A
lthough data analysis is not always a linear process, analysis usually fol- lows data collection. Neophyte qualitative researchers are faced with the inevitability of a certain ambiguity when beginning data analysis.Qualitative data analysis requires the investigator to use mental processes to draw conclusions. In particular, the researcher will need to use “sensory im- pressions, intuition, images, experiences, and cognitive comparisons in cat- egorizing the findings and discerning patterns” (Hall, 2003, p. 495). These
are not skills that the neophyte qualitative researcher is generally comfortable with. The amount of data collected and the style in which data have been stored will either facilitate or impede data analysis. Analysis of qualitative re- search is a hands-on process. Thorne (2000) states, “unquestionably, data analysis is the most complex and mysterious of all of the phases of a qualita- tive project” (p. 68). Researchers must become deeply immersed in the data (sometimes referred to as “dwelling” with the data). This process requires researchers to commit fully to a structured analytic process to gain an under- standing of what the data convey. It requires a significant degree of dedication to reading, intuiting, analyzing, synthesizing, and reporting the discoveries. It is difficult to fully explain this process because “it is dynamic, intuitive, and creative process of thinking and theorizing” (Basit, 2003, p. 143).
As a neophyte qualitative researcher, interaction with an experienced re- searcher is the best way to become comfortable with data analysis. In a study reported by Li and Seale (2007), these researchers share how they used obser- vational techniques within a PhD program to develop data analysis skills in their students. In this example, the experts guided the students through a series of exercises within a class to improve data analysis skills. There are times when a mentor may not be available. In these situations, an alternative offered
Table 3-1 • Computerized Qualitative Data Management Programs
Computer Program Source
ATLAS/ti 6.0 ATLAS.ti
http://www.atlasti.com Ethnograph (Version 6) Qualis Research Associates
610 Popes Valley Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80914 (719) 278-0925
[email protected] http://www.qualisresearch.com Hyper Research 2.8 Research Ware, Inc.
P.O. Box 1258
Randolph, MA 02368-1258
U.S. (888) 497-3737, or Out of US (781) 961-3909 http://www.researchware.com/
QSR NVivo 8 QSR International (Americas Inc.)
QSR XSight 2 90 Sherman Street
Cambridge, MA 02140 USA
(617) 491-1850
http://www.qsrinternational.com
by Walker, Cooke and McAllister (2008) is to use a framework. In this case, the authors share how Morse’s cognitive processes were used by a masters student to analyze a research study.
Data analysis in qualitative research actually begins when data collec- tion begins. As researchers conduct interviews or observations, they main- tain and constantly review records to discover additional questions they need to ask or to offer descriptions of their findings. Usually these questions or descriptions are embedded in observations and interviews. Qualitative researchers must “listen” carefully to what they have seen, heard, and expe- rienced to discover meaning. The cyclic nature of questioning and verifying is an important aspect of data collection and analysis. In addition to the analysis that occurs throughout the study, an extended period of immersion occurs at the conclusion of data collection. During this period of dwelling, investigators question all prior conclusions in the context of the whole based on what they have discovered. Generally, this period of data analysis consumes a considerable amount of time. Researchers will spend weeks or months with their data based on the amount of information available for analysis.
The actual process of data analysis usually takes the form of clustering similar data. In many qualitative approaches, these clustered ideas are labeled themes. Themes are structural meaning units of data. DeSantis and Ugarriza (2000) tell us that themes emerge from the data; they are not superimposed on them. Further, they share that “a theme is an abstract en- tity that brings meaning identity to a recurrent experience and its variant manifestations. As such, a theme captures and unifies the nature or basis of the experience into a meaningful whole” (p. 400). For example, in a study completed by Clark (2008), participants spoke about faculty incivility. Clark offers the following two statements:
“I played the game and jumped through the hoops. I mean there is hoop jumping and super hoop jumping. Like applying for your license. That’s a hoop you’ve got to go through. But having to do 10 care plans makes you feel like you are back in ninth grade.”
“Those old power-hungry women have been demeaning students for too long and it needs to be exposed. They put so much pressure on you and you’re constantly under their thumb—being tested and forced to jump through hoops.”
Clark (2008) concludes based on these two statements that in the first instance the student is talking about the thoughtless way that students are directed. In the second instance, she interprets this as the student feeling out of control. In her report, she names these pressuring students to conform to faculty demands and anger, respectively.
Once researchers have explicated all themes relevant to a study, they report them in a way that is meaningful to the intended audience. In a phe- nomenological study, the researcher will relate the themes to one another to develop an exhaustive descriptionof the experience being investigated.
Thorne (2000) shares that in each approach to qualitative data analysis, there is a different purpose for and different process used to draw conclu- sions. In grounded theory, the process for analyzing data is labeled constant comparative method. Using this process, the researcher compares each new piece of data with data previously analyzed. Questions are asked each time relative to the similarities or differences between each compared piece of data. The ultimate goal is the development of a theory about why a particu- lar phenomenon exists as it does. What is the basic social-psychological process that is occurring? For a full description of the process, the reader is directed to Glaser and Strauss (1967).
In phenomenology, the process of interpretation may vary based on the philosophic tradition used. Regardless of the specific tradition, they all sup- port “immersing oneself in data, engaging with data reflectively, and gener- ating a rich description that will enlighten a reader as to the deeper essential structures underlying the human experience” (Thorne, 2000, p. 69).
For ethnographers, the focus of data analysis is to offer a description of a culture based on participant observation, interviews, and artifacts.
“Ethnographic analysis uses an iterative process in which cultural ideas that arise during active involvement ‘in the field’ are transformed, translated or represented in written document” (Thorne, 2000, p. 69). The researcher asks questions, analyzes the answers, develops more questions, and ana- lyzes the answers in a repeating pattern until a full picture of the culture emerges.
Regardless of the methodological approach used, the goal of data analy- sis is to illuminate the experiences of those who have lived them by sharing the richness of lived experiences and cultures. The researcher has the respon- sibility of describing and analyzing what is presented in the raw data to bring to life particular phenomena. It is only through rich description that we will come to know the experiences of others. As Krasner (2001) states,
“stories illuminate meaning, meaning stimulates interpretation, and inter- pretation can change outcome” (p. 72).