Analyzing Qualitative Data

1. Analyzing Qualitative Data Berg, Chapter 11

2. Social Anthropological Approach • Participated in the community or group. • More than an observer. An observer will have a different perspective than a participant. • Understand welfare recipients by “being one” • Risk of “going native” means will be an advocate for the group rather than trying to understand the group

3. Social Anthropological Approach • Multiple sources of data including • Diaries • Field notes • Interviews • Observations • Photographs • Artifacts • Observations

4. Social Anthropological Approach • Multiple sources of data including • Diaries • Field notes • Interviews • Observations • Photographs • Artifacts • Observations

5. Social Anthropological Approach • Analyze by describing regularities in everyday life • Rituals • Verbal and nonverbal communication • Symbols • Relationships • How do people come to understand things?

6. Collaborative Research Approach • Understand to work with participants for change, problem solving. • Reflexive. Share understanding, get feedback, revise ideas. An iterative process • Participants are “Stakeholders”

7. Overview of Qualitative analysis • Collected data is transcribed into text/video • Codes are inductively identified in data and affixed to transcription. • Codes are generalized into themes • Data is sorted by these themes • Meaningful patterns are identified in each theme • Patterns compared to previous research, extend understandings.

8. Quantitative Analysis • During colonial period newspapers called the U.S. the “united” States. Gradually became the “United” States. Historians counted the frequency the word united was capitalized. • Number of positive statements a person makes about his/her partner in a 15 minute discussion prior to marriage is good predictor of likelihood of divorce.

9. Quantitative Analysis • Software can search text for key words and their synonyms. • This can show patterns of love, hostility, support, trust. • Interviews with clients can show that words associated with distrust are extremely common in one program but not another. • A simple word count, how often each word appears, may suggest important differences, say, in how men and women describe marital strengths or weaknesses.

10. Quantitative Analysis • Software can search text for key words and their synonyms. • This can show patterns of love, hostility, support, trust. • Interviews with clients can show that words associated with distrust are extremely common in one program but not another. • A simple word count, how often each word appears, may suggest important differences, say, in how men and women describe marital strengths or weaknesses. • Imagine doing this on news coverage or editorials about a war that becomes unpopular. Terrorist vs. Insurgents

11. Quantitative Analysis • Software can search text for key words and their synonyms. • This can show patterns of love, hostility, support, trust. • Interviews with clients can show that words associated with distrust are extremely common in one program but not another. • A simple word count, how often each word appears, may suggest important differences, say, in how men and women describe marital strengths or weaknesses.

12. Quantitative Analysis • Examples of quantitative analysis • Imagine doing this on news coverage or editorials about a war that becomes unpopular. Terrorist vs. Insurgents • Violence in TV. How many people has a 5-year old seen being murdered?

13. Qualitative Coding • Codes and Categories can be • Deductive from an a priori list—Watch discussion and count positive and negative statements about a partner • Inductive from understanding you get reading a transcript—Discover that most welfare mothers express desire for being independent. Call this “Grounded Research.” • Both—Usually the case

14. Coding: What Counts? • Words—easilly quantified • Themes—qualitative interpretations • Character reference—How often is partners name used? How often is a person mentioned? • Latent Concepts—A variety of words, phrases, nonverbal behaviors could fall under the concept of expressions of love • Semantics. Meanings of affect, strength. Video much better than transcription. Statement of “I love school” may be sarcastic, deeply emotional, etc.

15. Coding: What Counts? Classes. • Common Classes—Common distinctions such as male vs. female, demographics. • Special Classes—Special to your group • Groups may have common distinctions you discover. Understanding of these is critical. • Incarcerated women may have these for one another. • In-group vs. out-group distinctions. Think adolescent females or males. • Theoretical Classes—You may identify different classes based on goals, motivations, shared rituals—Valley girls

16. Coding: How??? • Ask consistent set of questions of data, but be ready to modify the question. • Study of cost-effectiveness resulted in repeated reports of changes in attitudes and behavior. • Look for unanticipated consequences. • Animals for inmates  less recividism? • May find it leads to less guard turnover because guards consistently report fewer problems.

17. Coding: How??? • Minutely analyze data. • Think of funnel like literature review. • Start trying to code practically everything. • Drop/combine codes the second, third, etc. reading. • Come back for fresh start after you’ve generated “final” codes.

18. Coding: How??? • Write theoretical notes • These are inductive ideas. • Consistent self serving comments by clients may lead you to think there is a problem of trust. A program may be failing because clients do not trust this even though this is never explicit.

19. Coding: How??? • Don’t assume importance of common categories (sex, race). Look for new categories. • Common categories are confounded with stereotypes. • Studying whites who work with African Americans may lead you to feel position in hierarch is key category. African American supervisors may change attitudes of Whites much more than African American subordinates.

21. Forms of Reporting • Most reports are textual accounts. • These are greatly strengthened with verbatim reports of the participants that let them speak in their own voice. • Pictures and video clips, for example, as part of a web report are a great strength. • Innovative reporting could be a play, such as the “Vagina Monologue”