Data Analysis Techniques for Qualitative Study

Abstract

This chapter describes how to analyse qualitative data to produce authentic findings. Analysis of qualitative data must be a slow and careful process. This chapter will only discuss how to analyse text since this is the most common form of data in qualitative studies. Text is written language, such as field notes, transcribed interviews and focus group discussions, reports, organizational records, journal articles, or website/social media information. Qualitative data include photos and videos, objects and artefacts, and actions and sounds. More complex data include events, organizational processes, or interactions between people. This chapter will discuss the interview and similar written data since novice researchers often generate these data: however, the analysis process is similar for all textual data. The analysis process described in this chapter is based on a simple grounded theory approach Thomas (Am J Eval 27:237–246, 2006). Thomas’s approach is simpler for novices than that described by Glaser (Emergence versus forcing: Basics of grounded theory analysis. Sociology Press, 1992) or Strauss and Corbin (Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Sage, 1990), but it must be done correctly to produce trustworthy findings.