Coding Manual For Qualitative Researchers-Saldana
#notesFromPaper Year : Tags : Authors: Saldana qualitative analysis thematic analysis
coding is not the only way to do qualitative analysis.
coding is hierarchical, categories, codes, and subcodes
codes are short, themes are sentences
don’t code just for themes, themes are a side effect of good coding
it’s ok not to code everything, but be conservative in what you cut until you have a good sense of what’s important
break up the text for your own sanity
precode, highlight important information
Number of codes varies on the project, and different researchers have said different things about expected number of codes. A coder can only handle 30-40 at a time, especially if they are developed by someone else.
how to make a codebook
refers to a type of software called CAQDAS. pg 29 (pdf page 52) has a list of CAQDAS software
No more than 5 people coding to avoid issues of social groups
Thesaurus your codes
your coding process likely shouldn’t go into your paper, but perhaps an appendix or “on request” sort of deal is good
Other methods of qualitative analysis: performance ethnography and narrative inquiry
An unexpected, but very poignant note on identity
if you are using a priori codes, you have to think deeply about what they mean in your specific context / field
When doing exploratory work, you can often code with different styles one after the other to get a better perspective on the data.
Instead of saying “this code appeared 5 times in the text”, maybe say “3 different participants said this code” (to avoid a vocal participant from dominating.)
