Qualitative Methods

Analyzing Qualitative Data

Getting Organized

The first and perhaps most important step in Qualitative Analysis is to have your data organized in a way that makes sense to you AND allows you to find and retrieve specifics from your data set.

All the data you have collected for your study constitutes your data set for the project. This can include your fieldnotes, interview transcripts, analytic notes, images, and/or documents. Because qualitative work generates pages and pages of text -- it is crucial to have a good organizational plan for your data from the beginning. It is also a very smart idea to create a backup system for managing copies of your data as well. Your research project is wholly dependent upon your data--make sure that you do not lose it to cyberspace, corrupted discs, failing hard drives, etc. Make systematic back up copies of everything!

Words of Advice from Qualitative Researchers About Organizing Your Data

What would an organized qualitative data set look like?

Often researchers find it easiest to work from hard copies for conducting their analysis. So, you might have one notebook (maybe blue) that has all your interviews in chronological order and separated by tab inserts. All your fieldnotes might be consecutively ordered in a red notebook, and all your documents organized in yet another (green?) notebook.

Many researchers include the file name and path in the footer in each of their documents. All files should have page numbers as well. This will help you find the electronic copy of the data (which will save you typing when using lengthy excerpts in your paper) and the page numbers will help you note where in the interview or observation fieldnote you found that particular excerpt.