USE DIRECT QUOTES AND FIELD NOTES excerpts to

SSION
illustrate the outcomes of the study and to help the
reader to vicariously experience the researcher setting
and to better understand how the conclusions were
reached. You may also include your interpretations of
the data and may be related to the literature.
(FINDINGS)
CONCLUS • In the final section, you respond to the implicit
question, SO WHAT? Here, the researcher tries to

IONS
make sense of the findings. You interpret what you
have found. You discuss the meaning of the outcomes
reported in the previous section and state major

&
conclusions and implications of the study. You should
relate the study to previous research and suggest
directions for future research efforts.

RECOMM
• This is also the section in which new or integrating
theories may be proposed.
• Presented in here are some suggested actions to be

ENDATIO
undertaken that attempt to address the problem
ventilated in the study. It also includes suggestions for
future study to address related problems emerging in

NS
the conduct of the study that were not fully or properly
ventilated due to the limitation of the present study.

(INTERPRETATIONS & IMPLICATIONS)

REFERENCES
• A complete alphabetical listing of all works cited in the
report is presented in the reference section of the
report. Use the American Psychological Association
(APA) format in citing references.

APPENDIX
• The appendix included interview schedules and other
documentation that will help the reader understand
the report. Include also the communication letters and
photo documentations of the study.
 Sample (2012)
It includes the personality profile of the author/s of the
Giye, Richard A. is a study.
campus journalist since high
school. He is the current Chairman
of the English Society and the

THE
News Editor of the student
publication of the University. He
also maintains a regular column in
the publication and a seasoned
speaker on Journalism seminars in
different elementary and
secondary schools in Baguio,
Benguet and Mountain Province.

AUTHORS
 Vi- COVER LETTER | vii- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

REPO
1. ABSTRACT
2. INTRODUCTION
a. Background of the Study
b. Statement of the Problem

RTING
c. Significance of the Study
d. Scope and Delimitations
3. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
4. METHODOLOGY

QUALITATIVE a. Research Design

DATA
b. Location of the Study
c. Source of Data
d. Data Collection Procedure
e. Analysis of Data
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
a. FINDINGS
6. CONCLUSIONS
a. INTERPRETATION AND IMPLICATIONS
7. RECOMMENDATIONS
8. REFERENCES
9. APPENDIX
10. THE AUTHORS