Code

* * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * Introduction to*Coding Introduction*to*Coding Program Transcript SUSAN MARCUS: Hello. My*name is*Dr. Susan Marcus, and this*is*an introduction to coding qualitative data. Before we get started, I'm going to give you a definition and some visuals*of what we mean by*coding qualitative data. A*code in qualitative inquiry*i s most often a word or*a short phrase that symbolically*assigns*a summative, a summary, a salient or*essence N capturing attribute, for*some portion of language, or*visual data.

So what does*that mean? With these certain words, short words*or*phrases, we're trying to capture a meaning that's been attributed to, or*contributed to, by*another*source. So the process*of coding means*we identify*distinctive features*of a piece of text, and see if there are similar*features*to other*pieces*of text from*other*sourc es.

What this*also means*is*you can code just about anything. You can code transcripts* from*videos. You can code transcripts*from*written, or*phone, or*live, interviews. You can also code observations*of a field experience. Or*code observations*of a photo .

So once you get anything that you have observed, and want to include, in your* qualitative data analysis*into a language N based form, typically*in the form*of a transcript in a word processing document, you can then start the process*of coding. What we're doing is*we're looking for*patterns, similarities*in features, similarities*in order*of presentation, similarities*of context, similarities*in meaning.

So what these marbles*represent are the different thoughts, and feelings, and experiences, each person has*about being in nature. And my*quest as*a qualitative researcher*to see if I can understand each individual's experience, and then look*for* shared meaning across*those experiences. So here's person A. And each type of experience they*share is*noted by* a different marble.

And as*a qualitative researcher*beginning to code, I say, hmm, maybe I can first organize them*according to a distinctive feature. Let's try*color. And as*I'm organizing the marbles, I see, well, some of the colors*are really*distinct, and some of them*are not quite as*distinct as*I thought. But I'm going to group them*together*anyway. So in a sense, I've created a code for*this*person according to color.

Now I'm going to do it with the next person's NN marble's NN experiences. And I'm g oing to organize them*and sort them*so that they*line up with, to the best that I can surmise, the preceding person. And I'll do the same for*the other*two individuals. And as*I'm doing this, I'm also reflecting in my*mind NN but if I was*doing this*as*a qu alitative study, I would be taking notes, writing memos NN about the choices*I was*making about where to group, or*where to put, which marble with which group.

So, obviously, color*is*a really*easy*way*to sort. We could sort on size. We could sort on clari ty. We could sort on whether*some of the marbles*were colored, or*solid, or*cat's eyes. And voila. So I've sorted, I've coded each individual's experiences*by*color. And © 2016 Laureate*Education, Inc.

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And one of the things, for*example, I would note, is*that while most of the group share this*experience, indi cated by*the red marbles*in color, this*person has*a similar*kind of experience, but it's not quite the same. So as*a qualitative researcher, I would make a note NN I'm grouping these codes*together*into a category*that I could call red. Noting that some of the codes*are approximations, but not identical, to the final category. And then I can do that with the other*marbles*as*well.

So again, you can see that I have made groups*of like objects*some of them NN Oh, here's another. Look*at this. I had one set of objects*over*here, but they*actually*can go over*here. And I also have a couple of discrepancies*that don't really*fit in any*particular* category. And so as*a qualitative researcher, I also have to make a decision. Do I want to force, or*try*and make, eve ry bit of information fit into a category, or*do I want to use these as*what we call discrepant cases, to explore what these individual items*or*codes* mean?

So I hope that helps*illustrate what we mean by*the process*of coding. Taking individual bits*of i nformation, grouping them. I could also try*grouping them*with another*approach.

For*example, some of these marbles*have two different colors. So I could also see what pattern emerges*if I take marbles*with two different colors*and put them*all in one grou p.

And marbles*with single colors*and another*group. Looks*different.

So that's the idea of approaching coding from*different perspectives. That is, if you code just one way, you get one picture. But if you code taking another*approach, you may*get an ent irely*different picture.

The other*point I'd like to share with you is*the choice of doing manual coding. What we mean by*manual coding is*using basic*word processing and spreadsheet tools*to move bits*of data around in order*to create codes, categories, and themes.

The other*alternative, is*computer N assisted qualitative data analysis*software. There are many, many*choices*available. And of course, the advantage of using a computer* application is*that you have a bit more efficiency. They*have lots*of grea t visual displays, and other*ways*to manipulate data. The challenge is, most of these software programs* have a very*steep learning curve. So you're learning both how to code qualitative data and learning a software program.

The other*issue is*that because there are so many*different kinds*of programs*to choose from, you, as*you become a more experienced qualitative researcher, and if you choose to go on and do a qualitative dissertation, you may, after*looking at different programs, develop your*own prefer ence. Or*your*chair*may*have a preference for*which one to use. You'll have a chance to work*with smaller*data sets*in this*course, and so using © 201 6 Laureate*Education, Inc.

2 * * *** * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * ** ** * * * * Introduction to*Coding Excel and Word are more than acceptable. And, towards*the end of the course, you'll also have a chance to explo re software alternatives.

The other*thing you'll need to do is*create a notebook. It can be in electronic*form, like a Word document, or*an actual notebook*for*handwriting notes. In qualitative research, we call these memos. Which contain your*reflections , your*thoughts, your*descriptions*of your*process, of going from*the data sources, the transcripts, to codes, to categories, and writing up your*results.

As a final note, I just want to encourage you to use this*as*an opportunity*to explore, and develop new skills, and consider*whether*or*not this*type of research is*something that you would like to pursue for*your*dissertation. The act of qualitative data analysis* can be laborious, intensive, and repetitive. But it's also the opportunity*for*discovery, f or* something new, that's been generated by*your*participants, for*the data that you've collected, and perhaps*even the opportunity*to discover*something about yourself.