9

Qualitative
Data Analysis

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Learning Objectives

 Characteristics of Qualitative Data Analysis

 Explain the steps in qualitative data analysis
 Describe the process of categorizing and coding data
as well as developing theory
 Clarify how credibility is established in qualitative
data analysis
 Discuss the steps involved in writing a qualitative
research report

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Wireless Impact on
Social Behavior

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 Characteristics of
Qualitative Data Analysis
 Data is textual (or visual)
 Goal is understanding
 Analyses are on-going and iterative
 Member checking is used
 Approach is inductive
 Need to establish credibility

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 Exhibit 9.1 Components
of Data Analysis

Data collection

Data display

Data reduction

Conclusion drawing

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 Steps in Analysis

1: Data reduction

2: Data display

3: Conclusion drawing/verification

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 Data Reduction

 Data reduction is the categorization and

coding of data that is part of the theory
development process in qualitative data
analysis

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 Data Reduction

 Categorization
 Coding
 Comparison
 Integration and theory building
 Iteration and negative case analysis
 Tabulation

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 Data Reduction

 Categorization
 categorize sections of the transcript
 label the categories with names and
sometimes code numbers
 Either determined before the study or
developed inductively as researchers
move through transcripts

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 Data Reduction

 Coding
 A code sheet is a piece of paper with all
the codes
 The codes can be words or numbers that
refer to categories on the coding sheet.

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Exhibit 9.2 Coding
sheet

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Exhibit 9.3 Coding
in the Margins

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 Data Reduction

 Comparison
 first occurs as researchers identify
categories
 Then potential new instance of a category
or theme is compared to already coded
instances to determine if the new instance
belongs in the existing category.

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 Data Reduction

 Integration and theory building

 Integration is the process through which
researchers build theory that is grounded,
or based on the data collected.

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 Data Reduction

 Iteration and negative case analysis

 working through the data in a way that
permits early ideas and analyses to be
modified by choosing cases and issues in
the data that will permit deeper analyses
 negative case analysis, which means that
they deliberately look for cases and
instances that contradict the ideas and
theories that they have been developing
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 Tabulation Data Reduction
 Could be misleading because in
qualitative research questions asked in
somewhat different ways, and frequency
of mention is not always a good measure
of research importance.
 However, tabulation could provide some
guidance.
 Tabulation can also keep researchers
honest
 Could be used to look at co-occurrences
of themes in the study 9-16
Exhibit 9.4 Tabulation

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 Exhibit 9.5
Relationships between Categories

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 Data Display
 Visual displays to summarize data.
 Help reduce and summarize the extensive
textual data to conveys major ideas in a
compact fashion
 Some common types of displays:
 Table explaining central themes in the study
 Diagram suggesting relationships between
variables
 Table with a comparison of key categories in
the study 9-19
 Exhibit 9.6
Display of central themes in the study

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 Exhibit 9.7
Relationships between themes

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 Conclusion Drawing/Verification
Emic Validity
 Emic validity is an attribute of qualitative
research that affirms that the key members
within a culture or subculture agree with the
findings of a research report

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 Conclusion Drawing/Verification
Cross-researcher reliability
 Cross-researcher reliability is the degree of
similarity in the coding of the same data by
different researchers

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 Conclusion Drawing/Verification
Forms of Triangulation
 Multiple methods of data collection and analysis
 Multiple data sets
 Multiple researchers analyzing data
 Data collection in multiple time periods
 Providing selective breadth in informants

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 Conclusion Drawing/Verification
Exhibit 9.11 Threats to Credibility
 Salience of first impressions or of observations of
highly concrete or dramatic incidents
 Selectivity which leads to overconfidence in some
data
 Co-occurrences taken as correlations or even as
causal relationships
 Extrapolating the rate of instances in the population
from which those observed
 Not considering that some sources may be unreliable

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 Writing the Report

Introduction

Analysis of Data/Findings

Conclusion/Recommendations

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 Sections in the Introduction

 Research objectives
 Research questions
 Description of research methods

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 The Methodology Section_1

 Topics covered in questioning

 Materials used in questioning
 Number of researchers involved and degree of
involvement
 Procedure for choosing participants
 Number of participants and characteristics

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 The Methodology Section_2

 Number of focus groups, interviews, transcripts

 Total number of pages, pictures, videos, and
researcher memos
 Procedures used to ensure systematic data collection
and analysis
 Procedures used for negative case analyses
 Limitations of methods

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 Marketing Research in Action:
Hotel Travelers
 Categorize the comments into themes.
 Is there evidence that would allow you to determine
if triangulation of the data occurs?
 What other themes could be identified?

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