Reed EarlyIndependent consultant

June 9, 2013 Toronto

Part 1 QDA Methods

Outcomes – learners understand the origin and current practice of QDA methods in general, grounded theory in particular, and possible applications of the methods.

1.      Methods

a.      useful for inductive researchb.      useful in naturalistic inquiryc.      qualitative methods growing consensusd.      collection ↔ analysis ↔ collection

2.      Qualitative Data (QD)

a.      open b.      exploratoryc.      useful when questions not yet definedd.      allows insights

3.      Overview of QDA 

4.      QDA cycle 

5.      overview of process

6.      Work plan of research process

7.      Characteristics of QDA

a.      constructivist - many meaningsb.      context bound i.e. “cast of thousands"c.      uses inflection i.e. "THIS was good."d.      can be sorted in many ways e.      QD by itself has meaning i.e “apple”

8.      Sources of QD

a.      interviewsb.      focus Groupsc.      field observations (GPS data)d.      survey comments e.      historical recordsf.       secondary datag.      photos, paintings, songs

... 

9.      Types of QD

a.    structured text writings, stories, survey comments, news articles, books etc

b.    unstructured text transcription, open interviews, focus groups, conversation

c.    audio recordings, as above, music

d.    visual recordings, graphics, art, pictures

e.    location specific data Google Earth, GPS

10. Principles of QDA

a.      Data entry (gathering)b.     Comprehending (immersion)c.      Synthesizing (sifting)d.      Theorizing (sorting)e.      Re‑Contextualizing (emerging theory)

11. Data entry (analogous demo)

a.      not easily mechanizedb.      important part of processc.      often done by analystd.      concurrent with analysis e.      transcribe thoroughly, ASAP f.      write memos (reflect)g.      coding (start with few)

12. Comprehending (immersion)

a.      begin while entering data b.      start QDA immediatelyc.      “live with it”d.      line by line examinatione.      create new questions for collection 

13. Synthesizing (sifting) “quotes” (decontextualize)

a.      use inductive categoriesb.      find common threadsc.      compare transcriptsd.      aggregate stories

14. Theorizing (sorting) “coding”

a.      ask questions of the datab.      find alternative explanationsc.      allow sufficient time d.      be open to insights

15. Re‑Contextualizing

a.      develop theoretical “elegance”b.      apply to other settingsc.      examine fit to literature/researchd.      describe emerging theory 

16. Data Management Principles

a.      stay close to the datab.      be sensitive to emergent theoryc.      allow recontextualizing d.      it is a non‑linear process

17. QDA method options – everyday

analogues

Content Analysis - like movie ratings by the censorship bd

Grounded Theory – like a mystery solved by ordinary citizens

Matrix Analysis – like a map’s matrix of campsite services

Phenomenology – like a movie documentary

18.        Displaying results (computer methods)

 display code frequencies and charts (in QDA Miner)

Code Count % Codes Cases % Case

1.1 Defines Mgmt Structure, Roles, Resp 36 1.20% 21 5.30%

1.1 Framework Contents 42 1.40% 23 5.80%

1.1 Key People Involved 119 3.90% 59 14.80%

1.1 Lines of Authority 46 1.50% 26 6.50%

1.2 Approval and Endorsement 25 0.80% 17 4.30%

1.2 Key Elements of Strategic Plan Exist 72 2.40% 36 9.00%

1.2 Plan Communicated 55 1.80% 26 6.50%

1.2 Plan Updated 18 0.60% 14 3.50%

Exercise 1: Quotes, Codes & Memos

19. Grounded Theory

a. Primary documents (comprehending)

immerse in the primary documents

begin as data are collected

read/view/listen to the data

b.      Quotations (synthesizing)

select and mark salient quotations/passages

compare each line to other data

c.      Coding (theorizing)

assign codes in margin

group, sort, categorize codes into families

collect new data based on emerging theory, memos, codes

d.      Memos (aids in all processes)

record insights on memos or post-it notes ie: ideas for emerging theories, thematic ideas, linked memos

(Exercise 1)

e.      Network (re-contextualize)

create network (mind map)

add and arrange network nodes • (quotes, memos and codes)

collect more data as needed

(Exercise 2)

Exercise 2: Grounded Theory and Network Mapping

f. Generate theoryMake a matrix of themes (rows) by roles (cols)Fill in cells with either a selected quote or “*” to indicate missing data.Look for patterns, empty cells, areas of convergence.Generate an explanation and provide a short quote to support your "theory". (optional Exercise)

20. Methods Matched to Type of Data

a. structured text

content and matrix analysis etc

b. unstructured text i.e. narratives, open interviews

phenomenology, grounded theory etc

c. audio i.e. interviews, anecdotes, “stories”, music

matrix analysis, grounded theory etc

d. visual i.e. graphics, art, pictures matrix analysis, grounded theory etc

21. Methods Matched to Principle Task a.      describe

content analysis …b. explain / predict

                   matrix analysis …c.      derive new ideas and insights

                   phenomenology …d.      test significance

                   matrix analysis, quantitative …e.      map theoretical relation

                   grounded theory, mapping …

run crosstab (matrix) codes and variables (QDA Miner)

  Proj A

Proj B

Proj C

Time 1

Time 2 Time 3  

Chi-sq

uare

P value

finding 1.1.x       2 1 3    9.924 0.357

finding 1.2.x 1     9 1 2   17.447 0.042

finding 1.3.x 1     5    1   10.624 0.302

finding 1.4.x   1 2 12 4 2   41.016 0

finding 2.1.x 3 1   2   1   20.759 0.014

finding 2.2.x 1          2   2.13 0.989

finding 2.3.x 20 2 1 3 4 2   16.514 0.057

Risks 6 2 2 17 4 4   33.709 0

Best Practices

4 1 1 3 6 4   49.178 0

Alternate Exercise: Theorizing Using Matrix Analysis

Code network map (Atlas-ti)

Code Network MapMulti-Dimensional Scaling (QDA Miner Concept Systems)

Q&A Questions and answers

23. Some QDA Methods matched to Software1.      Content Analysis

Word, QDA Miner, Excel, Atlas-ti 2.      Matrix analysis

NVivo, QDA Miner3.      Grounded Theory Mapping

 Atlas-ti, QDA Miner 4.      Phenomenology - using mind maps

 Inspiration, Visio5. Concept Mapping

Concept Systems, QDA Miner

24. QDA software

QDA Miner inclWordStat-SimStat (Provalis, CAN)

Atlas-ti Scientific Software (GER)

NVivo (QSR, AU)

Inspiration (USA)

Concept Mapping (Concept Systems USA)

MS Excel, SPSS (USA)

HandoutsHandout 1. Summary of Manual and Software Qualitative

Methods

Handout 2. Website, Software and Internet Resources

The above and these slides are available at http://www3.telus.net/reedearly/shared/

Don’t forget the workshop evaluation…

rearly@telus.net

http://www3.telus.net/reedearly/shared/