Qualitative analysis of interview data: A step-by-step guide for coding/indexing

Qualitative analysis of interview data: A step-by-step guide for coding/indexing https://youtu.be/DRL4PF2u9XA

Notes:

Step 1:

• Scan transcripts as a whole
• Make notes about first impressions
• Re-read carefully, line by line

Step 2:

• Label relevant codes.
• What to code? It's repeated. It surprises you. The participant states that it's important. You have read about something similar in previously published reports/articles. It reminds you of a theory or concept. For some other reason that you think it's relevant.
• You can aim for a description of things that are superficial or you can aim for a conceptualisation of underlying patterns. It's your study and your choice of methodology.
• You are the interpreter and these phenomena are highlighted because you consider them to be important.
• Make sure to explain and reveal your methodology and the choices you make. Do that under the heading Method.
• Be unbiased, stay close to the data, i.e. the transcripts, and do not hesitate to code plenty of the phenomena.
• You can have several codes, even hundreds.

Step 3:

•  Decide which codes are the most important and create categories by bringing several codes together
• Go through the codes in the previous step. Read them with a pen in your hand.
• Create new codes by combining two or more codes.
• Not all codes will be used. Many of the initial codes will be dropped.
• Create categories or themes. They can be about objects, processes, differences. Be creative and open-minded
• This work, compared to the previous steps, is on a more general, abstract level. You are conceptualising your data

Step 4:

•         Label categories and decide which are the most relevant.
•          Label them.
•          Describe the connection between them. These categories and connections are the main result of your study. It is new knowledge about the world, from the perspective of the participants in your study.

Step 5:

•          Decide if there are hierarchy
•          Decide if one category is more important than the other
•          Draw a figure to summarise your results

Step 6:

•          Under the heading Results, describe the categories and how they are connected.
•          Under the heading Discussion write out your interpretations and discuss your results. 
•       Interpret the results in light of, for example: results from similar, previous studies published in relevant journals, theories in the field