8310 Dis week 9

Respond to at least one of your colleagues’ posts in 125 words and reflect on their data analysis. Explain how clearly you as the reader can see the connections between codes, categories, and themes. In your response, include more examples of your work to compare and contrast your process with your colleagues.

Angelia Slavings

Top of Form

Differences Between Codes, Categories, and Themes.

 

           Coding is how researchers assign meaning to the data they have collected. Analysis coding in qualitative information is often inductive and deductive (Ravitch & Carl, 2021). Ravitch and Carl (2021) also discussed how there is no right or wrong way to code and that coding needs to work for the researchers. Types of coding may include open or axial coding. Creating a code set or having multiple codes can help establish data patterns. These coding patterns can help develop the categories by grouping them into similar categories because they share a common characteristic (Saldana,2021).

           Ravitch and Carl (2021) suggest writing a coding memo to help capture the researcher's analytical thinking. They suggest addressing the following ideas in the memo: how do the codes relate to each other, what is the coding process, how were the codes developed, and can they be refined? The coding memo will help the researcher reflect on the specifics of their data. Parameswaran et al. (2020) wrote, " Coding primarily involves analyzing texts to generate themes that help to make meaning of the data.” The analysis of data will help to generate themes in the data. Saldana (2021) wrote that a theme is the outcome of coding, but it is not a code itself. Burkholder et al. (2020) noted that themes are distinguishable patterns across documents, meaningfully integrating codes. 

          In qualitative research, it is important to understand that codes will emerge through data analysis; from that data, categories will emerge, and themes will become prevalent that align prior research, the research questions, and the findings of that data presented. This will enable a researcher to report the results to the reader. 

         In two of the  Scholar of Change videos I coded, the words "social change" were said once by both of the Walden University Students (Anner,2015; Isaac,2014). My participant used “social change “in my telephone interview five times. Because I coded her interview recently, I had to go back and look at my codes again for those two transcripts. This opened my eyes to ensure that I only highlight one or two words at a time when doing my preliminary coding. Compared to my telephone interview, those two transcripts are difficult to read for the codes. However, the theme of creating positive social change is prevalent in those transcripts' positive words and explanations.

        Additionally, reviewing the field notes from those interviews, it is much easier to remember their words' positive inflection and the upbeat look on their faces. The use of intentional and analytical coding was apparent in this exercise. In qualitative research, I can see the connection between codes, categories, and themes in research.

References

Anner, J. (2015). John Anner, Ph.D. student in public policy and administration [Video file].

Burkholder, G. J., Cox, K. A., Crawford, L. M., & Hitchcock, J. H.  (Eds.). (2020). Research designs and methods: An applied guide for the scholar-practitioner.

          Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Isaac, B. (2014). Benjamin Isaac, EdD student, inspiring children with special needs [Video file].

 Parameswaran, U. D., Ozawa-Kirk, J. L., & Latendresse, G. (2020). To live (code) or to not: A new method for coding in qualitative research. Qualitative

            Social Work, 19(4), 630–644. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325019840394

Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2021). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological (2nd ed.) Sage Publications.

Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (4th ed.). Sage Publications.