URBS 260- 09A - Qualitative Anlaysis.pdf

URBS 260 ANALYTICAL METHODS IN URBAN STUDIES QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS AGENDA • GENERAL STRATEGIES – ANALYTIC INDUCTION • GROUNDED THEORY • PRIMARY QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION • CODING : TYPOLOGIES AND TAXONOMIES • NARRATIVE ANALYSIS 4 TICKETS TO GO – PLEASE COME SEE ME IF INTERESTED QUIZ 4...

URBS 260 ANALYTICAL METHODS IN URBAN STUDIES QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS AGENDA • GENERAL STRATEGIES – ANALYTIC INDUCTION • GROUNDED THEORY • PRIMARY QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION • CODING : TYPOLOGIES AND TAXONOMIES • NARRATIVE ANALYSIS 4 TICKETS TO GO – PLEASE COME SEE ME IF INTERESTED QUIZ 4 • Will be available on Moodle after 1pm today • You have until Wednesday Nov 8 th 5pm to complete it. • 15 min to write once you start the quiz • Extra time has been provided for those with the access center USING MS FORMS – FOR SURVEYS OR ONLINE INTERVIEWS FEEDBACK ON PUBLIC MARKET SURVEY? GENERAL STRATEGIES – ANALYTIC INDUCTION Qualitative analysis is an iterative process. • Analysis starts after some data has been collected. • Further data is gathered on the basis of that analysis. • Analytic induction • A general research question is devised. • Some data are gathered. • An hypothesis is proposed. • If a case is inconsistent with the hypothesis, the hypothesis is redefined to exclude the case, or the hypothesis is dropped or fundamentally revised. • The researcher continues to gather data until no contradictory cases are found. GENERAL STRATEGIES – ANALYTIC INDUCTION • Difficulties with analytic induction • Because all cases must be explained, the hypotheses generated may be too broad to be useful. • There are usually no guidelines on how many cases must be reviewed before the validity of the hypothesis is accepted. • Also an inductive, iterative process • Systematically gather data • Analysis throughout the research process GENERAL STRATEGIES – ANALYTIC INDUCTION • Processes • Coding • Constant comparison (of data and concepts) • Theoretical saturation • A point in time when nothing new is being learned • Coding • Labels given to issues/activities being observed that can be grouped together • Starts in early stage of research project • First step in interpreting data and developing theory • Data are treated as potential indicators of concepts • The indicators are repeatedly compared for concepts / categories GROUNDED THEORY GENERAL STRATEGIES – GROUNDED THEORY Types of coding (Strauss and Corbin, 1990) 1. Open • Identifies initial concepts that will be categorized together later. • Close to the data 2. Axial • Data are reviewed for linkages and re-organized according to those connections. • New codes may be developed. 1. Selective • Selection of the core category / categories • Validating the relationships • Identifying gaps that need to be filled in • Conceptualize the phenomenon (emerging theory) GENERAL STRATEGIES – GROUNDED THEORY Outcomes of Grounded Theory • Concepts • Categories (encompass two or more concepts) • Properties (attributes of a category) • Hypotheses • Theory 1. Substantive Theory • 2. Observed patterns are related to each other and a theory is developed to explain the connections in that setting. Formal Theory • Theory applied at a higher level • Requires data collection in different settings • Applicable to a variety of settings GENERAL STRATEGIES – GROUNDED THEORY • Memos in Grounded Theory • Provide reminders about what is meant by the terms used. • Aid in conceptual and theoretical reflection. • Criticisms of Grounded Theory • Differences between concepts and categories may be vague. • Observation and data gathering may not be as 'theory neutral' as claimed, i.e., the research process may be deductive to some extent. • Practical difficulties, e.g., time constraints on transcription or data gathering • It may not result in theory (especially formal theory). • Coding may result in fragmentation, loss of narrative flow. PRIMARY QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION MAIN QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION METHODS • Ethnography and participant observation – the immersion of the researcher into the social setting for an extended period in order to observe, question, listen and experience the situation in order to gain an understanding of processes and meanings. • Qualitative interviewing – asking questions and prompting conversation in order to gain information and understanding of social phenomena and attitudes. • Focus groups – asking questions and prompting discussion within a group to elicit qualitative data • Discourse and conversation analysis – a language-based approach to examine how versions of reality are created. • Analysis of texts and documents – a collection and interpretation of written sources. MILES AND HUBERMAN (1994) ON ALL QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS They suggest that there are three concurrent flows of action: • data reduction • data display • conclusion drawing/verification CODING : TYPOLOGIES AND TAXONOMIES Typology : the study or system of dividing a large group into smaller groups according to similar features or qualities. Study of types (ie. Buildings) Taxonomy: the science of organizing things such as plants or animals into a system of different groups according to the features that they share, and of giving them names. (i.e. Amphibians) CODING • Codes can be used to label different aspects of the subjects of study. • Loftland(1971) devised six classes on which to plan a coding scheme for ‘social phenomena’ These are: • Acts • Activities • Meanings • Participation • Relationships • Settings WHAT IS A CODE? BASIC OPERATIONS IN QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS – CODING Coding questions • Of what general category is this datum an instance? • What does this datum represent? • What is this datum about? • What question does this datum suggest? • What sort of answer to that question does this datum imply? • What is happening here? • What are people doing? • What do people say they are doing? • What kind of event is going on? CODING EXCERCISE - WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS VIDEO? Source: https://www.youtube.com/embed/53c8G2ha6tU?feature=oembed CODE: - # DOORING AND CLOSE CALLS - ATTENTION OF DOORER Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=oembed&v=dO8XqqZK-XQ STEPS AND CONSIDERATIONS IN CODING 1. Code and transcribe as soon as possible. 2. Read through the data before considering any interpretation. 3. Read through the data again. • Coding: keywords, themes • Do not be concerned with producing too many codes. • Rev iew the codes to consider associations, redundancy, relationships to existing concepts. 4. Consider general theoretical ideas regarding codes and data. 5. Keep coding in perspective. • There are other tasks too, e.g., interpretations, relations between codes, relevance to the existing literature, etc. 6. Other Considerations • Written data must be coded and then categorized in a way that it is useful for analysis. • Computer programs will sort data once • codes are defined; and • how data should be sorted according to those codes is defined. • Computers don't interpret the data. • Three levels of coding: 1. The basic question 2. Focused in on content and research interest 3. Analytic context (themes) PROBLEMS WITH CODING • Risk of losing the context • By selecting parts of the text, qualitative coding weakens the connection between description and social setting in which the events occur, resulting in a loss of context • Fragmentation of data • Breaking the data into codes and small chunks of text results in a loss of narrative, creates partial interpretations COMPUTER SOFTWARE IN QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS • Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) • eliminates many, if not most, of the clerical tasks associated with the manual coding and retrieving of data • Leading software: QSR NVivo, MAXQDA, other • Will sort data once the codes are defined • They don’t interpret the data COMPUTER SOFTWARE IN QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS, CONT’D • Advantages of using software: • Proposes new visual ways of looking at data which stimulate its holistic perception and point to connections between ideas and concepts • Allows to estimate how representative different quotes from qualitative interviews are • Improves the transparency of qualitative analysis, as researchers are more explicit about how they conduct the study and describe how they used CAQDAS COMPUTER SOFTWARE IN QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS, CONT’D • Criticisms of using software: • It primarily works to quantify coded text and negates the qualitative, thematic interpretation of meaning important in qualitative analysis • It fragments textual material into very small pieces of data where the natural flow of the story is broken • It is too closely built around the grounded theory and this diminishes another key strength of qualitative research, its flexibility NARRATIVE ANALYSIS NARRATIVE ANALYSIS