Qualitative Analysis

Peter Yeates

Suzanne Vaughan

What is qualitative analysis?

• The process of interpreting meaning in qualitative data in order to answer the research question

uncovering

An illustration

• Is IL-6 increased in people with COPD?

Machine measuresDispassionate No judgementsJust countsThe researcher is uninvolved

Objective

• I get short of breath when I climb the stairs. I mostly stay downstairs now

• I can’t get to the pub where I used to meet my friends, as I get too breathless when I’m walking

• If my chest is very tight in the morning, then I know I won’t be able to do much that day.

• People stare at me when I go on the bus. They kind of keep their distance. I think it is because the of the way I breath. Maybe it frightens them.

• I just watch my grandson kicking his football now. I used to love kicking it with him.

Summarise:Staying downstairsCan’t go to pubSymptoms varyPeople stareCan’t play football

Reduced participation in society

What is it like to live with COPD?

2 common errors

No interpretationJust summarise

Unjustified opinion

Analysis that interprets the data in light of research question,

and Justifies its findings

Surface analysisInterpretBack to data – justifyRefine / re-interpret

Procedure for Qual Analysis

• Assume you already have data– Interviews / focus groups / documents / free

text survey responses / etc etc

• Research Question

Procedure

• Immersion– Read / re-read / ? Listen back to audio

• Coding– Assigning labels to data to organise it– Labels let you pull together similar bits of text

• I get short of breath when I climb the stairs. I mostly stay downstairs now

• I can’t get to the pub where I used to meet my friends, as I get too breathless when I’m walking

• If my chest is very tight in the morning, then I know I won’t be able to do much that day.

• People stare at me when I go on the bus. They kind of keep their distance. I think it is because the of the way I breath. Maybe it frightens them.

• I just watch my grandson kicking his football now. I used to love kicking it with him.

Reduced mobility

Reduced function

Symptom awareness

Interaction with other people

Effect on relationships

How to choose codes?

InductiveEmerge from reading

TheoreticalDeveloped existing theory

What do I mean by theoretical coding?

Stages of changes model

Task

• 2 groups, each with a different research question– Group A: How do students perceive the

proposed changes in OSCE marking– Group B: How do medical students relate to

the institution that is the medical school

– Individually, inductively code the transcript that we have given you

Suggestions

• Read through it all once• Start labelling (coding) individual quotes• Give each code a name• Keep a list of all of the names of codes• Make sure you can find examples of each code• Try to re-use codes as much as possible• Make sure what you’re coding relates to the

research question

What did you find?

• Find a partner

• Start by comparing the names of your code– Do they mean the same thing– Have you labelled different thing

• Compare how you coded each piece of text– What are the difficulties of comparing this way

Interpretations

• What themes or ideas start to emerge from your codes

• Can you illustrate each one with an example

• Comparisons